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Food for Living: You Are the Captain of Your Life

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By Henry Ukazu

Dear Destiny Friends,

I would like to begin today’s article with an experience I had with elementary school students. I was privileged to speak with the amazing students on what they would like to be in the future. I started by telling them about myself and how I became a lawyer, author, life coach and a public speaker before asking them to tell me what they would like to be in the future. It was interesting to hear the amazing interest and desires those kids have in mind.

I shared practical and insightful tips with respect to how they can achieve their desires. My messages to these young kids were centered on believing in themselves, and realizing that they are the captain of their lives.

Each of us were once like those amazing students. We all had dreams of becoming a doctor, lawyer, engineer, actor, pastor, etc., but while some of us were able to reach, surpass our goals and even aspire to conquer more grounds, some of us unfortunately, could not achieve our heart desires and goals. One reason or another could be adduced for for the failure.

Did you know your life is like a ship sailing in the waters, and you have the power, authority and capacity to direct and take it to the destination of your choice?  As you sail, you will definitely experience storms and challenges, but you must endeavour to take absolute charge. If you don’t, there is the tendency that things might end disastrously.

To prepare your ship, you need to have your crew onboard. Imagine your crew as your mind and thoughts which will direct your life. Being the captain of your life gives you the freedom to do what is necessary for you, because if you do not govern your life, it will be governed by others.

As the captain of your life, nobody knows you more than you know yourself. Each of us have a ship, but it’s quite unfortunate some of us don’t sail.

You will surely direct how your life will unfold when you sit on the driver’s seat, and take absolute control. Just like a dog cannot give birth to a pig and a lion cannot give birth to a goat, you will definitely get what you sow depending on the attention you give the ship of your life. Little wonder those in the know say garbage in, garbage out. Success, with every respect in the books, is never a guest of the weak. To succeed, strength of character is required just like a lot of processes and strategies. However, one must not lose focus of the two most important features of success; the “God factor” which I call “grace” and the “human factor” which I can call the determination.

You may be wondering why I mentioned the God factor and the human factor. You need the grace of God to succeed in life nor matter how intelligent and hardworking you are. When you have the God factor, even your weakness will be celebrated; you’ll find favour with men; you will work less and thrive where others worked so hard and fail. Also, you need to put in the work if you really want to succeed. Even if you have the God factor, remember God will not do the work for you, you will have to put in the time for the ‘God factor’ to bless the works of your hands. Isn’t it true that the God who saved you without your assistance cannot also save without your assistance?

The man, who is the captain of his life takes ownership just like the captain of a ship or the pilot of a plane. Nobody, I repeat, nobody, will hand over success to you. You will have to demand it.

Before you can be the captain of your life, you will have to know yourself, what works for you, and what doesn’t work for you. You will, for all intent and purpose, master your life. And when you do, every other thing will become secondary. As the captain of your life, every other thing in life answers to you.

Here is a practical concept of how you can be the captain of your life. You must be able to master how to use money, and it will be a slave to you. It is quite unfortunate to note that many people have allowed money to enslave them. They fail to understand that money answers the name you give to them. If you call money your slave or a servant, it will respect you. You are not meant to be a slave to money. Money is meant to serve you, and not the other way round. If you allow money to decide your choice of job or the person you will marry, you are a slave to money. When you cannot be bought, you have reduced money yo your slave. However, it’s okay to work for money for a period, but it should not be permanent.

Morale: Master money, don’t serve money.

According to scholars of jurisprudence, to captain your life, you need to have four pillars in shape: Relationships, Health, Work and Provider-ship and Spiritual Development. All of them ought to be given equal attention because no one is superior to the other.

Take time to examine your life and ask yourself; am I the captain of my life or am I just a crew member in other people’s ship?

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Terrorist Attack: Lagos Police Beef Up Security Around Schools, Worship Centres

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The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Olohundare Jimoh, has disclosed that armed personnel have been deployed to all parts of Lagos State to protect schools and other public places.

CP Jimoh disclosed this on Monday while briefing journalists on the activities of the command in the last few months.

