Metro
Set It Up & Step It Up: Positioning Yourself to Prevail & Prosper
By Tolulope A. Adegoke
“You need a plan to reach your goals. It is your plans that take or get you to a place, not just your dreams. Dreams without an active plan will take you to nowhere. It is a plan that empowers and exposes you to the discipline and responsibilities required to achieve your dreams or set goals. A plan teaches you “HOW” to get there, it is your blueprint.
This is your time to set in place some plans that lead you to an ‘expected end’. By the time you get to the ‘end’, you shouldn’t be surprised, because success is intentional; it is deliberate. It is plans that takes you to success, and it is planning that helps you succeed” – Tolulope A. Adegoke
There should be synergy between your actions and ambitions. You should be able to look at your actions and tell your ambitions. From your ambitions, I will be able to tell where you are going by what you are doing.
If what you are doing doesn’t tell or prophesy where you are going, then you are doing the wrong things. Since you are a limited resource, then you are not enough to go round; that means, you have to choose where you have to expend your energy. You cannot tackle everything at the same time. What you are doing must reveal or prophesy where you are going.
A plan is important, not just a dream. A lot of institutions teaches about dreams and vision, but they tend to dish the real deal in parts or halves. You need to understand that getting your plan lined up (to align) with where you are going is far more important. You need a plan to reach your goals. It is your plans that take or get you to a place, not just your dreams. Dreams without an active plan will take you to nowhere. It is a plan that empowers and exposes you to the discipline and responsibilities required to achieve your dreams or set goals. A plan teaches you “HOW” to get there, it is your blueprint.
This is your time to set in place some plans that would lead you to an ‘expected end’. By the time you get to the ‘end’, you shouldn’t be surprised, because success is intentional; it is deliberate. It is a plan that takes you to success, and it is planning that helps you succeed.
The Holy Bible says: “write the vision, make it plain, so that whosoever that reads it may run with it.” Somewhere in your life, there ought to be a perfectly Mission Statement: your Vision, Purpose and Goals. That’s what is done in business, and you are in a business to earn a living. What’s your vision? What’s your purpose? What are your goals? With the aforementioned, you are able to choose what is yours wisely. Such that when people offer you things that are not in your Mission Statement, you can say NO because that’s not what you do. A lot of things can be very good, but if they are not in alignment with where you are going, you just have to let them go because you are a limited resource, which is specifically wired for a purpose or calling.
The Book of Exodus 25:1-9 unveils so much: “And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, speak unto the children of Israel, that they may bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and rams’ skins dyed, red and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, Oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil, and for sweet incense, Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate. And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the patterns of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.”
Could God have designed a tabernacle? He is a Master-planner, but He invited His people into the process and planning, and gathering the raw materials. You can quickly tell or deduce by what they are gathering that they are getting ready to build something. Also, one of the most profound statements spoken by God to Moses in the above verses is “Build according to pattern”. In other words, you should have a pattern for living. What God meant by the above is that: “I want you to build according to what I have showed you, do not build outside my plan.”
What you need is that you should get your vision from the Lord; this is simply the vision of where you are going, and this is “WHY” I put you on Earth; this is the purpose I have for you to do. Your job or duty on Earth is to build on Earth what God has already shown you. So what has God shown you? whatever God has shown you is your purpose and vision. A plan simplifies the process of tasks for an easy accomplishment of set targets. Pattern helps you grow; it builds you and gives you a niche. You are here to build on Earth as Man according to purpose and pattern which has been revealed by God.
Most people have no pattern. This is where mentoring comes in to lead you to act according to a designed pattern or system. Mentoring is about giving somebody a pattern to operate with; it is about giving or revealing and availing to somebody what they can see: walk the way I walk, step the way I step. Ask yourself, genuinely, “do you have a pattern?” Do you have a pattern for a successful career, marriage, business or ministry? Have you ever been around someone who is succeeding? You cannot imitate what you have not seen! People who don’t just hear the word, but do the word prospers and keep going up, challenges notwithstanding, but they continue to succeed because they are obedient and attentive to a laid out pattern of success.
A plan is a clear strategy which is usually documented for the purpose of succeeding, leading, conquering and achieving set-targets or goals in any facet of human endeavours. If you must prosper, then you must not fail to plan!
You must understand that success is always intentional, though many people act as if it isn’t, but it really is. You do not graduate from College and be surprised how it happened; you don’t lose weight by accident; you don’t run a marathon and say you do not know how you did it! The authentic truth is that nobody succeeds by accident.
