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Food for Living: The Power of Persistence
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
The difference between success and failure is persistence – Dr. Yomi Garnett
There’s no doubt that there are many components of success. Some of them are courage, sacrifice, hard work, element of luck, role of mentors, destiny helpers, consistency, persistence, networking and grace of God.
But persistence happens to be one critical factor that determines whether one will go far in life or otherwise. All however, are dependent on ability to exhaust all options.
The power of persistence in everyday activity cannot be overemphasized. In reality, it’s usually difficult for one to pursue a task when the odds are against the person, and that’s where persistence becomes pronounced.
Persisting comes in various ways. As a student, it takes persistence for a student to continue reading a particular course or material even if the they find it difficult to comprehend. As a business owner, it takes persistence to continue trading when a loss is recorded. And as a husband or wife, it takes a combination of patience and persistence for to forge ahead in spite of challenges.
What really is persistence? It is ordinarily the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even when the odds are against him. Persistence shows how dedicated and passionate a person can be in the cause of pursuing a project.
Being persistent is a crucial factor in achieving success both in personal living, career, academics and in every walk of life. Being persistent is a key to unlocking the doors of opportunity and progress as well as helps to maintain focus on what really matters.
In the journey of life, it is persistence that shows the distinguishing trait between great leaders and achievers. If we look through every industry and culture across the globe, there’s one consistent trend among successful individuals, and that trend is the ability to persevere. Some of the greatest leaders of the world, who have achieved greatness through persistence include Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Colonel Sanders, Mark Victor Hansen and Steve Jobs. These persons persisted beyond the norm, and reached their goal.
A case study of Abraham Lincoln is very symbolic because he lost several elections, had challenges in marriage, failed in business, but he persisted and became the Presidential of the United States of America.
It’s instructive to note that persistence is about believing in oneself and finding a way to reach the result when the odds are against you. A further analysis of Abraham Lincoln shows that he failed in business at the age of 21, was defeated in a legislative race at age 22, failed again at business at age 24, overcame the death of his lover at age 26, had a nervous breakdown at age 27, lost a congressional race at 34 and 36, lost a senatorial race at 45, failed to become vice president at 47, lost a senatorial race at 49, and then finally was elected president of the United States of America at age 52.
There’s also the famous story of Thomas Edison trying 9,999 times to perfect the light bulb – and he couldn’t do it. Someone asked him, “Are you going to have 10,000 failures?” And he responded, “I didn’t fail; I just discovered another way not to invent the electric light bulb.”
Time and time again, individuals are stopped along their journey because of a certain failure. Note that just because you failed once doesn’t mean you or your project are defined by the failures. It simply means, as Thomas Edison believed, you found one more way it can’t work. It also implies that you are one step closer to achieving the result.
The major step in overcoming the adversity that comes with persistence is clarifying your why. By identifying the purpose behind your goal, your “why” will push you through challenging times.
It is your persistence that can show passerby how passionate you are about a cause.
Let me share a personal story with you; as an author and prolific creative writer, I have always loved the idea of having a large audience reading my weekly contents. I decided to take the bull by the horns by visiting one of the biggest media houses in Nigeria (Sun Newspaper) to seek an opportunity to showcase my work. After engaging with one of the managerial editors, he advised me to send my weekly articles to him for review. The moral of this story is the importance of being persistent. No one embarks on a journey just to waste time and money on projects one is not passionate about.
Being persistent in life can help you to stand out among your peers, it will help you to secure promotions or job opportunities. It will also help you to grow personally and professionally.
To receive the blessings of persistence, one must set specific and measurable goals; one must have a positive mindset and outlook towards life; one must have a good support system in times of adversaries; one must learn from setbacks, challenges and experiences of life; one must be proactive by being flexible if initial plans don’t work as planned, and finally but not the least, one must endeavor to celebrate small wins.
Below are some reasons persistence is important.
Overcoming Obstacles: Persistence allows you to push through difficulties and obstacles, and also navigate round roadblocks.
