News
Opinion: From Vagabonds to Champions (Pt. 2)
By Tolulope A. Adegoke
“Regardless of our levels of giftedness or even accomplishment, we all must keep learning. There must never be room for complacency because he who stops being better stops being good. Moreover, it has been proven again and again that constant learners are constant earners! In as much that there is breath in you, there is no excuse not to learn; even if it is just to learn and understand that the heart beats for a reason…so that the purpose of our existence may be valued, honoured and managed with dignity and effectiveness to the glory of God Almighty and for the benefits of mankind!” – Tolulope A. Adegoke
The Ultimate Key
Redemption in Christ Jesus is the ultimate key to true empowerment as. This the only key that gives you full access to fulfilling the mandate of heaven on earth. Your gifts and talents are heavenly resources deposited inside your earthly vessel. Activating them through an intimate relationship with Christ gives you full empowerment to reign on earth as seen in Matthew 28:18 (KJV). According to the Book of John 1:12-14 (KJV) “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name…”
You may be in this world, but you are not of this world, neither are your gifts. But you are needed on this earth because you have an important mission to execute with your divine endowments. Your true identity is not your physical body but the heavenly gifts that it conveys. You are the full identity of the power of God that you carry!
Do not die with your gifts in you; rather, die empty! It is your zero-turned-hero (your activated and maximised gifts) that will speak for you while you are gone as a result of your impacts on humanity! It is by their fruits (that is, talents, gifts and extent of impacts) that every man would be weighed and remembered.
The Example of David
David again serves as a great model for us in activating and making the most of the deposits of treasures within us. Even as a young man, David realised the potentials he had; and he put them to work to his own advantage and to the progress of his nation and the glory of God! He tapped into his gifts and engaged them with the power of AUDACIOUS (RUGGED) FAITH AND RESPONSIBILITY!
David was responsible for safeguarding his father’s flock of sheep. He did his job so faithfully and diligently that he was ready to die to make a success of it. He confronted a lion and a bear at different times when they came to prey on the flock (1 Samuel 17:34-36). He was determined to serve the interest of his father, even at his own expense. I can imagine him telling the lion and the bear, “You will have to kill me first to get to any of these sheep. I am responsible for their welfare!”
David could have easily fled for his life and given his father excuses about the fate of the flock. Interestingly, what the Bible records is that David confronted the lion and the bear (which can be interpreted as his fears, limitations and challenges) and killed them with his bare hands. We are not told that he prayed to God to deliver him or that God sent His angels to protect him; yet, he conquered and kept his flock safe as a dutiful shepherd.
I believe that David’s sterling character and approach to responsibility must have further moved God at this point. I imagine God beginning to compare David, a guide of sheep, with Saul, a king over the Israelites, at this point. It was obvious, as his later encounter with Goliath showed, that Saul could not risk his life to safeguard the people whom God had entrusted to his care – unlike David who could risk his life for mere animals. Saul couldn’t confront Goliath, let alone kill him; he was too obsessed with comfort and luxury and couldn’t be moved to quit his comfort zone. No wonder God catapulted David from the wilderness to the palace. He made David king over all Israel, despite all odds; and there was no longer a trace of Saul on the throne of Israel.
Here is God’s message to you in all of these: “I am the Almighty God…my speciality is doing the impossible…I use the foolish things of this world to confound the wise…I use the egg to crack the nut to disgrace the stone…I use the basket to fetch water to disgrace the bucket! I am willing and able to turn your empowered zero into a hero!”
Activation through Desire to Develop
Regardless of our levels of giftedness or even accomplishment, we all must keep learning. There must never be room for complacency because he who stops being better stops being good. Moreover, it has been proven again and again that constant learners are constant earners!
Here is an interesting example of a Brooklyn physician, whom Arthur R. Pell called Dr. Curtis. Being a baseball fan, he often went to see the Giants team practise. In time, he became quite friendly with the team, and was invited to attend a banquet given in their honour. After the coffee and nuts were served, several prominent guests were called upon to “say a few words”.