He also disclosed that no fewer than 56 criminals have also been arrested for different crimes in the last few months.

The police, however, stressed that the crime rate in the State has gone down significantly during the period under review.

The reinforcement of the security around the State may not be unconnected with the recent resurgence of kidnapping and violent attacks in some parts of the country.

According to police boss, the command also recovered ten exotic vehicles from robbers in different parts of the state.

CP Jimoh said: “The security situation in Lagos is not alarming, and we are firmly on top of the situation. During the period under review, there have not been any extraordinary or significant security problems throughout the bigger city.

This is not due to the police effort alone, it is due to the whole population and the collaboration and support of the public, individuals and other members of the public that have come to identify with the police and ensure the safety and protection of life and property throughout the State.”

CP Jimoh continued: “We are making significant progresses in the area of crime fighting and prevention. This with the introduction of new strategies.

It is due to the positive result that has led to the recovery of about 10 vehicles within the last few weeks.”

He stressed that during the month under review, the command recovered 10 vehicles stolen and one motorcycle removed from park.

Across multiple operations in November, the Command recovered six firearms, including locally made pistols, cut-tosize guns, a single cut-to-size barrel gun, multiple live cartridges, dangerous weapons such as a machete, a battle axe, and an assault dagger, as well as Nigerian military m camouflage, charms, and fake currency valued at four thousand dollars. ”

“These achievements are a testament to our sustained November strategy aimed at dismantling criminal gangs, intercepting stolen property, removing illegal firearms from circulation, and strengthening public safety across Lagos State.

“The total number of weapons and items recovered are: one machete, one battle axe, one assault dagger, one Nigerian military camouflage, one charm, and fake 4,000 USD,” the CP also stated.

He added: “These items were seized during intelligence-driven operations aimed at neutralising gangs responsible for violent crimes and coordinated attacks in different parts of Lagos State.

The recovery of these weapons and materials significantly disrupts the capabilities of criminal groups and enhances the overall security landscape of the State.”

CP Jimoh also urges people who may want to come and celebrate the Yuletide period in the state not to entertain any fear.

He noted that increased police surveillance had been put in place to prevent any breakdown of law and order during the celebration.

He added that he had also directed all Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers, Tactical Squads, and Unit Commanders to fortify worship centers with adequate security during services.

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UK Govt Rejects Tinubu’s Request to Transfer Jailed Ekweremadu to Nigeria

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The United Kingdom Government has rejected Nigeria’s request to deport former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, to serve the remainder of his prison term at home, insisting he must complete his sentence in Britain.

Ekweremadu, 63, is serving nine years and eight months after he, his wife Beatrice, and their associate, Dr Obinna Obeta, were convicted in 2023 for conspiring to exploit a young Nigerian man for his kidney. The organ was intended for transplant to Ekweremadu’s ailing daughter, Sonia, in what became the first conviction for organ trafficking under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act.

While, Beatrice, who received a four-and-a-half-year sentence—with half served in custody—was released earlier this year and has since returned to Nigeria, however, a delegation led by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, met with officials of the UK Ministry of Justice (MoJ) last week to discuss the possibility of transferring Ekweremadu to Nigeria. A report by The Guardian UK, said a senior MoJ source confirmed the request was declined. The UK was reportedly concerned that Nigeria could not guarantee that the former lawmaker would continue serving his sentence if deported.

While the UK government declined to comment on the specific case, a spokesperson stressed that prisoner transfers are approved only when they align with the interests of justice. Another official added: “The UK will not tolerate modern slavery and any offender will face the full force of UK law.”

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Food for Living: Who’s Your Source?

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By Henry Ukazu

Dear Destiny Friends,

What would be your answer if the question, ‘who is your source’ is thrown at you? Tough, right?

Let’s begin from the beginning. Source may mean different things to different people. For a spiritually minded person, source may mean divinity while for those in the academia, it is where they get their research information from. Again, in courtroom settings, opposing counsels are noted to verify evidence to ascertain their origin. Even judges sometimes insists on for the authenticity of documents before admitting them as evidence. Even a child looks upon his/her parents as their source. Source therefore, can refer to the origin, or emanating point of a particular thing, action or activity. It can be that quality, trait or character that sets one apart and draws other things his way.

