Metro
The ‘Heart Revolution’: Power and Dimensions of Influence! (Pt. 1)
By Tolulope A. Adegoke
Leadership is influence. Favour opens the doors, but INFLUENCE changes Nations!
When you are in a situation, and you don’t have money, please pray for influence, because if God ever gives you the influence with the people that have money, you can have or access whatever that you need.
The perfect Biblical exemplar is Christ Jesus. He never had the money, but He had influence with people that owned whatever that He needed per time. When He stepped off into His Boat, it was Peter that owned the boat, but He had influence with Peter, who later became one of His disciples.
When Jesus Christ went down to Joppa, and He needed a place to stay, He stayed in Peter’s house, because Peter owned the house, but Jesus had influence with the man who owned the house.
You don’t need to have all the stuff, but all you need is INFLUENCE with people that have the stuff, and you would realize that influence can be better than money. Even though it’s best to have both. It is favour that opens doors, but INFLUENCE is what changes nations.
Sometimes, God wants to use your influence to be able to change NATIONS. What happens on a platform can be a power of a thing; there is a difference between a stage and a platform. A stage is for performance, but platform is for INFLUENCE. A platform gives room for anyone to stage their performance(s).
Where ever you are at any level of your rising, if God calls a person to be your champion as a soccer player, baseball player, golf player, basketball player, football player or whatever it is, God would use the sport, the Hollywood, Nollywood, or the music to build the platform. Once the platform is established, then God’s purposes are done or fulfilled on the platform.
Sometimes, business is just the platform, and once God had built the platform, the opens the door and gives the influence, then the work of ministry (His Will) can be done or fulfilled. So, always ask God to give you the required WISDOM to ‘know how’ to use the platform for His glory alone. It is not a stage, it is a platform, and God will give you a ‘gift’(resources) just for the platform, because just one gift from God can revolutionize your life this way.
The word INFLUENCE comes from the Latin word ‘Influethy’ which means ‘to flow into’. It simply speaks of that which flows from the Heavenlies (Above) down into a being called you! it is the flow of God into the vessel called ‘you’. Whatever you might be doing, if you are in your ‘flow’, you become an instrument of DOMINION; you dominate in that place of ‘flow’. You are just ‘able’ to dominate in that area of ‘flow, naturally.
Do you know that you can mess up your ‘flow’? Stress, worry, weariness, bitterness are potent factors that aides such.
When you are all trusting God, to say that ‘God, I want you to use me for your glory’; it does not matter whether you are male or female, young or old. It doesn’t even matter your level of (formal) education. What matters is that your heart must be submitted to God. To say ‘God, whatever you can do in me and through me, I want you to now do through me, and let it touch the world at large; do something great in me.’ Not until God does great things in you, He cannot do anything great through you. This, is why we must ask and crave for an experience (encounter) with God, so that He can use us in a huge way, so that He can transform who we are, our age notwithstanding.
A lot of people, young among especially, have been used by God, case study of Samuel in the Holy Book. You would realize that, this is not a child talking to me, but this is God speaking to me through this child. It doesn’t matter if you are in your tender ‘teens’, your teachable ‘twenties’, your tireless ‘thirties’, your forcible ‘forties’, your ‘feelful’ (emotional) ‘fifties’, your seasoned ‘sixties’, your civil ‘seventies’, your aching ‘eighties’, your nebulous ‘nineties’ and your ‘peticious’ ‘hundreds’, where ever you are.
Whatever stage or age that you are, God can still speak to you powerfully and use you for His glory. But we just need to be determined that God should simply have His way in our lives fully, and be glorified truly.
When we talk about the dimensions of INFLUENCE, we need to first discuss the HEART Revolution (Heartwork). It is the work that God does in your heart, so as to become a good ground for His Seeds of potentials for Influence to be staged in and for all ages. Until God has done the work in your heart properly, you are not fit to use it anywhere for any purpose. If it doesn’t change our heart, our mouth would be polluted; our thinking is contaminated until God does the works in the heart. That is why, until God has washed us properly of bitterness and resentments in our HEARTS to the degree that we are no longer upset with the breakthroughs of others or because God has blessed someone else, we are not fit to fit into His Power of Influence and feature in His Dominion.
