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Opinion: Rising Above Obstacles
By Tolulope A. Adegoke
“Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” – Christian D. Larson
Never underestimate your power to cope with whatever problem or challenge that may confront you in your life’s journey. Moreover, chances are that the same problem must have been surmounted by others before you. So, rather than being overwhelmed, find ways to turn your adversities to opportunities – then harness such with practical wisdom!
I have seen a lot of people turn their challenges into creative experiences, through a positive mental attitude. They turned their scars into stars, and then beautified and brightened up the world with it.
This reminds me of a friend of mine. After graduation, he went for the one-year mandatory National Youth Service. After the Youth Service, all his efforts to get a job proved abortive. He decided to pursue his master’s degree in a bid to upgrade his knowledge and enhance his resume for better job offers. But getting the funds for the programme was a major challenge. And there was nobody that was willing to help him out. In fact, when he told his uncle, who he was living with of his intention to pursue another degree, the man simply smiled and asked him, “So how do you intend to fund it?” When he replied that God would provide, his uncle retorted, “Okay, let God provide for you!”
Steve – that’s my friend’s name – dragged himself into his room, knelt down and cried unto God with groaning. Thereafter, he resolved to resume classes anyway. A few weeks to examination, however, he was issued a notice to pay his fees or risk being prevented from writing the examination. Somehow, he was able to gather half of the school fees but, the school did not permit part payment of fees (including departmental charges). So, he kept on struggling, believing and maintaining a positive mental attitude. He kept on saying, “My God will provide in full for me.”
Two days to the examination, he received a call from someone who indicated interest in blessing him financially. With that, he was able to conclude his programme in flying colours. He soon got a job with one of the para-military forces in Nigeria and within a short, his financial struggles were over.
Steve’s testimony is a demonstration of the triumph of positive thinking. It all looked impossible at the beginning, but he was able to maintain being positive in the storm till God calmed it in his favour. God is always willing to favour us but He must see our determined actions before He steps in.
Working While Waiting
In harnessing your potential amidst obstacles, there is always a time for patience – a time when you are waiting for the intervention of God to turn the tide in your favour. We saw this in the story of Steve that we have just considered. This is similar to what the farmer does after planting as many seeds as possible.
However, as it is with every serious sower, the time of waiting is not a time of idleness. Patience is not a virtue if you sit back and wait for your problem to solve itself. If you are unemployed, for instance, you cannot expect the phone to ring or an employment letter to miraculously show up in your mail box. Nor can you just expect the government or a union to call you and offer you a job or a company to re-hire you.
Of course, miracles happen. But merely waiting for a miracle could be the worst thing to do. Besides, most challenges have the in-built capability to grow more serious with the passing of time. To wait without making the necessary moves or preparations or taking steps of faith, is to waste time and opportunity. And to wait may be to surrender empowerment (leadership) to the vicissitudes of life.
Moreover, if you really want to solve your challenges, do not wait for others to pick you up. Pick yourself up and save your destiny from within. Tackle your life’s issues yourself by rising up for yourself. Understand that you are the one primarily responsible for your life. Do not expect anyone else to do it for you. Lift up your eyes to God and stretch your hand to your own capabilities (your empowered zero).
If you wait for or expect people to rescue you, you are likely to be disappointed. The worst part is that you may become bitter. And it takes much time and divine intervention for bitter people to get better! They end up hating themselves and blaming others, forgetting that everyone has his or her challenges to contend with.
Take Charge, not Take Care!
It is common these days for people to add “take care” to their “goodbyes”. I however consider it better to say, “take charge”, “take chances” or “take control”! This is because people who “take care” are often over-sensitive to the issues of life which mostly end up demoralising them. They end up being weak; they don’t go far!
Taking charge means harnessing your “empowered zero” by maximising opportunities so as to successfully manage life issues successfully. You need to take charge. You need to take chances. You need to take control! Life itself is a risk! But when you consciously and positively take charge, you easily manage and profit from the risks. When you take control, you consciously and unconsciously manage your life’s issues.
Taking charge is a decision you have to consciously make, not only to harness your empowered zero but to ultimately make a success of your dreams. It is the force that propels your endeavours to success, then, to greatness. Never lose control of your life or relinquish it to someone else! Always have the rugged belief that your problem or challenges can be surmounted when you take the responsibility of taking charge!
Watch out for the Book titled: “The Power of an Empowered Zero” (From Zero to HERO) 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.
The Federal government has emphasised that the “no work, no pay” policy remains an existing labour law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) begins on a two-week warning strike today.
The government stated that it will be guided by this law should academic activities be disrupted in the nation’s universities.
In a statement signed by the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo, the government reaffirmed that while it continues to demonstrate goodwill and flexibility, it will not abdicate its responsibility to uphold fairness and accountability in the use of public resources.
The statement, however, reassured Nigerian students, parents, and the general public that the Federal government remains firmly committed to maintaining industrial harmony within the tertiary education system.
It added that the Minister of Education has appealed to all academic unions to embrace partnership and dialogue, rather than confrontation, in the collective interest of the nation’s higher education sector.
