Opinion
Opinion: Insecurity: The Agonies of People of Niger State, and Need for Help

By Abdulmajid Ali
It is no longer news that series of violent crimes have been ongoing in Niger State, North Central region of Nigeria, which have led to mass destruction of peoples valuables and above all, loss of lives of both the young and the old, males and females, with no discrimination.
It has been on record that the new dimensions of insurgency or terrorism in Nigeria have given rise to other violent crimes like kidnapping, cattle rustling, murder, destruction of property to booth the perpetrators’ economic powers and/or political egos.
However, the efforts of the military, police and paramilitary in suppressing the skyrocketed violent nature of the region have been so infinitesimal and not been felt, just like a drop of water in an ocean. In the recent past, many cases of mass killing, kidnapping for ransom, arson, mass destruction of property to include farmlands, cultivation etc, have been recorded with little or no reportage or broadcast on the incidences while many feel unconcerned and relaxed. This is like a case of Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s song, “Suffering and Smiling”.
Owing to the recorded cases of violence in Wushishi, Zungeru, Kontagora, Rijau, Tegina, up to certain parts of Kaduna territory, it is crystal clear that the Government and people of Niger State are under severe attacks and oppressions; it is not arguable that they need urgent attention and help from the Federal Govenrment and international communities to salvage them as many of the agonies and anarchies being orchestrated in the region are not escalated or protected in the news. Yet people are killed in scores, while properties are massively destroyed.
The fears of an average Niger man and Nigerians in general are notified to insecured environment alone but also looming continuous loss of lives and property and food scarcity which may rock the nation and the West Africa subregion due to massive destruction of farmlands and cultivations.
In this regard, I personally wish to commend the Nigeria Police Force and the ground troops from other security forces who have been at the battle theatres for their efforts in tackling insecurity in Niger State, but the Federal Government of Nigeria should, as a matter of urgency, rise to its responsibility and rescue the people of Niger State and other parts of Nigeria being riddled with crises.
I appeal to the people of Niger State to be calm while they form a formidable structure closely neated together as a family to assist formal security strategies emplaced to suppress insecurity in the region and Nigeria at large.
In the same vein, I wish to sympathise with the families and friends of those who have been gruesomely murdered in the ongoing brouhaha and encourage those who have lost their properties in various degrees, to restrategise and bounce back to their normal life as the current security challenges will be a thing of the past in no time.
Long live Nigeria
Long live Niger State
DIG Abdulmajid Ali (Retd) is a former DIG Operations, Nigeria Police Force, Abuja
News
Food for Living: The Power of Positive Affirmation

By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friends,
One of the best things that can happen to anyone is to believe in themselves. Often, we don’t see the value and potential we have due to several factors including detractors’ utterances, disbelief in oneself or even past mistakes. Sometimes, we want other people to believe in us before we can believe in ourselves. Ordinarily, this shouldn’t be so.
If one is desirous of stepping up their game, one must understand how to use affirmations. Affirmations are powerful. And more powerful when they are positive. When you affirm to yourself, the universe has a way of affirming your thoughts, imaginations and words. However, it should be noted that affirmations are not about stating what you want, one must also work towards the affirmations, and believe the universe will align with you. One can practice affirmations by either writing it down or speaking it into existence.
Affirmations can be spiritual; they work like faith. If you don’t have faith, affirmations won’t work. You can attract opportunities, blessings, and favors from people when one affirms right. When people see your faith in action, they will generally feel the impulse to support your convictions.
Regardless of whatever situation one may be experiencing, it’s always good for one to feel good about oneself. It’s easy for one to feel discouraged, frustrated and depressed when the lines are not adding up, however, one can change the narrative by affirming to oneself, I expect my every need to be met; I expect the answer to every problem; I expect abundance; I will not lack; I will be great, I will attract blessings, favors, opportunities, etc. All these positive words are meant to trigger us to always think positive thoughts about our life regardless of our situations or what we are experiencing.
As human beings, sometimes, we don’t know the power we have. We tend to give other people power over us. In some cases, we want the world to give us opportunities or platforms to thrive, we fail to understand we are the platform we are seeking. For instance, sometimes we look for big companies, organization to showcase our work or give us opportunities to thrive, and when they fail, we become demoralized. However, if we can look into ourselves, we will realize in this age of technology we can showcase our work and when our supposed idols and organization see our work, they will rate us and give us potential opportunities.
It’s sad to see people begging for platforms to showcase their work. Sometimes they go extra to seek for roles and opportunities as interns or volunteers just to get an opportunity to have their name on their resume. They don’t know they can use the internet to showcase what they have. It’s instructive to note that when you showcase what you have, the platforms you are looking for, will begin to look for you. And when you showcase what you have, speak into it and affirmatively believe it.
