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Food for Living: Understanding Success

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3 years ago

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By Henry Ukazu

Dear Destiny Friends,

It is no longer news that every living being desires success. This is because nothing gladdens the heart like success. This success is seen in form of solid financial background, sound health, harmonious family, impeccable academic achievement, constant personal development, and vocational triumps.

However, Success has become a word often used, but poorly defined. This is because it can mean one thing to someone, and mean a different thing to another. It is therefore, sad to note that many people don’t understand the true meaning of success. Uniformed minds think that success entails just money. They fail to understand that if the only thing one has is money, that person is poor.

Some schools of thought opine that there’s no magic for success; you can apply hard work, confidence, persistence, consistency, great organisational skill, emotional intelligence and resistance, growth mindset, courage, gratitude, risk, responsibility, smart work, and many more, and still not succeed.  You can even apply the SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Measurable and Timely) and still not succeed. In fact, you might even have everything in place, yet someone with luck will outshine you.

There are many ways to achieve success. One of the simplest strategies is to align your success with your natural talents, abilities, and mental faculties. Everyone is wired differently and as such we are unique in our ways. It’s your responsibility to discover what makes you unique and special.

Here’s the strategy for smart work: First, you must know your strength and weaknesses, and what you are good at. Focus on using it and transforming it into success and prosperity. It can be an ability, talent, or skill, with which you can help others or prove your excellence and value.

It is instructive to note that once you attain a certain level of success, other people will begin to associate with you, brands will begin to identify with you. There are principles and strategies that are necessary for success. The truth is that success comes to you to the extent you want it, and to the extent you are willing to work for it. You get what you invest in it.

Sometimes, you need luck to succeed. This is without prejudice to your right connections, right information, right resources, opportunities and facilitating factors.  However, for this luck to work, you must be prepared. The trick is you must organize and surround your life around goals for the things you need, want or enjoy.

To fully understand what success is, one must define what he/she wants.  According to Dr. Yomi Garnett, “Success has a master plan” and this plan includes questions like: “What do I want? When do I want it? Why do I want it? Where am I starting from? What obstacles must I overcome? What information will I require? Who are the people whose help I will need”.

Let’s elaborate on this master plan. There’s no success without clarity. No successful man or woman who has attained genuine success achieved it without being clear and focused. They were all clear on what they wanted. They didn’t allow distraction to confuse them.

When you are sure of what you want, challenges will come, and will betrayals and disappointments. You might even doubt yourself if it’s not adding up, especially as it relates to finance, but if you are determined, you will overcome. All the setbacks and challenges are there to serve as a test and inspiration to the vision one has.

The next step is to map out a strategy. Apart from the God-factor and hard work, strategy is the most important ingredient to success. Even if you do the hard work, if you are not strategic, or have a plan, you will fail. Strategy involves knowing the right people who will buy your products or services; networking with the right people, sacrificing for the project and most importantly, knowing how to execute the project.

Another dynamic way of understanding success is understanding the concept of relationship. This ‘relationship’ might be your business partner, spouse, friend or manager. Once you are properly aligned, all the minds, energy and spirit must be at peace, otherwise it will be difficult. It’s widely stated that the best thing that can happen to anyone is to have the right partner whether in business or marriage.

Understanding success also works with finding the right job that aligns with your natural skills, talents and gifts. When you focus on the money as opposed to fulfillment, success might erode you because you might earn money, but lose joy.

In conclusion, to succeed, the first step is to know yourself. This entails practising self-discovery and meditation. Take time to know what’s unique about you, and ask yourself, what’s the one thing I can do with relatively ease, and which can ultimately give me the most result. Once you find it, swing into action, and groom it through self-development in theory and practice.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator.  He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate and creative writer Design Your Destiny and Unleash Your Destiny.  He can be reached via info@gloemi.com

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Police Arrest Father of ‘Fake’ PFIPC DG, Falana Kicks

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2 days ago

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July 7, 2026

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The police have arrested the father of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-acclaimed Director-General of the disowned Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).

Reports said that police officers, on Monday morning, stormed the family residence in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, and picked up Adeyemi’s father alongside a family friend who was visiting at the time. The arrest reportedly left Adeyemi’s elderly mother in distress.

The development is connected to the ongoing PFIPC controversy. The Presidency has disowned the council, saying no such body exists under President Bola Tinubu’s administration. Adeniyi Adeyemi is currently facing charges bordering on alleged forgery, impersonation and related offences.

Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), confirmed the arrest and faulted the police action, describing it as a “substituted arrest” with no legal basis.

“The father has been arrested. There is no legal basis for substituted arrests. The young man has promised to show up in court, so why arrest his father?” Falana said.

Further reports quoting legal experts noted that under the 1999 Constitution, arrest and detention must be personal.

Section 35 guarantees the right to personal liberty and allows arrest only where a person is reasonably suspected of committing an offence. Section 42 further prohibits punishment by association.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled against “guilt by association,” holding that criminal liability in Nigeria is personal and cannot be transferred to relatives. Arresting a parent, spouse or sibling to compel a suspect to surrender is regarded as unconstitutional unless there is evidence that the relative aided or abetted the crime.

By that standard, detaining Adeyemi’s father solely because his son is facing trial would amount to substituted arrest, which courts have previously declared illegal and awarded damages against.

Adeyemi came under public scrutiny after the PFIPC was listed in the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budgetary allocation of about N1.3 billion, despite the Presidency’s insistence that the council was never legally created. The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation has also stated that the council never completed requirements to operate a CBN account and has not received any government funds.

The matter was first flagged in October 2025 after the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) raised concerns that the purported council was performing functions similar to those of the NIPC. The Office of the Chief of Staff subsequently petitioned security agencies over alleged forged presidential documents.