Somebody’s source can be his money, charming smiles, lovely voice, or even their access. The source varies depending on the aisle one belongs.

It must be said however, that the fastest way to destroy someone is to silence their source. For instance, the earning power of a man is seen as his bargaining power. So, if someone wants to frustrate him, they can tackle his business or job. Just like if someone wants to frustrate a child, the target will be the child’s parents because they know if the parents are down, it might affect the child.

As humans, sometimes we depend on our parents, mentors, friends, boss, husband, wife, children, siblings, leaders, benefactors, lecturers or men of God for support. Don’t get me wrong, all these are great support, but they are not the main support we need as human beings to go to the next level of life. They are all relative support one needs to thrive.

Source is like a trade secret. Nobody tells anyone what their secret is. Those, who have distinguished themselves in their particular fields might refer to God as their strength, but would surely remain silent as to the extra work they put in to get to where they are.

Let me give you a practical example; as a published author I can authoritatively tell you that God has been extremely kind to me. My books have opened doors for me, they has connected me to lots of resourceful people in addition to providing opportunities for which has brought value to my business. An ordinary man on the street will think I have been favored specially; some might even say I’m lucky or I’m a blessed man. But the truth is that I did my part. So, despite all my attributed and perceived success, I will tell you God did it for me. Again, remember, if I had not taken the time to write the manuscripts and have them published, networked with the right people, maybe I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunities I have received in recent times.

The moral is that everyone has a source, but not everyone is bold enough to tell you their source, but I can boldly tell you my source is God.

There was an interesting story I recently watched on social media where Pastor Mildred Okonkwo shared a true-life story about her marital life. According to her, despite Pastor Kingsley always being on television preaching and receiving ovations, she and her husband (Pastor Kingsley Okonkwo) were living in poverty to the extent that sometimes, they don’t have food to eat.

Sometimes, they had to manage to squeeze the tube together to get paste to brush their teeth and when that wasn’t enough, she had to use her kitchen skills to cut the container to scoop paste. She further stated that the situation degenerated to the extent they had to join crumbs of soaps together before they could get a decent bath. That was how bad it was.

This is where it gets interesting; she stated that she came from a family of those, who marry broke men. The situation was literally depressing. It made her take a deep breath to ascertain if that was going be her new reality. Her pensive mood was activated, and she asked herself for how long she would continue to live like this. Many thoughts were running through her mind. During one of her meditative moments, she got a revelation, she would be putting too much pressure on her husband, and it wouldn’t save the situation because her husband is not her source. God is her source.

When she came to that realization, she began to seek the face of God for blessings upon their family. It was at that moment she realized, as human beings we carry the blessings. This is the reality of most women. Most times in marriage, people put the burden and enrichment of their life on their husband instead of looking up to God, and within themselves. Who told you, you can’t make money as a person? The man you are looking up to doesn’t have two heads, four legs nor does he have four eyes, four hands, or fours ears.

It’s sad to note that sometimes most women think a man will take care of them; this mindset limits their creative abilities and possibilities because they think their is limited or may never come if a man doesn’t marry them.

It’s instructive to note that men and money don’t make people rich, rather it is the blessings of men and money that make us rich. Just like your salary doesn’t make you rich, rather the blessing on your salary makes you rich. One maybe wondering how this works; when one receives blessings from their parents, mentors, benefactors, boss, or even strangers who are beneficiary of their good deeds, that blessings have a way of positively affecting their lives in such a way that whatever the person lays his hands on will be fruitful. This is a typical example of how source works because the original blessing has manifested.

In conclusion, I will ask you, what’s your source? Take time to ask yourself, what am I you working on? Who can assist me to get to the next level? What is the requirement(s)? When these are figured out, take time to nourish and preserve them because one’s source is his power.

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  and Unleash Your Destiny .  He can be reached via info@gloemi.com

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