The next thing you must not fail to understand here is that, you need to forgive yourself for making mistakes. You may have done something so foolish. Success isn’t a magic pill, but an intentional act for a change to occur via the renewing of your mindset, it is a process, it is going to take a little time, but it will work if you work it.
Invest Extra Income
Any unexpected income that is beyond your budget is the kind of money you should invest. Stop engaging in lavish spending. Understand that you do not need to buy what you do not need at all! Other people are investing in the idea that you will spend; that’s why they built a mall; that was their investment, expecting you to spend your money in it so that they can save it.
You open up streams of income by investing your extra income, and you don’t start spending like the prodigal son (a fool). Don’t spend beyond your limits again. Now, you have understood that there is need for added investment pockets. In the Book of Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus Christ taught the same concept about investment. Even if He didn’t teach it, you still need to know these concepts of investment because you need to do it for your own good!
One of the biggest errors or mistakes we make is that whenever we a get a lump-sum of money, the first thing we try to do is to pay off all our bills, and what you do not realize is that when you are trying to pay off all your bills, you have bills again. You need to maximize opportunities. Gradually continue to pay your way out of debts by using the measure called DISCIPLINE. Keep the money by saving it; Grow the money by investing the money!
The Holy Bible says, “you should bring forth fruits, so that your fruits may abide.” God implies that: “I am interested in getting you to a place that you stop losing everything I am giving you. What you know now will change the next five years of your life.
How can you love somebody and not have a life insurance? So you leave them struggling, evicted and uncared for? It isn’t about the luxuries or the expensive gifts or items. I charge you to convert them into assets, and get an insurance! Set your priorities straight in-line with what makes sense!
Stop accepting what keeps depreciating, and stop ignoring what keeps appreciating. Stop paying for your emotions! Even if you love a thing or luxury or property, don’t buy it if it is beyond your financial means or budget. Quit the emotion, where motion is required for your legs to step back. Stop spending too much on what is not necessarily important for you. Buy the basic needs and invest the rest so that as you rest, the profit yields!
A plan makes you a planter (sower). The idea is the seed; the plan makes you the planter. Every planter (sower) is eligible for the harvest of whatever he or she sows or plants! Ensure that you update your plan on a regular basis, because things change, so that you can make this year your year of effective and sufficient productivity. You must have things in order. Every of your steps must count! Are you positioning yourself in the line of your dream? You need to get ready to do it before you do it! You need to look like it before you are it! Remember, God anointed David to be king while he was still a shepherd boy. God was gradually positioning David into Royalty. God told Samuel in the Book of 1Samuel 16:13 (paraphrased), “I have got a Man in the House of Jesse, find him, I want you to anoint him to be king.” At first, after David was anointed to be king, he was still a shepherd boy, but rumour heard it all across the territories in his time that David was going to be king. You need to realize and understand that God is much more interested and focused on “WHERE” you are going than where you are, at the moment; and He is committed to plan and ride with you, if you will be reasonable enough to take responsibilities and endure the processes required to arrive at the successes that leads to greatness through a PLAN or pattern (strategy) that is well detailed for shifts and positioning to prosper and prevail in your areas of calling or purpose.
…to be continued.
Thank you 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.
The Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Bayo Ojulari, has acknowledged growing complexities in the effort to revamp Nigeria’s state-owned refineries.
Although the Port Harcourt refinery began processing crude oil again on November 26, it was later shut down in May for maintenance.
Meanwhile, rehabilitation work is still ongoing at the Warri and Kaduna refineries.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the 9th OPEC International Seminar in Vienna, Austria, Ojulari said NNPC is in the process of reassessing its refinery strategies, with plans to conclude the review by the end of the year.
“So refineries, we made quite a lot of investment over the last several years and brought in a lot of technologies. We’ve been challenged,” he said.
“Some of those technologies have not worked as we expected so far. But also, as you know, when you’re refining a very old refinery that has been abandoned for some time, what we’re finding is that it’s becoming a little bit more complicated.
“So we’re reviewing all our refinery strategies now. We hope before the end of the year, we’ll be able to conclude that review. That review may lead to us doing things slightly differently.”
When asked whether the review could result in selling the refineries, Ojulari said a sale remains a possibility.
“But what we’re saying is that sale is not out of the question. All the options are on the table, to be frank, but that decision will be based on the outcome of the reviews we’re doing now,” he said.