Beware! What worries or wearies you, masters you! God blesses you with what you can manage. God will never bless you with what you cannot give. For instance, if you cannot give away money, He will never trust you with it. If you never learned to give Him praises, He will never trust you with it.
God cannot trust you with what does not make you happy in others… you must be able to celebrate God’s victory in their lives.
Men of genius are admired,
Men of wealth are envied,
Men of power are feared,
But men of CHARACTER are TRUSTED!
And God does the character works in your heart. If you do not have character, nobody would want to have anything to do with your influence, no matter your level of packaging; because influence is determined by RESPECT! If you lose RESPECT, you lose EFFECT!
You have no influence if you do not have a good name, because you do not work in integrity in your heart. That is why you need to guard your heart with all diligence. Everything is trying to influence your thought patterns. Your though patterns determine your outputs in whatever form.
We need to have a God-influence in our hearts. Only the pure in heart shall see God! Everything begins from the heart and with the heart.
And this, is the HEART REVOLUTION!
Thank you all for reading
“The Power of an Empowered Zero” (From Zero to HERO) is a Book authored by Tolulope A. Adegoke, PhD. Foreword by Dr Yomi Garnett (CEO/Chancellor, Royal Biographical Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., U.K., Abuja, Nigeria.) Edited by Ola Aboderin. Designed by Sceptirus. It is currently available on Selar, Amazon and Bambooks.
The distinguished Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Navy, His Excellency, Otunba Engr. Gbenga Daniel, has extended warm congratulations to Aare Adetola EmmanuelKing, Chairman/CEO of Adron Group, on the occasion of his 50th birthday.
In a heartfelt message, Senator Daniel praised Aare Adetola EmmanuelKing for his outstanding dedication and immense contributions to the Nigerian housing sector. He described the celebrant as a shining example in the business community, whose passion and commitment have left an indelible mark on the real estate industry across Nigeria.
“You are indeed a source of inspiration to your generation and a shining example within the business environment. There is no doubt that you had written your name in an indelible ink across Nigeria and most especially among the real estate developers,” he wrote.
Senator Daniel also acknowledged Aare Adetola EmmanuelKing’s conferment as the ‘Otun-Asiwaju of Remo Christians’ by the Ogun State branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), as a reflection of his God-fearing nature, philanthropic spirit, and commitment to humanity.
The senator offered prayers for good health, greater accomplishments, and many more remarkable years ahead for the business mogul.
He concluded by affirming his highest regards and admiration for the celebrant.
The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps ( FRSC), Shehu Mohammed, has directed Commanding Officers to ensure full deployment of staff for maximum visibility, prompt removal of obstructions and ease of movement on all highways across the country. This is in line with the operational guidelines of this year’s Easter special patrol scheduled to commence from 16th to 23 April, 2024.
According to the Operation Order, obtained by the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), the objectives of the special operations are reduction in road traffic crashes, road traffic fatalities and road traffic Injuries; prompt response to road traffic crash victims; unhindered in purposeful public education and speedy removal of obstructions from the highways, amongst others.
Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed assured members of the public that in achieving the objectives of the special operations, the Corps will combine the engagement of the motoring public through purposeful and impactful public education programmes, strengthening of surveillance activities to regulate unprofessional excesses, sustained effective patrol operations as well as adequate monitoring on the highways.
To this end, the Corps would carryout aggressive enforcement including conducting over 200 Mobile Courts operations, with the aim of checking the following offences:
Speeding and Dangerous Driving/Overtaking,
b. Lane indiscipline/Route violation,
c. Road Obstructions,
d. Use of Phone while Driving,
e. Overloading,
f. Seatbelt/Child restraint Use Violations,
g. Passenger’s Manifest Violation,
h. Operation of mechanical deficient and rickety vehicles,
i. Latching and Twist-Locks Violation,
To achieve the aforementioned, over 743 patrol vehicles, 184 administrative vehicles, 92 ambulances, 23 tow trucks and 144 motorbikes are being deployed as part of the patrol logistics.
