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Food for Living: The Need to Define Yourself
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friends,
Defining oneself is one of the most difficult things to do. As human beings sometimes we find it difficult to express who we are, or what we represent. This is because several things battle for our time, alignment and intention.
As a human being, if you are asked who you are, what will be your response? Some will say I am a lawyer, doctor, entrepreneur, artist, author, teacher, professor, sociologist, leader, engineer and more. The list is endless. But the big question is who you really are. It’s important to note that what you are is God’s gift to you, and what you become is your gift to God.
It’s also worthy of note that as human beings, we do evolve. Growing up as a child, we all have different dreams and aspirations, when we enroll into high schools, and colleges, we have different interests where we align, or what we would like to be associated with. But our outlook and preference for life seems to change when we begin our career path or after a few years working in different fields of life.
If I may ask, what changed our mindset and desires? Well, it can be as a result of variable social, economic, religious or political factors which spur our interest due to policy change or personal interests.
We live in a society where people decide on what they want to do with their lives. While some are intentional, others just live free by taking the day as they come.
However, one thing is certain; something must define a man, and that is what the world will use to judge them. For instance, I have a legal background, but one can hardly know unless one searches me on google or looks through my social media platforms. If one is to judge on what I post on social media platforms or my works, one will confidently say, I am either a Life Coach or Human Capacity Development expert. This is simply because that’s what I post often and speak on. But more importantly, that’s what I want the world to remember me for, as a legacy.
When it comes to defining oneself, it’s imperative for one to be extremely careful because anything can define one either negatively or positively. For instance, if one is a leader, and he is accused of rape, sexual harassment or murder, which are heinous crimes; that, can define one’s leadership. Again, if one joins a particular group, association or organization, that person can be defined based on the doctrine of that group because it shows one’s interest in believing in their ideology.
Furthermore, if one is serious about moving on to the next stage of life, one must be able to define his or her career path by avoiding unnecessary distractions which might not align according to his path at the said point in time. And this can take several shapes. For instance, one can desire to take two to five years depending on their plans to build a profile, business, or academic background, and this will entail being focused.
It’s important to note that it’s either one stand for something, or he stand for nothing. Regardless of where one’s position aligns at any point in time, it’s always good to define his position. Those who find it difficult to define their position at any point in time runs the risk of losing focus
Defining what one wants is very critical in any endeavour. In fact, it is the foundation of any worthwhile project. If someone decides to start a family, they must be intentional on the partner to bring into their life, and this can be done by defining the kind of man or lady the person desires. Before one starts a business, he must define the vision, mission, and nature of the business. Before an employer hires an employee, he must define the kind of person he wants, and their roles. If one wants to work, the person must be strategic in choosing his job description to suit hiw he wants to be addressed. All these have a simple message; interest and desire.
There’s no doubt, defining one’s position can be difficult, especially when several interests are at play. It’s usually easy to characterize, tag or define someone based on a single act. Ordinarily, this shouldn’t be the case, because a single act is not generally capable of defining anyone. However, if it becomes a pattern, it can then be said that there’s a tendency of committing such acts as a way of life.
Just as many attributes, qualities or characteristics define a person, the combination of reputation, personality and characterization make him stand out. A person’s reputation is what people generally think about, his personality represents him while his character is true nature.
According to Yomi Garnett, a prolific ghost writer and author, “Your reputation is what everyone thinks you are. Your personality is what you seem to be and your character is what you really are”.
Take a moment to ask yourself, and answer these questions. Who am I? What will I want the world to remember me for? What do I represent? These questions are structured to make you think out of the box. Many uninformed minds are being tossed by the wind because they can’t stand for a particular position, and this a sad development. This set of people are usually swayed by material or societal influence. These acts are usually at play in political spaces where loyalty and alignment are usually at play.
Only strong minds can say no opportunities which don’t align to their beliefs, interests and passions to the causes they believe in.
In conclusion, as you forge ahead in life, take a deep breath to determine and define who you are, and work towards it because at the end of the day, if you don’t define yourself, the world will define you. Also remember that if you don’t talk about yourself, people will talk about you as it suits them; if you don’t write about yourself, people will write about you, and if you don’t speak up for yourself, it might be difficult for people to speak up for you.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design Your and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
The High Court of Bayelsa State sitting in Yenagoa has issued an order restraining associates of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, from holding a mega rally in the South-South State pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
The proposed rally was scheduled for Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, on April 12, 2025.
Hon. Justice I. A Uzakah granted the motion ex-parte in Suit No. BYHC/YHC/CV/133/2025 was filed by the state’s Attorney General, Biriyai Dambo (SAN).