Police authorities are yet to issue an official statement on the grounds for the arrest of Adeyemi’s father and the family friend. Legal observers say they will be monitoring developments closely, with the possibility of a fundamental rights enforcement suit if the detention continues without charge.

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Falana Asks Gbajabiamila to Step Aside for Probe over Alleged PFIPC Fraud

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3 days ago

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July 6, 2026

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Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) has charged President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff (CoS), Femi Gbajabiamila, to step aside and give room for investigation into the allegation of fraud involving his office and the self-acclaimed Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi.

On June 11, 2026 Gbajabiamila denied knowledge of Adeyemi when he presented himself as the Director General of PFIPC which he claimed was non-existent.

Gbajabiamila said he petitioned security agencies in October 2025 after forged appointment letters surfaced and Adeyemi was later charged before the Federal High Court for forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence.

In his reaction, Adeyemi dismissed all the allegations against him, saying he was ready to clear his name in court.

Adeyemi called for an independent panel from Tinubu because those behind the allegations were trying to silence him, stressing that Gbajabiamila issued him an appointment letter.

However, Falana said the Presidency has explanations to make to Nigerians on Adeyemi’s travail.

Speaking on Eagle 102.5 FM, Falana insisted that the presidency has exposed Nigeria to “unprecedented ridicule.

He said: “How did an agency that is not created by law find its way into the Appropriation Act of Nigeria? How did that body get an office in the Federal Secretariat? How did that body successfully open accounts in the Central Bank of Nigeria?

“How did the Head of Service post about 300 staff to that office? The government will have to explain to Nigerians how a sum of N24 billion was budgeted for an unknown agency, as well as how that agency had accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“If this is a conman that can con the Presidency into issuing a letter of appointment, con the Central Bank into opening accounts, con the National Assembly into inserting the agency into the budget, I think the government is kidding.”

Falana said the National Assembly must explain how an “agency unknown to law” was inserted into the budget. Citing Section 81 of the Constitution, he noted that appropriation bills originate from the Executive.

“You cannot have an agency that is not created by law in the budget of a country.

“The government has a duty to ask Mr. Gbajabiamila to step aside to allow for a full investigation in the interest of the country and even in his own interest.”

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Sack Gbajabiamila Now, NDC Tells Tinubu Amid Fake Agency Scandal

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5 days ago

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July 3, 2026

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The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately remove his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, over allegations linking him to an alleged multi-billion-naira corruption scandal involving a purported non-existent  government agency, the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC).

In a statement issued on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, the opposition party described the allegations as grave and said Gbajabiamila’s continued stay in office could compromise any credible investigation into the matter.

The NDC’s demand follows allegations made by Prince Mathew Adeniyi Adeyemi, who claims to be the Director-General of the PFIPC, an agency the Presidency has publicly denied exists.

According to the party, the allegations raise serious concerns about transparency, accountability and integrity within the Tinubu administration.

The NDC alleged that despite the Presidency’s denial of the agency’s existence, the PFIPC purportedly secured budgetary allocations in the 2026 Appropriation Act and opened a domiciliary account, a Pound Sterling account and a Treasury Single Account (TSA) domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The party questioned how an agency described as non-existent could allegedly establish multiple high-level government financial accounts without official approval or the required documentation.

It also called on the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to explain whether forged documents were used in processing the accounts.

The statement further alleged that the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation approved 314 staff positions for the purported agency, describing the development as another issue requiring urgent explanation.

According to the NDC, the allegations also include claims that Gbajabiamila demanded 48 per cent of the agency’s take-off grant, reportedly valued at N27.39 billion, a request Adeyemi allegedly rejected.

The party also cited Adeyemi’s claim that he secured his appointment through the Chief of Staff after allegedly paying N600 million, of which N400 million was allegedly paid through proxies, while N200 million remained outstanding.

It said the alleged unpaid balance reportedly contributed to the Presidency’s subsequent denial of the agency’s existence.

The NDC further alleged that the claims point to a wider pattern of institutional corruption, including the alleged sale of public appointments.

The party also linked the controversy to the death of Babatunde Tanimola, whom it described as an intermediary between Adeyemi and the Chief of Staff.

According to the statement, Tanimola reportedly died in a fire incident at a hotel in Utako, Abuja, on October 22, 2025, a day after the police reportedly received a petition from the Chief of Staff.

The NDC also referenced Adeyemi’s claims that he survived multiple assassination attempts, including an attack along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway on September 7, 2025, and alleged that certain individuals within government are plotting to eliminate him.

Against the backdrop of the allegations, the party demanded the immediate removal of Gbajabiamila to allow what it described as a full and impartial investigation.

It also called on President Tinubu to establish an independent investigative panel to examine the alleged operations of the PFIPC, including its budgetary allocations, financial transactions, account openings and staff recruitment.

The NDC further urged investigators to probe the circumstances surrounding Tanimola’s death and the alleged assassination attempts on Adeyemi, while recommending that Adeyemi be granted witness protection.

The party also demanded that the Chief of Staff produce all official documents signed since assuming office for forensic examination.

In addition, it called for the questioning of officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation over their alleged roles in the matter.

The opposition party also urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigeria Police Force to commence what it described as a thorough investigation without fear or favour.

“The NDC will not accept the usual tactic of issuing a mere defensive press release from the Presidency as a deflective ploy. Nigerians deserve to know the truth through a transparent process that promotes fairness and justice,” the statement said.

The Presidency has previously maintained that the PFIPC is not a recognised government agency.

As of the time of filing this report, neither the Presidency nor Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila had responded to the fresh allegations contained in the NDC statement.

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