This is how affirmation works. When you showcase your work, say I believe my work will thrive, I will get recommendations, my work will attract attention, my business will not fail, my articles will go viral etc. Trust me, when you do this, the people and organizations you are looking for, will start to look for you. As a seasoned creative writer, each week I publish articles, before I send my article to my editor, I do say a word of prayer over my work and trust me, the grace to write and succeed has truly been felt from my tribe. I say this because I do get positive feedback almost on a weekly basis. creative.
Let me share personal experience with you, I have been blogging for quite a while before big media platforms began to give me recognition and opportunity to publish my articles on their media platforms. I believe some of them saw my little effort before they gave me an opportunity.
On a personal note, I have practiced affirmations, and it has worked for me. Let me share a practical example, when I was studying taxation law as a graduate student in New York Law School, I remember when a friend of mine asked me a question, Henry, if your exam is tomorrow, how do you feel you will perform? In all honesty and sincerity, I do know if my professor is kind to me, I will score a C or D, but I told her, I will score an A or B the least. You will be surprised to know, I scored an A- and B+ during that semester. That’s the power of positive affirmation. T
There’s another scenario where I shared on Facebook, I would like Mr. Peter Obi a former Governor in Nigeria who was aspiring to be the President of Nigeria. In three months, the universe connected me to him, and the most interesting thing about our meeting was that he gave me his number and advised me to keep in touch.
In conclusion, in your search for validation and opportunity, endeavor to practice affirmation and see it work like wonder in your life.
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
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Food for Living: Remember and Acknowledge Your Source

By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friends,
There’s always the urge to get certain things done as a living person. Most times, the urge transcends to impatience and desperation as the thirst for fame, power, wealth and success increases. This happens to the extent that the average human being either forgets or fails to take into consideration the process and most importantly, the foundation or origin of their inspiration.
It is worth noting that before anyone decides to go on a journey, several factors play a role; before anyone decides to study a course in college, he must have a sponsor assuming they don’t have the personal financial muscle; before anyone becomes a millionaire or billionaire, there’s always someone responsible for the opportunity; before one becomes a Chief Executive Officer of a company, he must have climbed through the ropes from internship either in the said company or another, and it’s also instructive to note that someone gave him the opportunity to showcase his charismatic work skills; before anyone decides to go into politics, different people play roles either in form of mentors or citizens. There’s always a significant source in the making of a the person. The list is endless.
Why is it necessary to highlight these significant points? The answer is quite simple; nobody achieves greatness on his or her own. Nobody is self made no matter what one may claim. Even God in his infinite knowledge used Virgin Mary to birth Jesus Christ. So, if the saviour of mankind can come in the form of man, why should anyone think he is self made?
It’s sad to see certain people think they have arrived either because they now have money, power, influence or attained a certain height. They begin to act like demi-gods, and sometimes, play God in the affairs of men. They fail to remember they were once nobody, and had nothing.
It’s always good for one to remember their source, and this is very important. Sometimes, when we see people doing great and big things in the world, we wonder what their secret or source is. While some people will be bold to acknowledge their source, others might be a little bit hesitant and decide to keep it as their best kept secret, especially when it involves trade and merchandise.
To know the secret of anyone, look at their lifestyle, some people attribute it to God, some to mentors, mentees, good food, exercise, academics, rest, parents or spiritual leaders. For me, I am unapologetic to state three things responsible for who I am today; the first is God. We live in a society where some people find it hard to acknowledge God publicly for reasons best known to them. I truly know I am not the smartest, strongest or most intelligent, but I can authoritatively tell you, I have seen and experienced the hand of God upon my life.
Another great source of mine is my late parents comprising my late grandmother, my late father and my late mother. They all played significant roles in my life with their prayers and blessings. I can say with all boldness, they are my biggest inspiration and reason I do what I do today. It’s sad to see young men and women who fail to recognize and appreciate their parents because they are either old, not academically exposed or for whatever reason best known to them. Well, I won’t judge anyone, but I do know that the earlier one receives the sense to appreciate their parents, no matter their shortcomings, the better the positive influence it would have in their lives.
Finally, my third major source of strength is the people I work with, especially my immediate team. Like I always say; I’m not just smart, I am only smart by association. I have a team of ingenious minds, who I am very loyal and committed to in any way I can. What attracts me to them is their mindset, attitude and most importantly their talent/gift. If I may add a fourth category, I will say my mentors, there are certain people I look up to based on their position, accomplishment, personality. I call this set of mentors my pinnacle mentors because of who they are, or what they represent. If you would like to know the role of mentors in my life, please read one of my most insightful articles Mentors Are Life Savers.