Suddenly, he heard the toastmaster remark: “We have a physician with us tonight, and I am going to ask Dr. Curtis to talk on baseball playing.” Was he prepared? Of course! He had the best preparation in the world. He had been studying hygiene and practising Medicine for almost a third of a century. He could have sat in his chair and talked about this subject (health impacts of baseball playing) all night to the man seated on his right or left. But to get up and say the same things to even a small audience, well, that was another matter. In fact, that was a paralysing matter. His heart doubled its pace and skipped beats at the very contemplation of it. He had never made a public speech in his life, and every thought that he previously developed now took wings.
What was he to do? The audience was applauding. Everyone was looking at him. He shook his head. But that served only to heighten the applause, to increase the demand. The cries of “Dr Curtis, speech!” grew louder and more insistent. He was in a serious dilemma. He knew that if he got up, he would fail; that he would be unable to utter half a dozen sentences. So, he arose, and without saying a word, turned his back on his friends and walked silently out of the room, a deeply embarrassed and humiliated man.
The positive side however was that he didn’t let things remain that way for long. Soon after he returned to Brooklyn, he enrolled in Dale Carnegie’s course in public speaking. He was ready to do all he could not to face that embarrassing situation again. He was a kind of student that delights an instructor: He was in dead earnest. He wanted to be able to talk, and there was no half-heartedness about his desires. He prepared his talks thoroughly, practised them with a will, and never missed a single session of the course. He did precisely what such a student always does: He progressed at the rate that surprised him, that surpassed his fondest hopes.
After the first few sessions, his nervousness subsided, his confidence mounted higher and higher. In two months, he had become the star speaker of the group. He was soon accepting invitation to speak elsewhere; he now loved the feel and exhilaration of it, the distinction and additional friends it brought him.
A member of the New York City Republican Campaign Committee, hearing one of his public addresses, invited Dr. Curtis to his party. How surprised that politician would have been, had he realized that, only a year before, the speaker had fled a public banquet hall in shame and confusion because he was tongue-tied with audience fear.
It is instructive that Dr Curtis took a very bold step without looking back to develop his latent ability, and thus empowering his zero (weakness) to become a hero. He demonstrated wisdom in seeking to acquire public speaking skills to improve his life and society.
I urge you, reader, to take a cue from this man and many others who have turned their weaknesses to strengths and achieved the seemingly impossible by submitting themselves to the diligence, determination, discipline and sacrifice that training requires. Whatever level you are now, you can be so much better. YOUR BEST IS YET TO COME!
Thank you all for reading.
Watch out for the Book titled: “The Power of an Empowered Zero” (Awakening The Giant Within You!) byTolulope 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.
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
There’s no doubt that human beings by nature are insatiable. When we get one opportunity, we always look for another. When we attain one height, we always look for another accomplishment. Isn’t it true that the end of one mountain is the beginning of another.
However, I don’t think it’s selfish for anyone to dare to succeed.
Being ambitious doesn’t make one an opportunist or disloyal. It all depends on one’s perception or outlook to life. It’s just natural for one to dream big. It’s only ugly when the process one chooses to achieve his desires becomes dirty and nasty.
According to a former Nigerian presidential candidate and seasoned Economist, Mr. Peter Obi, “if you must be referred to as “Your Excellency”, then the process through which you arrived in office must be excellent”.
If you desire to be reckoned with on the journey of existence, you must be legitimately hungry for success. One’s hunger for success will facilitate the drive to accomplish great tasks despite daunting obstacles posing as challenges.
When one has this mindset, one will not be bothered by the noise which serves as obstacles and challenges along the way. Negative and weak minds are always concerned on why something won’t work. They tend to focus their energy and reasons on the obstacles facing them. But great and productive minds always focus their energy on the reasons why it will work. This is the spirit of an insatiable mind who is a goal- getter.
It’s instructive to note that we can’t please everyone. According to Bill Cosby, a famous actor, “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.” Isn’t it true that when you talk, people will still talk about you, when you don’t talk, people will talk about you, so whether you talk or not, people will still judge you, so, do what’s best for you. There’s nothing you can do to please human beings. Your best option is to live your best life.