“An order of the interim injunction is hereby made or granted restraining the 1st and 2nd Defendants, whether by themselves, their agents, associates, privies, representatives (or any person whatsoever acting at their behest), from conducting, convening, coordinating, engaging in, organizing, participating in, holding, hosting, or facilitating any political assembly, rally meeting, or gathering within Bayelsa State, for the purpose of solidarity, hosting, and celebrating the 2nd Defendant in Bayelsa State, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice for Interlocutory Injunction,” the court order read.
The matter has been adjourned to April 11, 2025, for hearing.
The Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi on Thursday, said the closure of Independence Bridge in Lagos for urgent rehabilitation of the collapsed retaining wall was made without his knowledge or authorization.
Umahi said this while apologising to Lagos residents and President Bola Tinubu for the disruption caused by the sudden closure of the bridge on Wednesday.
Umahi who spoke when he toured the bridge in Lagos said: ” Unfortunately, when the bridge was to be closed, I was not informed. It is very unfortunate because for a bridge to be closed, especially in Lagos, as has been the tradition, I should be informed as the minister.
“We should also have studied the implication of it even in an emergency situation. We would have deployed emergency evaluation of the implication of closing the bridge.”
Umahi warned that controllers of works and engineers would face disciplinary action if such an incident would happen again.
“I use the opportunity to warn all controllers and engineers all over the country. Never you close a road or close any bridge without running through the permanent secretary, who will seek for permission from the honourable minister of works,” he said.
The minister acknowledged the efforts of Lagos State Government in managing traffic flow during the closure.
He also took responsibility for the error, saying: “I take responsibility for it, even though I did not order it, but every action by any staff of the ministry of works, I take responsibility for it.”
Umahi said that the closure, which caused significant traffic congestion, was avoidable.
He said: “If we were to do this properly, there would have been a different kind of method deployed and it wouldn’t have necessitated the total closure.”
According to him, even if closure was necessary, it would have been done in a way that it would take three days: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and necessary remedial work would have been put in place.
“What we are doing now is to restore the bridge temporarily within the next three days. By Sunday, this place will be totally open.”
He added that a permanent solution would be implemented after a two-week assessment.
“Then, after two weeks, we will look at the settlements, and then we will take out three days to put the permanent structure. That is what we are going to do,” he said.
The minister emphasised the competence of the contractor handling the project, Build Well.
“Build Well is a reputable company, and they have been restoring a lot of failures on our bridges in Lagos, some of them 53 years old.
“Some bridges’ spans have been lifted, especially Eko Bridge, Marina Bridge, and even the Lagos-Ibadan Bridge. They are also intervening in all of them,” he added.
The minister also said that the design of the bridge would be varied to address the emergency situation.
He said: ” The design will be varied according to the emergency situation we have on ground, and the contractor is going to cooperate with us.”
He pledged to personally oversee the restoration efforts, saying, “I am not going until the bridge is fully restored by Sunday, we will work day and night to restore it, and then we will evaluate it.”
The bridge was initially closed on April 1 for essential maintenance and rehabilitation works, with the government planning to complete the repairs by May.
NAN
The Edo Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, affirmed Senator Monday Okpebholo as the governor.
A three-member panel headed by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, against the outcome of the September 21, 2024, governorship election.
In its judgment, the panel ruled that the petitioners failed to call competent witnesses to prove the allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
In the lead judgment read by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, the Tribunal said non-compliance must be proven convincingly. It noted that the failure of the petitioners to call polling unit officers, presiding officers or even voters during the election proved fatal to their petition.
The Tribunal stated that most of the 19 witnesses called by the PDP merely gave hearsay evidence during the proceedings.
Justice Kpochi faulted what he termed as the PDP’s reliance on Section 137 of the Electoral Act to dump documents on the Tribunal. The Tribunal noted that it’s not for it to scrutinise documents tendered by the petitioners.
The Edo Tribunal further said the BVAS machines tendered by the petitioners remain dormant, as it’s not the duty of the Tribunal to access the data in the machines.
In the unanimous decision, the Tribunal thereby restated that to prove overvoting as alleged by Ighodalo and the PDP, there’s a need to tender the voters register, BVAS machines and polling unit results or Forms EC8A.
Following that, the Tribunal dismissed the petition of Asue Ighodalo, candidate of PDP for lacking merit.
INEC had declared that Okpebholo of the APC secured 291,667 votes to defeat Ighodalo who got 247,655 votes. PDP approached the Tribunal to challenge the results from 765 polling units of the 4,519 units in Edo State.
The PDP candidate faulted the outcome of the election on the grounds of non-compliance with the Electoral Act and the failure of Monday Okphebholo to secure a majority of the lawful votes cast. Putting that in context, the PDP governorship candidate alleged improper computation of votes by INEC, non-serialisation of electoral materials and over-voting.
