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Food for Living: You Can’t Rush Destiny
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
One of the most discussed topics in the world is the concept of destiny. To some people destiny is predetermined, to others it is what you make out of life. Destiny can be likened to leadership. If I may ask; are leaders made or born? According to some schools of thought, leaders are born, while to another school of thought, leaders are made. It all depends on the side of the decide to key in yourself. One thing is certain however, leaders are made and leaders are born. This is because some are born to acquire the skills of leadership by reading and learning from the best while some are born with such quality and then they develop it. According to Williams Shakespeare “some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them”.
In discussing destiny, a lot of questions normally come to mind, amongst them are: is there anything like destiny? Can destiny be delayed? Must one work to accomplish/manifest destiny? These are some of the numerous questions which of course can be a discussion for another day because they are very ambiguous and somewhat sensitive. In today’s conversation, we shall focus on fulfilling one’s destiny.
In our contemporary society, a lot of people worship money. The crave of money has made a lot of people focus on what is not relevant in life thereby leading to misplaced priority. The crave for money has made many people miss their path to life. If we are honest to ourselves, the most priced wealth we may like to have is to be “fulfilled” in life. This is because when you are fulfilled, nothing else matters. It is instructive to note that you might have all the money you desire and still remain miserable because you lack joy and fulfillment. Don’t get me wrong, money is good, but we have seen rich people commit suicide despite the enormous wealth in their possession. That’s a question we need to ponder upon.
It is also instructive to note that if the only thing you have is money, you’re poor. According to some schools of thought, when they have money, it can complement their peace, passion and fulfillment to some extent. One can imagine how true the statement might sound, but a closer look will reveal that they may lack internal peace and fulfillment, especially when they don’t have what makes them happy.
One of the priceless gifts and assets one can have is peace of mind. Nor matter how wealthy you are, if you don’t have peace of mind you’re literally poor. This is because you’ll always be in a perplexed mood.
In seeking wealth, the first thing to ask yourself is, what’s my purpose? In the same vein, in seeking to know more about your destiny, the first thing you need to do is to ask your creator. Once you have been able to figure out your purpose, you’re close to fulfilling your purpose on earth. It’s quite unfortunate to know that a lot of people fail to discover themselves before leaving this world. We struggle with our identity to find purpose which shouldn’t be. It should be noted that we are all packages/gifts waiting to be opened.
It is a well-established fact that succeeding in life entails following lots of laid down principles, some of which might be unpopular. However, the big picture should be the vision as opposed to vested interest. Confident people don’t go about begging to be recognized; they know what they are made of, hence they work on their craft knowing fully well that at the right time, they will get to the end of the tunnel where light will shine.
Furthermore, genuine success in life is a gradual process. There’s nothing like an overnight success. It is very sad and unfortunate to note that due to the crave for fame and material things, lesser minds condescend to criminal and nefarious acts just to attain some level of success. This shouldn’t be the case, especially if you know yourself. The whole word literally stands out for the man who knows where he’s headed. If you truly know yourself, you don’t need anyone to sing your validation. Success will truly come to you if you play by the rules of the game, especially those destined to succeed
Globally, the world has seen rational minds who are desperate for power and material wealth and lose out simply because they were not destined to have it. One of the best things that can happen to any human being knowing himself. Once you know yourself, you can attract opportunities, especially again if you are destined for success.
At creation, you were not responsible for choosing when, how and where you’ll be born, neither are you responsible for choosing your gender. You may have the dream of working in a particular industry, company or even contest for a political election, but if you’re not destined to be in that industry, even if you’re opportune to get there, you’re likely going to crash when you get to the top. Even if you don’t crash, you might not be happy despite having everything together.
Therefore, I will strongly encourage you to maintain your lane and stay focused. Rushing to attain wealth without having substance is like setting up yourself for disaster. When you have a business, you need to be consistent in your craft. If you are a student, you need focus to study your dream course. If you’re a teacher, you need to be rich ‘upstairs’ in order to impact resourceful knowledge. The list is literally endless.
Life generally involves wisdom, sacrifice, patience and understanding in order for one to appreciate the inherent blessings being offered. You may have toiled day and night, but then that’s the price of success. You need to put in the work and hope and pray the universe will appreciate your work. We are all destined to succeed in life, but the simple reason why we don’t truly succeed is because we are either too busy imitating other people or we fail to look inwards at what’s inside of us that makes us unique. There was a story about two friends digging for gold, one was close to hitting tons of gold, but he relented while his friend was able to strike gold. He literally left all he has been doing just to continue to focus his energy on his friend’s exploration instead of concentrating on his work, not knowing he was on the verge of hitting jackpot.
When our plans don’t go as planned, sometimes we feel frustrated which can make us detour. However, if we remain focused, we’ll reap the fruit of our labour. It’s important to note that circumstances don’t say who we are, they reveal who we are.
In conclusion. destiny can be delayed, but it can’t be denied. What is for you will surely wait for you to claim it when the time is right. Therefore, don’t try to rush your destiny, otherwise, you might reroute your success.
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 and President of gloemi.com. He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
Three Nigerian secondary schools are in the ring for the grand prize of N5m in the ongoing Glo Innov8 National STEM competition for girls in Senior Secondary Schools across the country.
