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Opinion: The Gift of Pain: Maximizing ADVERSITY as a Builder!
By Tolulope A. Adegoke
“Adversity is an adventure that develops a ‘venture’ at the junctures of ‘what’ would have destroyed the structures of your purpose on this plane called Earth, but eventually turns out to be a weapon and a builder towards fulfilling your destiny and lifting the weights of glory! How you see situations or challenges and confront them matters, and they are functions of your mindset as a being called MAN. You determine what (must) come out of it! Adversities are surmountable! You are the actor in the picture. Your posture influences the picture. I charge you to BE THE HERO! Thereby, maximizing the scenarios in your favour! It is, therefore,
Acutely advertising!
Destructible!
Vulnerable!
Episodic!
Revival!
Surmountable!
Impactful!
Terrifying! But, it is all about
YOU!” – Tolulope A. Adegoke
John 16:33[NKJV]: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’
Romans 8: 37: ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conqueror.’ [NKJV]
ADVERSITY is a builder. It is to a man; what fire is to gold! Fire purges, melts, heats the gold, yet makes it SHINE!
It is the way that a man sees adversity that he would get from it. If you take it to be a builder or ladder, it would build and lift you [ vis- à- vis].
It is the challenge that comes to one’s way that brings out either the best or worst character in a man.
Winners today were once failures, but they were determined enough through the order of divine grace and strong-will to face it all and breakthrough, which eventually culminated to them being globally celebrated in their areas of callings!
It is the same adversity that breaks one person, that builds another! It all depends on the way we manage and wire our mental and spiritual focuses. You either rise up or succumb to the pressures that come with adversity! It is left for you to pick yourself up, bounce- back like the palm tree and encourage yourself to surmount the mountain(s) before you! Once the mountain is surmounted, you enter into glory.
Adversity is what builds our spiritual and physical muscles, so as for us to be fit enough to bear or carry the weight of glory.
Adversity is like an examination to a student; that gives him promotion or demotion, which is determined by his level of preparation and his level of mindset towards becoming a victor or victim, hero or zero!
It is based on our individual levels of reactions to the ‘adversity’ that gives us edge to surmounting it. It can make or mar you. It can make you in the sense that, if you embrace it with rugged faith, then, you would come out strong; but, if you submit to it, it would crush you. Kindly permit me to say that Dr Yomi Garnett, Yinka Oba, Fela Durotoye, Strive Masiyiwa among others are living proofs [you could ask to interview them in person on how true this is.]. Even, the testimonies of Job, Joseph, Paul the Apostle among others in the Holy Bible lingers on and on.
You must not see ADVERSITY as a problem, but a challenge that must be confronted with hope, faith, love and hard & smart works to conquer; which are the courageous weapons for successes that leads to greatness in the face of tribulations, no matter the number of times it comes.
You must always see yourself on the other side of it. What you see attracts what you get!
A wise man once asked his children: can you say a professor is a failure? They replied NO! The father responded: Wole Soyinka failed the West African Senior Secondary Certification Examination nine [9] times… The children screamed! But can you still call him a failure, today? No, the children replied… The father then asked why? Then, the children responded ‘because he confronted his fears and was determined enough to surmount it by hard work and with the influence of divine grace…and eventually succeeded.’
The moral of this illustration is that: you are not a failure until you give up! Today, you call him Prof. Wole Soyinka, but as at the time he was failing WAEC, most people called him a dullard.
Adversity is a ladder to greater levels of glory!
You cannot get your reward until you finish your course!
You cannot get your crown until you are done with the cross!
No guts, no glory! You cannot overcome the wilderness until you grow wild!
You cannot get through to the promised land until you are completely processed (refined)!
No gold ever shines without passing through the furnace!
You cannot become more until you have been mocked!
You cannot have your prizes until you have fully paid your prices! what we regard as adversity is a setup for us to overcome and step up! It is a junction or curve on our lives journey to fulfilling destiny! Don’t interrupt the processes of growths and sustainable developments.
Adversity is examination in disguise to building our muscles so as to be fit enough to carry or bear the weight of GLORY!
Therefore, adversity is:
Acutely advertising!
Destructible!
Vulnerable!
Episodic!
Revival!
Surmountable!
Impactful!
Terrifying! But, it is all about
YOU! You determine what must come out of it! Adversities are surmountable! You are the actor in the picture. I charge you to BE THE HERO!
You are not a failure until you give up! Adversity unveils us to realms of glory! It compels us to aim higher, while it charges us to take the stairs!
Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr. Reveals that: ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy!’
Truly, it is not easy to be EASY, we must be determined, we must work and do our best to escape genuinely, but only God delivers from all uneasiness… only God gives the grace to overcoming all odds…!