Ojulari also addressed the cost of oil production in Nigeria, stating that operating expenses range between $20 and $30 per barrel.
“For the cost of crude production, there’s a capital cost and there are the operating costs,” he said.
“The operating cost right now in Nigeria is hovering over $20 per barrel, which is quite high.
“Part of that is because of the investment we’ve had to make in terms of security of our pipelines, which as you know, today we have 100 percent availability of our pipelines. That came out of significant investment.
“So we believe with time, with stability, that cost will start going down, but for now it’s somewhere between $25 and $30 a barrel.”
Looking ahead, Ojulari said NNPC aims to increase Nigeria’s oil output to 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of the year.
By Eric Elezuo
A group, Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation (CJMR), has called on the governor of Ekiti State, Abiodun Oyebanji, and other well meaning Nigerians, to come to the aid of a female inmate at the Ibara Custodial Centre, Rashidat Abdul, who is reported to be in critical health condition, and needs urgent medical attention.
The deteriorating health of the said inmate, was reported by officers at the Custodial Centre to the Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation (CJMR), a grassroots organization focusing on human rights and access to justice for those deprived of their rights on death row and in detention.
Speaking with The Boss, the Coordinator of the group, Hezekiah Deboboye Olujobi said, “Upon seeing the woman’s health condition during our visit to Ibara, we pleaded that she be transferred to a hospital where she could receive the necessary medical care. Despite concerns about the financial burden, we took this step of faith to save her life. She is now admitted to Ogun State Hospital, Abeokuta.”
Narrating the genesis of the inmate’s ordeal, Olujobi added that “Rashidat Abdul was sentenced to death by the Ado Ekiti State High Court. She appealed the judgment, but her appeal was unsuccessful. The court convicted the entire family based solely on the testimony of one individual relying on third-party information, without the presence of the alleged witness in court. It is also important to note that her son had just sat for his WAEC examination before their arrest.
“We submitted appeals to the Ekiti State Board of Mercy in September last year and again in March 2025, but these pleas have yet to receive the attention of the Ekiti State Governor. We have conducted a thorough review of the court records, including the brief of argument before the Court of Appeal, and we can see the innocence of this woman and her husband. While the appeal is still pending before the Supreme Court, we are appealing to the human and Christian conscience of the Attorney General of Ekiti State, Hon. Dayo Apata, to look into this case. God delights in true justice and mercy; God hates oppression, so must we.
“The critical state of this woman’s health calls for urgent attention from concerned individuals in Nigeria and abroad. The officer in the prison maintains transparency in this matter, and we are committed to doing the same.
“This morning, 9/7/2025, I received a message from the officer informing us that the funds we deposited have been exhausted. There is an urgent need to purchase injections costing ₦10,000 each daily, conduct X-rays and a series of tests from time to time, engage a caregiver and physiotherapist, provide feeding, and buy supplements to aid her recovery. Additionally, payment for the hospital bed space is required, along with a stipend for transportation for the security personnel on guard and other logistics.”
The group therefore, is appealing to the governor of Ekiti State, Oyebanji and other well meaning Nigerians to come to the woman’s aid so as to preserve her life.
“We kindly ask for your support to respond to this urgent call. Although Rashidat is a Muslim, our service to humanity transcends religion.
“We understand that some who have been deceived in the past may find it difficult to trust those genuinely committed to serving others, and those involved in fraudulent activities may be reluctant to support genuine efforts.
“However, this is the very mission our Lord Jesus Christ has called us to fulfill. We earnestly seek your support.
“Thank you for your kindness and generosity,” Olujobi pleaded on behalf of Rashidat and the group.
For donations and more information, please visit the website: [https://www.cjmr.com.ng](https://www.cjmr.com.ng)
Account Details:
Centre for Justice Mercy and Reconciliation
Zenith Bank
Account Number: 1012189729
Phone: 08030488093
During the price hike, marketers stated that the product was sold at N960 and N980 in the far north because of the distance.
However, as crude prices fell below $70 last week, the pump prices of PMS also declined. Crude prices had crashed because Israel and Iran stopped bombing each other, alleviating fears of a supply disruption in the Middle East.
As of Tuesday, many filling stations sold petrol below N900 per litre in Lagos and Ogun States.
PUNCH Online reports that the filling stations sold petrol at rates ranging from N875 to N890 a litre.
A marginal drop is expected in the price of the product at the pumps.