To understand how the insatiable nature of man works, one must be oneself. You don’t have to “please” anyone. Be yourself, and don’t try to be like anyone just to curry favour. It’s important to note that when you are yourself, the people that matter will come through for you, and the people that don’t matter will gradually find the bearing in another space because those that truly care don’t bother and those that bother don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.
Life has truly taught me to focus on the important things of life as opposed to the mundane things. It’s truly sad to see people spending more time on the little things of life, and spending little time on the important things of life. That’s just a misplaced priority.
When you are yourself, the best people can do is to copy or imitate your style. They can never imitate your creativity nor can take your originality from you.
We live in a world or society where people don’t generally care or show empathy. Most people tend to live around themselves, their family, and close associates. They generally find it hard to lift a finger to assist others for reasons best known to them. Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka once said, “we live in a wicked generation”, re-echoing the voices of a lot of people of the world. Some people in authority just have criminal expertise in amassing wealth of opportunities meant for the citizens without thinking of the citizens they are meant to serve.
It’s worthy of note that not everyone will like you nor support your work, but when you find people who truly care about you; please hold them tight. This is because despite having family members you have shown love and compassion, they might not still appreciate you even if you lay your life for them, they will still find something to say. Again, this is the insatiable nature of man.
It’s okay for everyone not to like you, normalize living your life for God, yourself, family and those that care about you. If everyone likes you, you have a problem.
Did you know that you can get a new family from friends, strangers, and acquaintances? These sets of people might appreciate you more than your own family members. They might not demand or under appreciate you like your family members and close friends or associates. Any little support you give them will be highly appreciated. Their focus is to see you do better.
In conclusion, as you desire to succeed in life, never give in to failure until you have made your last attempt, and never make your last attempt until you succeed. This literally means whatever you desire, dream it, think it, say it, and believe you can achieve it. This principle is generally applicable to relationships, businesses, family, personal and professional development.
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 Your and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
A federal judge in the United States, on Thursday, put a temporary block on President Donald Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship.
The ruling imposes a 14-day halt on the enforcement of one of the most controversial executive orders Trump signed hours after being sworn into office for a second term.
It comes after lawsuits were filed by a total of 22 states, two cities and numerous civil rights groups.
“This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,” senior US District Judge John Coughenour was reported as saying during the hearing in Washington State.
“I’ve been on the bench for over four decades, I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one is,” said Coughenour, who was appointed to the bench by a Republican president, Ronald Reagan.
Birthright citizenship is fundamental to America’s national identity, with the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution decreeing that anyone born on US soil is a citizen.
It says, in part: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Trump’s order was premised on the idea that anyone in the US illegally, or on a visa, was not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the country, and therefore excluded from this category.
AFP
The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo State capital has upheld the death sentence of Ramon Adedoyin, a prominent businessman and hotelier, for his involvement in the murder of one Timothy Adegoke, a former postgraduate student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State.
Delivering the judgment on Thursday, the court affirmed the earlier verdict of the Osun State High Court, which had sentenced Adedoyin to death.
“The judgment of the High Court of Osun State stands. Adedoyin’s appeal is dismissed in part,” the court declared in part.
The Court of Appeal, however, set aside some aspects of the lower court’s orders, including the forfeiture of the Hilton Hotel and the order for Adedoyin to pay for the education of Adegoke’s children.
Furthermore, the court ruled that it had no jurisdiction to impose penalties outside the statutory provisions
Adegoke’s death was reported in November 2021 after his corpse was found at the Hilton Honours Hotel in Ile-Ife, Osun State, where he had lodged.
The hotelier had travelled from Abuja for an examination at a distance learning centre in Moro, Osun State on November 5 of that year.
He had checked into the hotel but was reported missing after two days. However, Adegoke’s body was found days later, leading to a probe that linked his death to Adedoyin and others.
In May 2023, Adedoyin and others were sentenced to death after they were found guilty of murder and conspiracy to murder.
But dissatisfied with the judgement, Adedoyin approached the Appeal court to dismiss the sentence and conviction.
The court of appeal, on Thursday, however, upheld the conviction and death sentence of the hotelier.