Learning from Failures: Persistence helps you learn from your mistakes. When you encounter failures, you don’t see them as permanent defeats. Instead, you view them as experience and opportunities for growth and improvement. Persistence will make one gain valuable insights and refine one’s strategies.
Developing Resilience: Resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity. Persistent individuals build resilience because they don’t let setbacks crush their spirit.
Inspiring Others: Do you know your persistence can motivate other people? When people see your relentless pursuit of a goal, they may feel inspired to overcome their own challenges. Your example becomes a beacon of hope and determination to others.
Overcome Fear and Self -doubt
One of the biggest challenges one will face when developing persistence is overcoming fear and doubt. Fear can take different forms, such as the fear of poverty, fear of flying, fear of failure, etc.
For persistence to work, it requires dedication, determination, and a willingness to keeping going even when things don’t go as planned. With the right attitude, anyone can learn how to use persistence as a way of leading with failure and overcoming obstacles in their life.
Being persistent is necessary for any progressive being who wants to achieve success in life or their career because it will help the person to stay motivated, overcome obstacles, gain experience, and ultimately reach their goals and vision in life.
In leadership, persistence is determined by adversity, commitment to vision, resilience against criticism, in spirituality, persistence is determined when one’s faith and uncertainty is tested, or exercising patience when waiting for divine timing, as an entrepreneur, persistence is determined by one’s ability to be resilient during setbacks.
In conclusion, it is important to state that persistence is a critical trait for anyone who wants to achieve their goals and turn challenges into opportunities, staying motivated, and having a good support system to overcome any challenges because it requires dedication and commitment.
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 and Unleash Your Destiny. He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
The Senate, on Thursday, directed the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies to intensify efforts to track, identify and arrest bandits and terrorists, who openly flaunt their activities and wealth on social media platforms.
The upper chamber said the growing trend of criminal groups operating openly online and displaying proceeds of crime without fear of arrest poses a serious threat to national security and undermines public confidence in the authority of the State.
The resolution followed a debate on a motion sponsored by Senator Sunday Karimi (Kogi West) on the worsening security situation in Kogi West Senatorial District and other parts of the country.
Contributing to the debate, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central) expressed concern over what she described as the increasing boldness of bandits and terrorists, alleging that some criminal groups now use social media platforms to showcase their operations and distribute large sums of money.
According to her, suspected bandits recently conducted a giveaway on TikTok, allegedly distributing more than N100 million within 30 minutes through their social media accounts.
She argued that such activities provide security agencies with sufficient digital footprints and intelligence leads to identify and apprehend the perpetrators.
“Bandits and terrorists who carry out these activities live on their social media handles,” Akpoti-Uduaghan said.
“Two days ago on TikTok, bandits conducted a giveaway, distributing over N100 million within the space of 30 minutes through their social media handles.
“I wonder why the Cybercrime Unit and the Police Force generally cannot track these activities and apprehend them since they are on social media.”
Her proposal that the Nigerian Police Force National Cybercrime Centre and other relevant agencies should intensify surveillance of social media platforms and prosecute criminals who openly advertise their activities online received overwhelming support from lawmakers and was seconded by Senator Osita Ngwu (Enugu West).
Responding, Senate President Godswill Akpabio condemned the public display of criminal exploits and huge sums of money on social media, describing it as a direct challenge to the authority of government and security institutions.
“The DSS should be able to track their movements and arrest them because this is a show of impunity, as if there is no law at all,” Akpabio said.
He noted that the online display of cash and criminal activities was designed to ridicule government efforts and create the impression that security agencies were powerless.
“I do not see why we should not have control over the social media space. That idea of showing themselves, showing the cash collected and displaying it is a way of challenging government,” he added.
Akpabio urged heads of security agencies to treat the issue as a major national security concern and take immediate action against those involved.
He further warned that the Senate would demand explanations from relevant authorities whenever individuals who openly reveal their identities and activities online are not apprehended.
The debate arose from Senator Karimi’s motion drawing attention to the escalating wave of terrorist attacks, kidnappings and killings across communities in Kogi West Senatorial District.
Karimi lamented that armed groups had turned several communities into theatres of violence, forcing residents to flee their homes while disrupting economic, social and educational activities.
