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Staying in “Power” by Being Empowered!
By Tolulope A. Adegoke
“When you “become” what money loves, you naturally command the attention of monies. Ask yourself, what does money love? Money cherishes VALUES! When you stop becoming valuable, what “values” attracts would stop coming to you! You simply fit into what soothes your actions, and into what your consistent attitudes deserve! So, you must keep “becoming” for what you desire or deserve to keep chasing after you! To “become” in this context means to “MANifest”! Chase excellence, and success would chase you pants down! Accept yourself in order to understand your being, so as to carve a soothing niche for a better version of “you” which you desire or deserve to become. Any other “you” in circulation is a counterfeit! Square up your shoulders and tell yourself “I deserve to succeed and God helping me, I will.” Remember, the sky is never your limit, God is!” – Tolulope A. Adegoke
Commitment has been described as dedication, steadfastness, allegiance, faithfulness or loyalty to a course, and individual, group or a supreme being. It is about giving one’s self to a course with success as the only option. Commitment binds you irrevocably to a course you believe in until success comes. It is not the same as mere involvement, but dedication to seeing a course(s) completed or fulfilled to cause an effect or impact either within one’s self, others, corporates and the world at large.
The world is filled with peoples. Anybody can be involved. Being involved in an activity that involves other people does not make you part of a team. As a matter of fact, it only takes a number of people involved in working together to have a group. You must understand that a group is absolutely not a “team”. The difference? In a group, people are involved in activity(s). in a Team, people are committed to a process and a goal. The difference between commitment and involvement is known by the difference in the “omelette and “corned beef”. In the omelette, the chicken is involved. In the corned beef, the cow is committed!
Commitment is the secret to the success of the postage stamp. To get the letter to its destination, it must first commit to the envelope. After that, the rest is a matter of time. A train gets to its destination because of its commitment to the rails.
Commitment operates in five major levels which would be expatiated below:
i. Commitment to God (The Creator that gives to all that gives and receives)
ii. Commitment to a Course for a Cause
iii. Commitment to Process
iv. Commitment to People
v. Commitment to yourself
Commitment to God
Those who have discovered themselves in God have no problem committing to Him. Those who sideline God in success ventures will find out soon enough that it is the pathway to “frustration” and an insignificant “death”.
Commitment to a Course for a Cause
You must always remember that, you were never created to simply pursue wealth and all trappings of the worldly successes. After all your bills are paid, and you have a spill-over, what next? Highly successful and effective people, first of all, find a higher course for a greater cause for which they were willing to lay down their lives if need be, then throw themselves wholly into it. The principle is that, if death does not scare you, the possibility of failure cannot! As the Bible rightly said, “those who keep their lives lose it, while those who lose it, find it!” The other name for it is significance or relevance. Make money in order to enhance your platform(s) for significance or irrefutable relevance. At a recent time, Bill Gate has committed time and resources to finding solutions to the scourge of HIV/AIDS and poverty eradication in Third World countries. What he did caught the attention of Warren Buffet (who wasn’t reputable for charity), the World’s Second richest man at that time. This made him donate the sum of $37billion (US Dollars) to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. When asked why, he answered, “Because they know how best to give it away better and faster than I can.”
Commitment to a Process
Everything in life evolves. The only tree that grew to full stature in one day died the same day! Ask Prophet Jonah in the Bible. If you cannot commit to a process, you will forfeit the promise.
To master your skill in life, there is always a process of apprenticeship. Permit yourself to fail…but don’t remain a failure. The Olympic medalist who won the 100-metre dash in less than 10 seconds was only celebrated for what he had invested years of consistency and hours of practice to.
Tiger Woods had played golf as a child and he had always nurtured a vision to win every championship in golf. So he started to work towards that, easily.
The father (being a good Lawn Tennis Player) of Serena and Venus Williams (The World Lawn Tennis Champions) had coached them to always win since they were very young.
What the world celebrate today in these people is actually the process they had committed too long before they started winning laurels.
Commit to Yourself
Budget for self-development. Your greatest investment is the one you make on your personal development. When you are right, everything around you will be right!
Things don’t happen because you chase them to happen, rather they happen become you have become a center of attraction that commands the necessary attention. For instance, when you “become” what money loves, you naturally command the attention of monies. Ask yourself, what does money love? Money cherishes VALUES! When you stop becoming valuable, what “values” attracts would stop coming to you! You simply fit into what soothes your actions, and into what your consistent attitudes deserve! So, you must keep “becoming” for what you desire or deserve to keep chasing after you! To “become” in this context means to MANifest! Chase excellence and success would chase you, pants down! Accept yourself in order to understand your being, so as to carve a soothing niche for a better version of “you” which you desire or deserve to become. Any other “you” in circulation is a counterfeit! Square up your shoulders and tell yourself “I deserve to succeed and God helping me, I will.” Remember, the sky is never your limit, God is!”
Thank you for reading.
Watch out for the Book titled: “The Power of an Empowered Zero” (Awakening The Giant Within You!) 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.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Prof Mike Ozekhome, has insisted that former President Muhammadu Buhari should be blamed for his successor, Bola Tinubu’s preference to appoint persons from his ethnic Yoruba language group to key government positions.
