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Food for Living: The Power of Positive Expectation
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friends,
It is no news that every human being has different and unique expectations towards life. These expectations are not limited to how we’ll like to live our life, the kind of person we’ll like to get married to or the kind of business we’ll like to have. We normally get fulfillment when targeted accomplishments are made, and as a result, there’s always a feeling of dissatisfaction or failure if one is not able to reach those targeted expectations
We all have something we hope to achieve. They include but not limited to good health, weight loss, stop addiction, promotion, business development, overcoming of challenges and opportunities. Naturally, it’s easy to believe it’s not going to happen, but don’t lose your expectations for the mere fact it has not worked yet for in due season, it will work out well.
Expectations come in different shapes. Let’s consider some instances: During pregnancy, a lady normally have a due date, if one is buying insurance policy, the life expectancy of the person is normally considered, because it will help to determine the cost of insuring the person’s life; a new employee, always looks at how long he/she will stay on a job or even if he/she will like to retire on the job. The list is endless, but for the purse of this article, we shall be focusing on how our positive thoughts and actions facilitate the improvement, manifestation, realization, and actualization of our dreams or whatever we truly desire.
It’s important to note that everything in life has its time and season; a time to sow, a time to reap, a time to cry, a time to laugh, a time to play, a time to study among others. Even a newborn baby has a time to crawl, walk, run, go to school, work and then give back to the society and even take care of the parents. In the same way, we all believe if we do what we are supposed to do, all things being equal, we’ll get to where we are supposed to be.
It is widely believed that there’s no competition in life; everyone has his/her role to play. Therefore, it makes no sense for one to exhaust himself trying to measure up. What is however, important is we maintain our lane and work at our pace and time. You may be surprised to know that overtaking is allowed in the journey of life and one can overtake those who started the race before them. Just like in marriage, what is important is not marrying early, but marrying right, it’s not how far, but how well. There’s a popular saying that in life, it’s now how much you make, but how much you save. Just to put things in proper perspective, you must have at the back of your mind what you need or what you are looking out for at the end of the day.
Furthermore, It is easy to lose hope, get discouraged, feel disappointed when the lines don’t add up. However, if you’ll have a change of heart towards this negative feeling and look at the bigger picture, you may stand a chance of seeing and appreciating life from a different direction.
Don’t get tired of doing what is right for in due season it will come through. In due season, the right employer, organization, destiny helper will come onboard. Maybe you need to work on something or learn from an experience.
It’s instructive to note that many factors contribute to success, and one of the them is the power of words. Words have creative power. It is always good to speak to and through life. Having said that, note that words have creative power, especially when you let them take root in your mind. When you speak, the walls hear and absorb it, the land in which you’re standing on stamps it, and the air carries it to the universe. There have been numerous stories globally where many great men who the world considers as visionaries were able to speak into existence their vision and what they hope to be or achieve in their personal, professional or business/organizational life, and it came to pass.
Regardless of how it turns out, your job is to believe someday it will work out, you’ll be successful in your business and reach the pinnacle of your career in due season.
Sometimes in life, you need to put your house in order by doing what is needful in your personal and professional life. Sometimes, you need to network well, sometimes you’ll need to research and read wide, and sometimes, you need to get the right experience and exposure in order to get the right projection or acceptance. This is because in the journey of life, one needs to have the patience and the firm belief that everything will work out well. Having the patience entails that you don’t have to get tired of doing the right things nor matter how stressful and challenging it becomes.
Let’s take for example, you have the desire to be a great and respected leader who will like to bring in positive change and justice to the world, during your grooming process, it will be expected of you to not only speak the right words, but you’ll have to show it in your thoughts and actions. A typical example of a respected world leader who brought a love and peaceful change to his country and the world is the former President of South Africa, late Dr. Nelson Mandela. Despite being persecuted and incarcerated for twenty-seven years, he not only forgave his detractors, but he also did one term as president to the amazement of everyone. The interesting thing about President Nelson Mandela is that he was expected to contest for a second term because he was deeply loved by his people due to the reforms and policies he brought, but he choose to leave when the ovation was high.
The moral of this lies in the fact that the late President has a vision for South Africans and the world in general.
In conclusion, live your expectation by getting into the right frame of mind. By so doing, you may somehow come to the sublime realization that in life, dreams do come true.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the author of the acclaimed book Design Your Destiny – Actualizing Your Birthright To Success. He can be reached via henrous@gmail.com
The Federal High Court In Abuja on Tuesday ordered the remand of the Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the hearing and determination of their bail application.
The trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, also ordered the remand of his co-dedendants, his son, Abubakar Malami, and one of his wives Bashir Asabe.
Justice Nwite made the order after taking arguments from the defence team led by Joseph Daudu (SAN) and the prosecution counsel Ekele Iheneacho (SAN).
Malami and his co-defendants are facing a 16-count money laundering charge preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The EFCC alleges that the defendants conspired at various times to conceal, retain and disguise the proceeds of unlawful activities running into several billions of naira.
According to the charge, the alleged offences span several years and include the use of companies and bank accounts to launder funds, the retention of cash as collateral for loans, and the acquisition of high-value properties in Abuja, Kano and other locations.
The commission further alleges that some of the offences were committed while Malami was serving as Attorney-General of the Federation, in breach of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011, as amended, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has sent a veiled message to Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, saying support for President Bola Tinubu alone will not guarantee any election ticket.
Wike made the statement on Sunday during a public outing in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State.
His remarks were widely seen as directed at Governor Fubara, amid lingering political crisis in the State.
The former Governor of Rivers State said political loyalty must be tested during difficult times, not after power has been secured.