Stop being frustrated when you are confronted with challenges. Rather, engage audacious faith to confront and conquer your fears! It is a revival, and you are in for a revolution that would propel the required evolution. Adversity, is an advance citadel of learning in disguise! I call it the ‘Advance(univer)sity’, where reality poses a great threat, just as examinations in the four walls of a university.
Thank you all for reading this #EpistleForChampions
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.
All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Lagos State, Samuel Ajose, has declared that the endorsement of Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat as the next governor by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) will not stand.
GAC, regarded as the highest decision-making body of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State, endorsed Hamzat, as its consensus candidate for the 2027 governorship election.
The decision was reached during a closed-door meeting held at Lagos House, Marina, indicating an early alignment within the ruling party ahead of the next electoral cycle.
Speaking after the session, GAC leader, Tajudeen Olusi, said members unanimously agreed on Hamzat, expressing confidence in his ability to sustain and build on the state’s developmental progress.
Olusi explained that the meeting was convened to deliberate on the party’s forthcoming primaries and assess the governorship position ahead of the 2027 elections.
Speaking about the GAC adoption of Hamzat as Lagos APC consensus 2027 governorship candidate on Arise News on Tuesday, Ajose said that Sanwo-Olu and others are trying to force President Tinubu into making a decision.
“I don’t think our president, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is giving in to what they are doing.
“What they are just trying to do is to coerce him into taking a decision, and I don’t think that decision will stand.”
The House of Representatives has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to borrow Five Hundred and Sixteen Million, Three Hundred and Thirty-three Thousand, seven ($516,333,007) US dollars in syndicated financing from Deutsche Bank AG.
The House approved it during the plenary on Tuesday in Abuja after the presentation of a report by the deputy chairman of the House Committee on Aids, Loans, and Debts Management, Abdullahi Rasheed.
The money is expected to fund the construction of sections of the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway.
President Tinubu wrote to the lawmakers, seeking a $516.3 million loan from Deutsche Bank to support the construction of the road.
The president said the loan, to be sourced from a syndicated financing facility by Deutsche Bank, will fund sections 1, 1A, and 1B of the project, which covers about 120 kilometres.
Tinubu requested a resolution in line with Sections 16 and 21 of the Debt Management Office (Establishment) Act, 2011, to enable the federal government to secure the financing for Sections 1, Phase 1A, and Phase 1B of the project.
The project is a flagship initiative of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and is targeted at enhancing national connectivity, improving the movement of goods across key economic corridors, and drastically shrinking travel time.
The 1,000-kilometre project will link Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos states, connecting Illela to Badagry.
According to him, the financing arrangement will be backed by a partial risk guarantee from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC).
He said the Federal government will provide counterpart funding of over N265 billion for land acquisition, compensation, and related infrastructure.
The former Lagos governor said the loan is structured for nine years and includes a three-year grace period.
It has an interest rate pegged at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange SOFR plus 5.3 per cent per annum.
Already, the Federal Executive Council has approved the financing plan.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested a former chairman of defunct Skye Bank Plc, Tunde Ayeni, over alleged money laundering, misappropriation and diversion of funds amounting to N36.54bn and $30m.
Ayeni, a businessman, was arrested in Abuja on Thursday, and is currently being held at the commission’s facility.
The arrest followed an EFCC probe into alleged misappropriation and diversion of funds said to have been obtained from Polaris Bank through multiple entities linked to him.
“Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested a former board chairman of defunct Skye Bank Plc and businessman, Tunde Ayeni, in connection with alleged money laundering, misappropriation and diversion of funds to the tune of N36,540,058,400.00 and $30m.
“Ayeni was arrested sequel to the investigation of the EFCC into alleged misappropriation and diversion of funds to the tune of N36,540,058,400.00 and $30m obtained from Polaris Bank Plc by different entities linked to him.
“The funds were loans obtained allegedly for specific investment projects but subsequently transferred to other entities’ accounts. Investigations showed that, though the loans were obtained for purposes such as finance of marine security activities, electricity distribution contract, estate development, they were diverted to the NITEL/MTEL asset acquisition through NATCOM account,” one of the sources said.
Another source said the commission is currently probing 12 companies allegedly linked to Ayeni, which it said were used to obtain the loans from Polaris Bank.
“Twelve different companies linked to Ayeni are being investigated by the EFCC. They are entities he allegedly used to obtain loans from Polaris Bank for his shady activities. The loans are depositors’ funds fraudulently obtained and frittered into diverse wasteful purposes. Ayeni will be arraigned in due course upon conclusion of investigations,” the source said.
When contacted, EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale confirmed the arrest but declined to give further details.
The Punch
