News
Get M.A.D (Make Apt Decisions)!
By Tolulope A. Adegoke
Ideas are best implemented for maximum results when you make decisions and stay committed to them. Winning comes by sticking. To succeed, you must start doing something now and stay committed to it.
People often react differently to the ideas they receive or generate. Some choose to hibernate with their ideas because they are afraid they might fail or they might have to spend their last dime implementing it.
Some people procrastinate. They keep postponing acting on their ideas, until it gets stale or until someone else beats them to the implementation. Fortunately, however, there is a selected few who run with their ideas until the ultimate goal is achieved. I hope you are counted among these few.
Never wait until you are fully “ready” before taking decisions on your ideas – otherwise you may never be able to accomplish a quarter of what you could. The difference between high achievers and low achievers is that high achievers almost always make decisions before they are ready to move – and they stay committed to such decisions.
Your commitment is a vital key to actualising your desired dreams at every level or stage in life. Be wise enough to be dedicated. Do not waste the most precious thing in the world – a good idea; do not waste time either. Good moments and good opportunities must be treasured and fully maximised.
Begin now to harness your empowered zero. Do not wait for any special “inspiration”. Open your eyes; use your head and your heart will follow. Do not wait until you “feel” like it; otherwise, you will be acting by emotion, instead of reason. Your winning starts with your beginning; and you begin by DOING.
Your life today is the aggregate result of the steps you took in the past and the choices you made. Bearing this in mind, you must strategically plan your future because you must live in it to the fullest. Ensure that you get started; never accept defeat (don’t quit). Keep pressing forward, until the hero in you is fully activated and harnessed – until you become a living legend!
Capsules for Effective Harnessing
Remember these capsules at every point of harnessing your potentials:
- Always affirm
- Be Alert
- Applaud
Anybody can amount to something if he will affirm himself and his potentials. Affirm that you can do anything. You can solve that challenge! Yes! You can seal that multi-billion deal. You can get that job! You can be great! You must strongly affirm that you deserve to succeed as much as anyone else. You are an embodiment of God-given potentials which naturally gives you the privilege of deserving to succeed. If you do not believe in your abilities, you may not be able to fully maximise them.
I once could not write the letter ‘g’ correctly. I usually wrote it in the shape of a dumbbell. My mind was not really clear, but through God’s intervention and the help of a very few people that believed in me, I was able to overcome this challenge, as well as developing my latent abilities. I rapidly gained the stamina to believe in my God-given potentials. However, as should be expected, while a few people were helping me to improve, some others were far less considerate, including those who were downright nasty. “Don’t waste your time on him,” they said. But as I continued to strive for the best, I ended up graduating as the overall best student in my department at the first degree level – and becoming even more confident that I was born to deliver solutions and possibilities to peoples, organisations and nations.
I urge you to keep believing strongly that somehow, through God’s intervention and the help of people, you can always reach the peak of your heart desires and fulfil your dreams. You can always make it, even if your approach is different from that of others.
Today, choose to transit from being a zero to a hero, by upgrading yourself intellectually and professionally with a new skill or new trade. No matter the level of your challenges, there is always someone who has the key to wisdom to set you free. This is why you must choose the right mentors and associates.
Understand that you were created in the image of God; you have latent abilities that you must harness. Dr. Robert Schuller said: “When you are inspired with a dream, God has hit the ball into your court. Now you have to hit it back with a commitment.” You cannot fully harness your empowered zero without commitment. Many people harnessed their potentials, but couldn’t stay focused and ended up being devastated.
Bear in mind therefore that, being an embodiment of God’s treasures, you must not fail your generation, and you must not fail God. Cancel negative thoughts, and then count your blessings. Be committed to your decisions. And, more importantly, be ready to take risks because without taking risks, you will never be able to solve problems.
(…The End…)
Watch out for the Book titled: “The Power of an Empowered Zero” (Awakening the Giant Within You) by Tolulope A. Adegoke. Foreword by Dr Yomi Garnett (CEO/Chancellor, Royal Biographical Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U.S.A., U.K., Abuja, Nigeria.) Edited by Ola Aboderin.
Tolulope A. Adegoke is an acclaimed “globalpreneur”, with the mandate to enrich lives and provide the professional, spiritual, academic and leadership empowerment needed to birth, maximize and sustain possibilities in peoples, corporates and nations. He is a prolific writer, frequent keynote speaker and spoken word poet, among others, having written countless articles in diverse reputable fields and honoured many public invitations.
He is also a Senior Administrator.
Tolulope Adegoke can be booked for public events via the contacts below:
E-mail: adegoketolulope1022@gmail.com
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.
The simmering political battle in Rivers State appears to have taken a fresh turn, following the screening of aspirants for the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Assembly primaries, with several loyalists of Governor Siminalayi Fubara failing to make the party’s final list.
In a development already stirring political intrigue across the state, former Obio/Akpor council chairman Chijioke Ihunwo and serving lawmakers Sokari Goodboy and Victor Oko-Jumbo — all widely regarded as strong allies of Governor Fubara — were among those not cleared by the party’s screening committee for various reasons.
Political observers are interpreting their failure to scale through as more than just a routine internal party exercise. They say it is the latest signal of the deepening political fault lines in Rivers, where Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Minister Nyesom Wike, remain locked in a prolonged struggle for political supremacy.
On the other side of the divide, the list of cleared aspirants appears to favour established political figures and returning lawmakers, largely seen as loyal to the Wike camp.
Among those cleared are:
Maol Dumle
Major Jack
Enemi Alabo George
Tonye Smart Adoki
Tekenari Granville
Their emergence is being viewed as a reinforcement of the influence of the former governor within the APC structure in Rivers State.
The screening exercise, announced by Rivers APC publicity secretary Chibike Ikenga, comes at a politically sensitive time, with alignments already forming ahead of future elections and control of the Rivers State House of Assembly remaining a critical battleground.
For many political watchers, the outcome raises fresh questions: Is the APC in Rivers consolidating into a single power bloc? And does this effectively shut the door on Fubara’s loyalists seeking alternative political platforms?
Fubara, elected under the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023, joined the APC last year, following a political dispute with Wike.
The Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) has been factionalized ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The rival factions emerged after its chairman, Governor Hope Uzodimma, was reportedly removed on Thursday.
While Uzodimma insists that he remains PGF chairman, Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun and his Kwara State counterpart, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, are reportedly leading a separate faction.
Another bloc within the forum has reportedly queued behind the duo of Abiodun and AbdulRazaq.
The development, which comes amid growing political realignments within the ruling party, marks a significant crack in the ranks of APC governors ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to reports by Arise TV, details surrounding the disagreement remain unclear, but sources within the party said tensions have been building over internal leadership control and strategic positioning ahead of the next election season.
As of the time of filing this report, none of the factions had made an official clarification regarding the alleged division.
