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Food for Living: Value As Gateway to Success
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value – Albert Einstein
Every man craves attention, approval, appreciation, and admiration. However, if these four cravings of man are to see the light of the day, one must be a person of value. It is the value you offer to the world that makes you get approval; your value will make the world to appreciate you; your value will make you to be admired. Even your enemy will seek for you.
Imagine a sick person, who needs to undergo a surgery, is told, that only Mr. A or B has the expertise to execute such surgery. If the person wants to be alive, he or she will have to seek the services of that person.
The word value means several things to several people. For a real estate agent, it means the price one can pay for a property; to an employer, it means the service an employee or contractor can offer; to a mentor or mentee, it means the skills or achievement they can offer or their achievement; to a married partner or someone in a relation, it can be what makes them unique because relationship comes with value, and to a company or an individual, it can mean that which they stand for.
For this article, we shall focus on how progressive minds can attract opportunities into their lives. It is worthy of note tha the surest way to be rich or wealthy is to have a product or service. Don’t get me wrong, you can be successful with a regular 9-5 job, but when wealth is in the picture, one must have a product or service. Just to reinforce this point, all the billionaires on Forbes magazine have a product or service. None of them have a regular 9-5 job. It’s unfortunate to note that many people want to be rich or known in the world, but they don’t have any product or service to offer the world.
Value comes in different ways. Your value can be because of academic excellence, political relevance, influence, goodwill or social currency. In some cases, value can be the estimate of the monetary worth of (something). It can also be your opinion of someone or how beneficial a person or something is to you.
Value works in dynamic ways. What is valuable to someone might not be valuable to another person. If something is important to you, you will create time for it, just like one cannot be too busy for their family and friends. If someone is important to you, you will make an attempt to meet the person. There have been occasions where people travel thousands of miles to meet people, attend events, and buy clothes, or electronics, and even pay for first class treatment when traveling. The list can be endless. All these are intended to show the value they place on the person, product, or event. If you don’t like something, you won’t invest time and resources on it.
The word value cannot be overemphasized. Do you know that all the money one needs is in the hands and pockets of people and organizations that are around you or far from you. To make value work for you, you must offer your product or service to the right people. One may be wondering how this works. When you have value, the right people and even the world will seek you. Once you can locate your customers, you will be appreciated for the great work you are doing.
The surest way one can get these people is by giving them something of value and they will be compensated for the service or product they offer. For instance, as a Human Capacity coach, I am the author of several published books, I offer training on self-discovery, mindset training, youth development, and career and professional development.
When you offer people and organizations great value, you will be recommended and appreciated in addition to attracting better opportunities. Most people and organizations love to see value for the money they give out.
In conclusion, resolve today to discover what product you should sell or what service you should offer to the world to access their money. Your value must have a positive effect on the world as opposed to being negative. Your value must come with principles, ideologies, and most importantly, must solve problems.
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
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned social media personality and self-acclaimed relationship adviser, Okoro Blessing Nkiruka, before the Federal High Court in Lagos over an alleged N36 million fraud.
Blessing CEO was arraigned on Friday before Justice D.I. Dipeolu on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and alleged theft involving N36 million
According to the EFCC, the defendant allegedly obtained the money from one Mrs. Ifeyinwa Nonye Okoye under the pretext of securing a six-bedroom duplex in Lekki, Lagos — a claim prosecutors said she knew to be false.
During proceedings, defence counsel P.I. Nwafor informed the court that the defendant had refunded N24 million to the complainant and requested a short adjournment to allow discussions over the outstanding balance.
“We have an application to make. The defendant approached the nominal complainant and refunded N24 million out of the N36 million.
“We are asking for a short adjournment to resolve the outstanding balance. The nominal complainant agreed that if the balance is paid, they can prevail on the EFCC to drop the case,” the lawyer said.
However, prosecution counsel S.I. Suleiman opposed the request, insisting that the commission was not involved in any private settlement arrangement.