He mocked those he described as late supporters of President Tinubu, insisting that sudden alignment would not earn political rewards.
He said: “So the issue is not whether you are supporting Tinubu. That one, we have taken too long, long… Yes, oh. So Tinubu’s issue is not an issue again. Yes. Do you understand me? Yes. Tinubu’s issue is that nobody should be coming here to tell a day. We are for Tinubu; I am against you. Who is for Tinubu University? (laughs) That cannot give you any ticket oh! (laughs again) Direct, direct. It will not. Direction. Direction.”
Wike stressed that his political camp stood with Tinubu when the decision was unpopular. He said that support given under pressure carries more weight than alignment after victory.
He also recalled how the Rivers State House of Assembly openly backed Tinubu early, long before the election outcome was certain.
According to him, some of those now making public declarations were absent during the critical period.
“The same people now who came to declare, put them to God… But they should declare they are saying it for a candidate. Yes. Don’t you see characters? (laughs) So I send the sword far ahead of them.”
Wike further spoke on governance and continuity. He defended projects and agreements initiated during his tenure as governor. He said it is often difficult for successors to acknowledge past efforts, even though government is a continuous process.
His comments come weeks after Governor Fubara formally aligned with the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party of President Tinubu.
The move followed months of political crisis in Rivers State, which led to federal intervention and a declaration of emergency rule.
Political watchers believe Wike’s remarks constitute a direct response to Fubara’s recent positioning as a key Tinubu ally in Rivers politics. Critics argue that Fubara’s support surfaced only after the political storm had settled.
Wike, who remains a dominant force in Rivers State politics despite serving in Abuja, appears to have drawn a clear line ahead of the 2027 elections.
He suggested that political tickets would be decided by proven loyalty, not convenience.
Videos from the event in Rumuche, Emohua, spread rapidly on social media. Many users described the speech as a coded warning to the governor.
As of press time, neither the Rivers State Government nor Wike’s media team had issued an official clarification.
The comments, however, suggest that the political rift between both camps is still active, despite earlier peace moves brokered at the national level.
The opposition African Democratic Congress and the Labour Party on Sunday criticized President Bola Tinubu for departing Nigeria for Europe on holiday at a time the country is grappling with rising insecurity, including foreign military interventions in the North.
The Presidency announced on Sunday that Tinubu left Lagos for Europe for his end-of-year holiday ahead of an official visit to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he is scheduled to attend the 2026 edition of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Summit.
President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, explained that the trip was by invitation from His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, to participate in the summit, which gathers global leaders from government, business, and civil society to advance sustainable development strategies.
“His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, has invited President Tinubu to participate in the 2026 edition of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Summit, which will take place in the emirate early in January,” the statement read.
Reacting to Tinubu’s departure, the ADC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bola Abdullahi, faulted the timing as inappropriate given the security challenges facing the country.
The ADC noted the deadly terrorist bomb blast in Zamfara and the ongoing foreign military involvement, calling the President’s move insensitive.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s lack of care is alarming. In the wake of another deadly bomb blast in Zamfara, and following an unprecedented foreign military attack on Nigerian soil, the nation is waiting for reassurance from its leader. Instead, we learn the President has gone on holiday. What a President!” Abdullahi said.
Similarly, LP’s acting National Chairman, Senator Nenadi Usman, described the trip as “insensitive and devoid of empathy” for Nigerians facing violent attacks and humanitarian crises.
Speaking through her Senior Special Adviser on Media, Ken Asogwa, she stressed that the President should have remained in the country to coordinate security responses.
“This is the most inauspicious time for the President to leave the country. Even the Christmas holiday in Lagos seems ill-timed, given that a bomb exploded in Zamfara today, killing nine people,” Usman said.
She further alleged that Nigeria was under external attack and accused the government of downplaying the severity of the situation.
“Nigeria is under attack by a foreign nation. No matter how the government tries to frame this, it is a violation of our sovereignty. This is the time for the commander-in-chief to coordinate the response, not embark on a holiday,” Usman said.
She added that the President had not convened critical security meetings since the U.S.-led bombardment of terrorist camps in Kwara and Sokoto States and condemned the perceived lack of engagement with military leadership.
The President’s trip comes amid heightened security concerns. On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump authorised AFRICOM to conduct airstrikes on terrorist camps in Sokoto State, hours before Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged the operation. A deadly bomb blast in Zamfara on Friday claimed several lives.
The 17th edition of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week will run from January 11 to 15 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre under the theme “The Nexus of Next: All Systems Go.”
The event aims to connect innovation, finance, and people to advance sustainable development.
Onanuga confirmed that Tinubu would return to Nigeria after the summit.
Hosted by Masdar, the UAE’s clean energy company, the summit will feature the invitation-only ADSW Summit, the World Future Energy Summit, the Zayed Sustainability Prize Awards Ceremony, and specialised sessions on hydrogen, climate finance, water security, and utilities in the Global South. Organisers expect more than 50,000 participants from over 170 countries, featuring over 700 global brands and exhibitions of emerging clean technologies.
The UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, noted that ADSW 2026 builds on two decades of the UAE’s leadership in renewable energy.
Tinubu previously attended the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in January 2025, where he held meetings with Gulf investors and officials on trade, energy cooperation, and climate finance.
Since assuming office on May 29, 2023, Tinubu has undertaken at least 46 foreign trips, spending an estimated 192 days abroad as of October 2025. In 2025 alone, he travelled internationally no fewer than 15 times to countries including Ghana, the UAE, Tanzania, France, Italy, Saint Lucia, Japan, and Brazil for summits, bilateral engagements, and holidays.