The three top finalists were selected for their originality and innovation in the different entries for the competition. A total of 20 secondary schools were picked from over 200 schools which registered for the competition. After a series of considerations, 10 of them made it to the semifinal from which three; Ephraim High School, Isolo Campus, Lagos; Regina Pacis International School, Onitsha, Anambra State; and Peakfield Academy, Jos, Plateau State eventually coasted home to the finals.
Schools from Plateau, Kano, Lagos, Rivers, Edo, Borno, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Oyo, Anambra, FCT, Delta, Kaduna and Adamawa states had signified intentions to participate following a call for entries by Glo Foundation, Globacom’s corporate social responsibility arm as part of its celebration of the 2025 International Day of the Girl Child.
Glo Innov8, a STEM-driven challenge, has scheduled prizes worth N5 million to the three schools in the finals. The competition “is geared at inspiring young girls to Compete, Innovate and Win, while also strengthening their confidence and expanding their knowledge in STEM subjects”, Glo Foundation explained.
The eventual overall winning school will go home with a cash prize of N2,000,000 while the 2 students representing the school will each get a laptop. The Teacher/Mentor/STEM Coordinator also gets N200,000.
The schools that come second and third places and their Teachers/Mentors/STEM Coordinators will also receive mouth-watering consolation prizes.
The three female judges of the virtual phase of selection of the top 20 schools said they were excited by the quality of presentations by the competing schools. One of them, Tosin Olabode said: “I was particularly impressed by the prototype presentations from some schools. They demonstrated that they had done their homework”.
In the same vein, Amina Gabriel disclosed that she was thrilled by the variety of ideas that the schools came up with. “The schools presented innovative solutions tackling issues in agriculture, security, waste management, and firefighting. The top 10 schools showcased outstanding prototypes, from apps to robots, making the judging process truly competitive. I’m grateful to Glo Foundation for the opportunity to serve and support young girls in STEM”, she said.
According to Sharon Ibejih, the third judge, “This competition has showcased a highly competitive next generation of women leaders in STEM. This was an excellent exercise and a means to encourage more students in STEM to develop problem-solving and innovative thinking skills”.
The overall winning school will emerge at an event set to hold later this year at the Mike Adenuga Centre (Alliance Française), Ikoyi, Lagos.
The leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB), Nnamdi Kanu, has filed a motion to stop the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in his trial for alleged terrorism.
Justice James Omotosho, on November 7, fixed November 20 for judgment on the case.
The judge fixed the date after Kanu’s defence was foreclosed following his insistence that he would not enter his defence under a repealed law.
However, in the motion on notice marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, he personally filed, the IPoB leader sought seven reliefs.
In the application dated November 10 and filed same date, Kanu sought an order arresting the delivery of judgment in charge no: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015.
The document was made public on Tuesday.
In it, he alleged that the proceedings were conducted under a repealed and non-existent statute and in disobedience to the Supreme Court’s directive contrary to Section 287(1) CFRN 1999.”
He sought a declaration that by virtue of Section 287(1) CFRN, the trial court was constitutionally bound to give effect to the Supreme Court’s finding that count 15 (now count 7) “does not exist in law,” and its failure rendered all subsequent proceedings null and void.
He also sought a declaration that the court’s failure to take judicial notice of the repeal of the 2013 Terrorism Act, contrary to Section 122 Evidence Act 2011, vitiates all steps taken thereunder.
The IPOB leader equally sought a declaration that by virtue of Section 76(1)(d)(iii) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to try him in the absence of proof that the alleged conduct constituted an offence under Kenyan law or of any Kenyan judicial validation or extradition order.
Besides, Kanu sought “a declaration that the plea purportedly taken on March 29, under a repealed and non-existent statute and in violation of Section 220 ACJA 2015 is void and incapable of conferring jurisdiction.
President Bola Tinubu has dispatched a strong delegation to London to address the situation of Ike Ekweremadu, a former Deputy Senate President, who has been imprisoned in the UK since March 2023.
The delegation includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi.
The team arrived in London on Monday and held discussions with officials from the UK’s Ministry of Justice.
Alkasim Abdulkadir, spokesperson for Tuggar, said on Tuesday that the presidential delegation was in London to engage with UK authorities to consider the possibility of Ekweremadu serving the remainder of his prison sentence in Nigeria.
The London Metropolitan Police detained the Ekweremadus in June 2022 after a man was deceitfully presented to a private renal unit at Royal Free Hospital in London as a relative of their daughter Sonia, in what turned out to be a failed attempt to convince medical professionals to perform an £80,000 transplant.
The 21-year-old man, who had allegedly been promised employment in the UK, reported the incident to the police in May of that year, saying that he had been brought to the country for an organ transplant.
In March 2023, the former presiding officer of Nigeria’s Senate was convicted of organ trafficking by a UK court. Beatrice, his wife, and Obinna Obeta, a doctor connected to the case, were also found guilty.
This verdict marked the first of its kind under the UK Modern Slavery Act.
On May 5, 2023, Ekweremadu received a nine-year and eight-month prison sentence, while his wife was sentenced to four years and six months, and Obeta was given a ten-year prison sentence.
In his ruling, Judge Jeremy Johnson determined that Beatrice should serve half of her sentence in custody and be supervised for the remainder. However, she was released from prison in January and has since returned to Nigeria.