He cited the recent attack on Iluke-Bunu in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area, where gunmen reportedly invaded a secondary school and attempted to abduct students writing the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination.
According to him, the attack claimed the lives of the school’s vice principal, a teacher and another resident.
The senator also recounted a series of kidnappings and killings across Kabba/Bunu, Ijumu, Yagba West, Lokoja and Kogi local government areas, warning that insecurity in the district was worsening and required urgent intervention.
Following deliberations, the Senate adopted a series of resolutions aimed at tackling the deteriorating security situation across the country.
The lawmakers called on President Bola Tinubu, the Inspector-General of Police and the National Assembly to urgently work towards establishing an appropriate legal framework for the creation of state police.
The Senate also urged the Federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to strengthen the implementation of cashless transaction policies as part of efforts to curb ransom payments and other criminal financial activities.
It further called on the Federal Ministry of Interior and the Nigerian Immigration Service to tighten border security and surveillance to stem the influx of arms and the movement of terrorists and other criminal elements into the country.
The upper chamber equally advised State governments against negotiating or entering peace agreements with terrorists and armed bandits, maintaining that such arrangements have often failed to produce lasting solutions and, in some cases, emboldened criminal groups.
The House of Representatives has passed the state police bill, effectively making way for the decentralisation of the Nigerian policing architecture.
The resolution followed the voting by 289 lawmakers in favour of state police during Thursday’s plenary session presided over by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas.
Recall that the House committed Thursday’s plenary to voting on the State Police Bill following the spike in killings, kidnappings, and banditry in the past few months.
The session was not without its fair share of drama, as shortly after the lawmakers settled down for the business of the day, Kaduna lawmaker, Bashir Zubairu, moved a point of order, explaining that the document on the proposed state police put together by the House Committee on Constitution Review got to the lawmakers only on Thursday afternoon.
Recognised to speak by the speaker, Zubairu said, “Mr Speaker, this document was only made available to lawmakers in the chambers, and we are yet to go through it. We cannot do justice to it because we have not gone through it.”
Zubairu, a member of the African Democratic Congress, was ruled out of order, allowing the process to proceed.
While the Speaker took members through the clauses, voices shouting “Point of Order” could be heard, but the presiding officer ignored them.
Before the voting began, Abbas announced that the electronic voting system was faulty, noting that the exercise would be conducted based on attendance.
Out of the 290 members in attendance, 289 voted in favour of state police while one voted against. The Speaker abstained from voting.
The Punch
The Nigerian Police Force has announced the rescue of former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu’s sister and her twin sons, who were abducted on June 3, in Ibadan.
A statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Anthony Okon Pkacid revealed ad follows:
The Nigeria Police Force announces the successful rescue of Mrs. Olaide Busayo Adegoke John-Paul and her 12-year-old twin sons, Peter and Paul, who were abducted on June 3, 2026, in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The hostages were rescued during a coordinated operation by the Force Intelligence Department Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) in Ibadan at approximately 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 6, 2026.
Mrs. Adegoke and her children were abducted while she was driving them to school at about 7:30 a.m. on June 3, 2026. The rescue was achieved through sustained intelligence gathering, surveillance, and tactical operations. These efforts enabled investigators to track the kidnappers’ movements, resulting in a confrontation with FID-IRT operatives.
During the confrontation, two suspected kidnappers were fatally wounded and two rifles were recovered. The victims were rescued unharmed and are now in safe custody, receiving medical care and support.
The Inspector-General of Police commends the courage, professionalism, and effectiveness of the FID-IRT operatives and all officers involved. Their resilience and commitment were instrumental in the safe rescue of the hostages.
Security operatives have intensified efforts in the area to apprehend fleeing members of the kidnapping syndicate. Preliminary intelligence indicates that some suspects escaped with gunshot injuries. Operations are ongoing to track, arrest, and bring all involved to justice.
The Nigeria Police Force appreciates the public’s support, cooperation, and patience during the operation. We remain committed to combating violent crime, protecting lives and property, and ensuring the safety of all citizens.