Let’s get this clear, anyone can be a source. It might not really be a man of substance. Your mentee, child, partner or employee can be your source. What’s important is for one to recognize their role. Like I stated earlier, my team who I work with are my third greatest source, and I strongly believe God is using them to lift me up.
One may be wondering why I took my time to address these salient points. The reason is not farfetched. It’s regrettable to see people who have attained certain heights, and they seem to forget their roots. Some even forget their source. Like accomplished journalist, Dr. Dele Momodu, would always quote his late ‘unlettered mother’, who admonished him to “never forget the son of who you are”. That’s a very deep statement.
Acknowledging one’s source is very critical to one’s growth. It speaks volumes about one’s mindset and personality. Let’s take a case study where someone assisted you to become great, and ends up insulting or using sarcastic words on you. They may even be uncharitable to you. I get all these narratives, still acknowledge them.
Acknowledging one’s source can be ambiguous. As Christians, sometimes we pray to our creator, give up our daily bread. By doing so, we are remembering our source, but quite often sometimes when we eat this bread and become well fed, we tend to forget from whom it came, and in some cases, fail to give credit to whom it is due. This is the attitude of ungrateful minds.
I will conclude with a prayer thus; in our quest for greatness and search the material things of the world, may we not forget our source, who gave us opportunities when we were nothing. Can I hear you say amen!
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
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Food for Living: Continue to Grind

By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
When one grinds, he is practically working or studying very hard, often in a repetitive way for a better future outcome. It can also be the act of hustling or striving for success, according to internet overview. This principle explains the phrase, ‘rise and grind’, which encourages individuals to wake up and work hard to achieve goals.
Having said that, please permit me to be a bit personal about my next exposition. It’s for an instructive reason.
As a Christian, and practicing catholic, I’m trained on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary. In one of the mysteries – Sorrowful mysteries, we have five other mysteries namely: The Agony in the garden, scourging at the pillar, crowning with thorns, carrying of the cross and death and crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
One may be wondering what the symbolic and relative nature of the above mysteries are. Well, the answer is quite clear; the mysteries of the sorrow mysteries symbolize the difficult terrain Jesus Christ must go through for the salvation of mankind. As a Christian, each time I meditate on the sad experience of Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind, it makes me rethink about life, especially whenever I am tempted to sin against God.
As human beings, we also experience the same trajectory in our effort to succeed, and this entails the act of ‘grinding’. Life never promises to be easy, and it will never be easy. As a matter of fact, the higher one goes, the tougher the hurdle.
It is an undisputable fact that nothing good comes easy. Whether you have an interest in running a business, raising a decent family, earning a degree, or improving on your personal development, one must grind, and this entails exploring all legitimate means. Sometimes, life does not give you what you want, but it will surely give you what you deserve.
So, when you grind, and life doesn’t give you what you desire, don’t give up, continue to grind. The mistake most people make is giving up quite early when the odds seem to be against you. Sometimes, when you don’t get what you want, there might be several reasons. It might be a case of one not being prepared or competent for such a position. It can also be a case where the universe has something different for you which one might not see in the immediate sense.
Again, when one doesn’t get what they desire, it is not because they don’t have the capacity, or competency, it might be a case of the timing not being right. On a personal note, I have applied for job opportunities and was rejected; I have tried to meet with resourceful people, but access was denied; I have written hundreds of articles, but only a few went viral. The stories are many, but one thing is certain; I learnt a lot from those experiences.
In your grinding, you might think nobody is watching or noticing your efforts, trust me, your efforts and work are seen. In due time, the work will be rewarded. I can testify to this statement because over time, I have been in the wilderness tilling the ground to make an impact. I am surprised to get award nominations in addition to being an award recipient on several occasions.
In some other cases, I get recommendations on the streets from people who see my work. One of the major challenges may be having the right person to spot your work. One may be wondering how it works. Let’s take the case of a man, who is trying to woo a lady. The lady in question knows what she wants in a man or the qualities and values. So, when you approach a lady, and she says no, what a rational mind will do is to explore other options that appear to be beneficial to both parties, and who knows in the long run, she might give consent.
Grinding can mean a thousand and one things depending on which aisle one is resting on. According to a notable ghost writer, Dr. Yomi Garnett, “The best pictures of you are yet to be taken. The best stories about you are yet to be told. The best of your years still lies ahead. So, affirm to yourself today: The good days are here, but the best is yet to come.”
So, while waiting for the best pictures, stories, and years ahead, continue to put in the work of learning, exploring opportunities, having faith in the creator and universe, and continue to grind. By so doing, the right opportunities will be attracted to you when the timing and the universe feel it’s for you.
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