Furthermore, reflective jackets, traffic cones, tyre pressure gauges, a number of extricating machines and digital breathalyzers are part of the tools set aside for the special operations.
Added to the above is, a total of 23 Help Areas mobilised to ensure prompt removal of obstructions, and rescue operations during the period. This, he said, is in addition to the 15 traffic control camps which would be dedicated solely to identifying traffic gridlock areas to be manned by our personnel on 24/7 basis.
For effective monitoring and prompt response, the Corps has put in place a Situation Room at the National Headquarters to monitor the activities across the country, collate and process information for dissemination to relevant commands and stakeholders as the case may be.
This is in addition to 28 Road Traffic Crash Clinics and 53 Zebra points located along the major routes. This would be covered by 92 ambulances to be fully utilized for prompt response to crashes and rescue of injured victims to hospitals for more professional attention.
He also directed the Commanding Officers to liaise with other strategic stakeholders within their operational areas to secure the needed moral and logistics as well as security support. The Corps Marshal identified some of the stakeholders as Military formations (enroute or resident); the Nigeria Police (enroute or resident); DSS (enroute or resident); the Nigeria Immigration Service; the NSCDC (enroute or resident).
Others are Federal Ministry of Works and Housing; National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA); State Traffic Management Agencies; State owned NGO’s ambulance Services providers; National Network on Emergency Rescue Services (NNES);
Federal Road Maintenance Agencies and
Federal Fire Service.
On the overall preparedness of the Corps for the special operations, he expressed optimism that Nigerians would as usual, cooperate with members of the Corps and other security agencies as well as volunteers who would come out to assist the Corps in traffic management.
Expectedly, with the massive deployment of personnel and logistics and the envisaged public support, the Corps Marshal is confident that the celebration would be a huge success.
While reassuring the motoring public of FRSC’s renewed vigour towards entrenching sanity on the roads, the Corps Marshal also wishes all Nigerians safe and peaceful Easter celebrations.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders’ meeting in Ojokoro LCDA, Lagos State, ended in chaos on Monday over alleged imposition of a chairmanship candidate.
The meeting began peacefully at 7, Ijaoye Street, at 4:00 pm before aggrieved members stormed the venue in protest.
Protesters chanted “(unprintable word”; “We can’t take it”, and accused Speaker of State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, of imposing a candidate from Agege on Ojokoro residents.
Other chants included “Who knows Sanusi?”, “Obasa can’t control us from Agege”, and “We won’t allow a stranger rule us here”.
Speaking after the disruption, one of the protesters, Mr. Olusegun Akinoso-Olawaye said the meeting was a ploy to ratify an imposed candidate with no ties to the council.
He stressed that a chairmanship aspirant must reside in Ojokoro, and have worked for the party and actively participated in council politics.
He warned that imposing an outsider with no electoral history in Ojokoro would have negative consequences.
“We are here to reject imposition. All aspirants deserve a fair contest to prove their political relevance,” Akinoso-Olawaye stated.
He noted there are at least 18 aspirants for the chairmanship, all of whom had supporters present at the protest.
Another protest leader, Mrs. Bola Ojetayo, lamented that party leaders often prioritise personal interests over the will of the people.
She said the protest aimed to prevent installation of an unfamiliar figure as the next council chairman.
“We must not sell our seat to outsiders. A stranger cannot come and lead us in our own home.
“Leaders can’t sit elsewhere and decide for us. Someone in Agege shouldn’t determine Ojokoro’s leadership,” Ojetayo said.
In response, Mr. James Owolabi, a former House of Representatives member, and APC stalwart in Ojokoro, urged protesters to remain peaceful and avoid violence.
Owolabi, who represented Ifako-Ijaiye Federal Constituency, acknowledged the concerns and affirmed their right to protest within the party.
“You have a voice in the party. Express yourselves peacefully without violence,” Owolabi advised.
Other APC leaders present included Mr Jelili Oseni, council chairman, and Ipoola Omisore, a former Lagos Assembly member.
Also in attendance were Alh. Amosu Aminu, Chief Oriyomi Olaogun, and Mr Akindele Aremu, among others.
The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) had scheduled the local government elections for July 12, 2025.