Ozekhome, while delivering an address at a symposium on human rights organised by the International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) held in Abuja on Wednesday, claimed that the Buhari-led administration polarised Nigeria along ethnic and religious lines.
The rights activist noted that it is not surprising that President Tinubu was following a similar trajectory since it was tolerated by gullible Nigerians when Buhari was at the helm.
“When I hear today the northerners complain that Tinubu has ‘Yorubanised’ Nigeria, with so many Yorubas in the highest places in Nigeria, they are indeed making a point. But the question I would ask is: where were you when Buhari, for eight years, literally ‘northernised’ every position in Nigeria? You were either a northerner or a Muslim,” he said.
“I cried, I cried, I wrote and wrote. I wrote tons of articles. One of the 50 books which I presented on my 67th birthday was titled: ‘How Buhari Mismanaged Nigeria.’ Some people called it ‘na we,’ this is our man, and even if he is riding roughshod over all of us, it doesn’t matter.
“Hear no evil, see no evil because he is our man. Even if it is not benefitting us, the fact that he is our man is sufficient. Once it is no longer our man, we must also take up arms. No country grows like that.”
At the event under the theme; “Unity in Diversity: Embracing Freedom, Equality, and Dignity for All,” he warned those in positions of authority against compromising the unity of Nigerians in pursuit of tribalism, ethnicity, and sectionalism.
He described the 1999 constitution (as amended) as flawed, adding that there is a need for a new constitution with inputs from Nigerians, irrespective of their ethnic and religious differences, on the way forward for the country.
“We need to redefine ourselves, not the present system where thieves are rewarded with doctorate degrees,” he said.
The Commission’s Ambassador-at-Large and Head of Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria, Ambassador Dr. Duru Hezekiah, emphasized that this year’s theme presents a significant opportunity, drawing attention to the complexity of human rights linked to the multicultural and multi-ethnic composition of over 250 ethnic groups and more than 500 languages spoken in Nigeria.
He remarked that recurring ethnic and religious conflicts have threatened Nigeria’s national unity and stability, noting that the diversity of Nigeria’s population offers both challenges and opportunities for cultural exchange and understanding, which can promote national unity and cooperation.
According to him, the one-day symposium, held on Wednesday, 11th December 2024, consequently offers a singular opportunity to acquire knowledge and reinforce ties with other stakeholders to promote “Unity in Diversity: Embracing Freedom, Equality, and Dignity for All.”
Additionally, he mentioned that the occasion signifies the official swearing-in of IHRC’s new officials: Ambassador Dr. Malami Shehu Ma’Aji (MFR), who was appointed IHRC Special Advisor on Intergovernmental Affairs for the Africa Region, with Chief John Paul Ochemba serving as IHRC Advisor on Special Monitoring Mission Nigeria, and Dr. Kingsley Nwokoma as IHRC Commissioner in Nigeria, all of whose appointments were duly approved by the IHRC Secretary-General, Prof. h.c. Rafał Marcin Wasik.
The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, has issued a restraining order against human rights activist and lawyer Dele Farotimi, prohibiting him from further publishing, selling, distributing, or advertising his controversial book, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System.
The ruling was delivered by Justice Peter Kekemeke following an ex-parte application brought by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, and managing partner at Afe Babalola’s law firm.
The court’s order extends to Farotimi’s agents, publishers, distributors, sellers, or anyone else involved in the dissemination of the book, whether in hard copy, digital formats, or through electronic or social media channels.
The injunction will remain in effect pending the determination of a motion on notice for an interlocutory injunction, filed on December 6, 2024.
Justice Kekemeke also directed the Nigerian Police Force, Department of State Services, DSS, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, and other security agencies to seize all physical copies of the book wherever found.
These agencies are required to submit an affidavit of compliance within 72 hours of receiving the order.
In a related case, the Oyo State High Court granted a similar interim injunction against Farotimi, barring him or any associates from further printing or distributing the book.
Justice Mufutau Adegbola issued the order after hearing an ex-parte application filed on December 9, 2024, by Adebayo Adenipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria from Afe Babalola’s firm.
The Oyo court directed Farotimi’s lawyers to be notified of the motion, which has been adjourned for hearing on January 7, 2025.
An Allied Air Cargo aircraft with registration number 5N-JRT, on Wednesday, skidded off Runway 22 of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, prompting a temporary shutdown of the airport.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) confirmed the incident, which occurred at 10:05am, adding that five people were on board the aircraft. All passengers were safely evacuated without injury.
FAAN’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mrs. Obiageli Orah, said: “The Airport Emergency Response Team is on the scene along with accident investigators.
“The runway is being cleared and is expected to reopen for operations as soon as possible. We would like to thank the aviation community and the general public for their understanding and patience. We also request that all speculation be put on hold until the preliminary report is released by the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).”
The evacuees were taken to the FAAN clinic for medical checks as a precautionary measure. The incident has drawn the attention of aviation stakeholders, while efforts are underway to restore normal airport operations.