ASUU, on Sunday, announced a total and comprehensive two-week warning strike in public universities across Nigeria.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday at the University of Abuja, the union’s National President, Professor Chris Piwuna, stated that there has been no meaningful progress to prevent the union from moving forward with its planned industrial action.
He explained that the 14-day notice, issued on September 28, 2025, had lapsed without any substantial response from the relevant authorities.
He stated that all ASUU branches across the country have been directed to commence a full withdrawal of their services beginning at midnight on Monday, October 13, 2025.
According to Professor Piwuna, the strike would be both total and comprehensive, in line with the resolution reached at the union’s most recent National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.
On Wednesday last week, the Federal Government appealed to ASUU to shelve its planned strike, assuring that it is committed to addressing all outstanding demands raised by the union.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, said the Federal government is already looking into the demands of the union and progress is already being made in the ongoing negotiations between both parties.
The minister explained that the Mahmud Yayale Ahmed Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiation Committee had been reconstituted and inaugurated to fast-track talks with both academic and non-academic unions in universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
He added that President Bola Tinubu had given clear directives that all efforts must be made to avoid another disruption in the nation’s tertiary institutions.
Maryam Sanda, sentenced to death in 2020 for the killing of her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, has received a presidential pardon from President Bola Tinubu after spending six years and eight months at the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre.
In a statement released on Saturday by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said, “Her family pleaded for her release, arguing that it was in the best interest of her two children. The plea was also anchored on her good conduct in jail, her remorse, and her embracement of a new lifestyle, demonstrating her commitment to being a model prisoner.”
The pardon is part of a larger decision by President Tinubu to grant clemency to 175 Nigerians and foreigners, including notable figures such as the late environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, Major General Mamman Vatsa, and other members of the “Ogoni Nine.”
“This marked one of the most expansive uses of the presidential prerogative of mercy, touching on high-profile historical cases,” the statement added.
Maryam Sanda’s case first gained public attention when Justice Yusuf Halilu of the FCT High Court in Abuja convicted and sentenced her to death by hanging on January 27, 2020, ruling that she had fatally stabbed her husband at their home.
“She should reap what she has sown, for it has been said that ‘thou shall not kill’ and whoever kills in cold blood deserves death as his own reward,” Justice Halilu declared at the time.
Following her conviction, Sanda’s legal team filed an appeal on 20 grounds, questioning the evidence and alleging bias, but the Court of Appeal dismissed her appeal on December 3, 2020, affirming the conviction and death sentence.
“The circumstances surrounding the death can be the best proof of what is being alleged,” noted Justice Stephen Adah, reinforcing the lower court’s findings.
Police authorities later sought to have the Supreme Court uphold the sentence. Police counsel James Idachaba said, “We are satisfied with the findings of the trial and appeals court, and we are prepared to defend the law’s position at the Supreme Court,” highlighting the commitment to justice in the case.
The presidential pardon list, released on Saturday, is divided into six categories: pardoned individuals, posthumous pardons (including the Ogoni Nine), victims of the Ogoni Nine honoured, clemency beneficiaries, inmates recommended for reduced terms, and inmates on death row whose sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.
The Punch
Nigeria’s digital economy drive was lifted on Wednesday as national telecommunications company, Globacom, expressed its strong support for the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) Business Roundtable on Broadband Investment and Protection of Critical Information Infrastructure taking place at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
With the theme, “Right of Way and Protection of Broadband Infrastructure – The Road to Success in Broadband Investment and Connectivity,” the high-level meeting brings together stakeholders from federal and state governments, the private sector, telecom operators, and regulatory agencies to develop strategies for improving broadband penetration and protecting national telecom assets.
Globacom’s sponsorship and active collaboration at the two-day forum underscore its pivotal role in advancing Nigeria’s digital transformation drive. The company is offering logistical and technical support to ensure the seamless delivery of the event, reflecting its enduring commitment to broadening access to fast, reliable, and inclusive digital connectivity across the nation.
Industry experts have described the roundtable as a strategic platform for aligning government and private sector priorities, addressing challenges related to Right of Way (RoW), and enhancing regulatory coordination to meet the nation’s broadband targets particularly in rural communities.
Globacom’s participation also positions it to contribute to policy discussions on broadband infrastructure protection, investment incentives, and sustainable frameworks for sectoral growth. The company’s continued advocacy for equitable digital access underscores its belief that strong infrastructure and security are essential foundations for a modern, competitive economy.
“We believe that digital transformation must be inclusive and secure. Our participation in this roundtable is a continuation of our mission to support national development through technology. A resilient broadband infrastructure is critical to Nigeria’s economic growth and global competitiveness”, Globacom stated.
In addition, Globacom’s support for the Critical National Information Infrastructure Protection Plan (CNIIPP) reinforces efforts to safeguard Nigeria’s communication backbone against cyber threats and sabotage.
As deliberations progress, Globacom maintains its position as more than a telecommunications provider standing as a key partner in building a digitally empowered, economically vibrant, and secure Nigeria.