“The complainant here is the Federal Government of Nigeria, and we are here for the arraignment. We urge that the defendant take her plea, as that is the business of the day,” he argued.
Ruling on the matter, Justice Dipeolu held that settlement talks could continue independently but would not stop the arraignment process.
“The defence and the nominal complainant can have discussions even during the pendency of the charge. It does not affect the proceedings before the court. The defendant will take her plea,” the judge ruled.
One of the charges alleged that between July 14 and 17, 2024, Blessing CEO fraudulently obtained N36 million from the complainant over a purported property lease in Lekki.
Another count accused her of unlawfully converting the money to personal use, contrary to provisions of the Criminal Code Act.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following her plea, the prosecution asked the court to commence trial and remand her in a correctional facility, while the defence requested that she remain in EFCC custody pending bail arrangements.
Justice Dipeolu subsequently ordered that the defendant be remanded in EFCC custody and adjourned the matter to June 5, 2026, for commencement of trial.
Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, has narrated how his principal almost sacked him because of Lagos State House of Assembly member, Desmond Elliot.
He said he almost lost his job during the Lagos Speaker Mudashiru Obasa impeachment saga.
Recall that lawmakers of the Lagos State House of Assembly had said that Obasa was impeached to save the integrity and sanctity of the House of Assembly and Lagos State.
The lawmakers, while jointly addressing journalists at the Assembly Complex, said: “It’s just a change of baton. It is only death that is constant, so change is inevitable.”
However, with President Tinubu against the impeachment, the Speaker was restored and peace returned to the Assembly.
Addressing members of the All Progressives Congress on Thursday, Gbajabiamila said, “I almost lost my job as Chief of Staff last year because of Desmond Elliot. Mr President called me to his house in Abuja during the Lagos Speaker Obasa saga.
“He said, ‘I hear this Desmond is your boy, the one we gave you,’ and I said, ‘Yes, sir. He is one of the people causing problems in the Lagos House of Assembly.’
“Immediately, I told the president that Desmond wasn’t part of them, but the president replied and said that, from the intelligence he received, Desmond was part of them.
“After that meeting, I called Desmond and told him what the president said, and asked him to leave the group if he was part of them. Three days later, the DSS DG called me and said there was a problem.
“He said your name is being mentioned, that you’re the one behind the impeachment saga and that you’re supporting Desmond.
“I spoke to the DSS DG and told him I had spoken to Desmond and he denied being part of the group. I then asked Desmond to make a public statement denying his involvement in the impeachment saga, but till today, he hasn’t done it.”
By Eric Elezuo
The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has announced the kickoff of the 2026 West African Second-term School Certificate Examination, saying it would be computer-based, and decrying the decline of male participation as against their female counterparts.
The Council made the disclosure on Monday, while addressing the media at its National Office in Yaba, Lagos, on steps so far taken to ensure a hitchfree 2026 Examination.
In his address, the Head of National Office, Mr. Jacob Josiah Dangut, remarked that the 2026 computer-based WASSEC, started on April 21, 2026 with practical test papers, stressing that the nitty gritty parts of the exercise will kick off on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, therefore the reason for the sensitization of the Nigerian public on the exams.
He noted that nearly two million candidates registered to sit for the examinations.
In his words, “A total of 1,959,636 candidates from 24,207 schools enrolled for the examination.
“Of this number, 958,564 candidates (48.92%) are male, while 1,001,072 candidates (51.08%) are female. This reflects an increase in female participation and a decline in male participation compared to last year.”
Dangut called on policy formulations to take the matter serious so as to reinvent the urge for education among the malefolks.
Meanwhile, Dangut informed the public that candidates are being tested in 37 subjects across 97 papers, supervised by about 29,000 senior secondary teachers nominated by state ministries of education.
Dangut said the rise in computer-based entries followed the successful debut of the format in 2025, with more schools and offshore institutions adopting it for its efficiency and alignment with global standards.
The 2026 exercise will run through to June 19th.
