AN AFTERNOON WITH IBUKUN AWOSIKA

On Saturday, March 11th 2017, the young professionals of the Covenant Christian Centre in Lagos organized a mentoring session with prominent Nigerian business magnate, author and motivational speaker, Ibukun Awosika. She currently serves as Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria as well as serving in the board of numerous companies.

It was a life changing encounter for most of the participants who attended the session. Find below some highlights of the session and I hope it inspires you.



ON LIFE, PEOPLE AND RELATIONSHIPS

“Life is a stage; there's always an audience watching you. More people are watching you than you realize”.

“Your biggest asset will always be people. Everybody that you look down on today, you don’t know where they will show up in your life tomorrow”.

Do all the good you can in all the places you find yourself. Treat people right, leave a legacy of goodness. Always find ways to be at peace with people”. It is someone that will speak for you when your time comes”.

“Do not have a false sense of your own importance, it is a recipe for disaster. Life will not stop without you”.

“Don’t take things in life for granted. Life keeps records and your records will speak for you”.

“When it matters, everything you do will count. The things you do today, someone will remember you for it. And the things you don’t do, someone will remind you about it”.

“You have to be deliberate about your life. Be conscious of how you conduct yourself. Once you have contaminated yourself with some small things, you can't be a player on some bigger stages.

“Anybody can be your associate but choose your friends wisely because they will influence your life. If you follow a fool, it's because you choose to be foolish”.

“Be deliberate about who you give power to influence you. You see people everyday but you've no clue who they are, even they don't know. Somewhere they will unfold. Be sure to be on their right side”.




ON OPPORTUNITY AND CHALLENGES

“Don’t waste any opportunity that you get. Every job is an opportunity to live a legacy”.

“Sometimes all you get is the first opportunity”. What you do with it determines what happens to the other opportunities you will get”.

“When the chips are down. It is what you have done in the past that speaks for you.

“The relationship and the impression you give today is what will carry you through for life”.

“The opportunities you burn today could hurt your tomorrow. Make the sacrifice for the time and season. It shall pass. Prepare for the next level”.

“Do whatever you need to do and do it right. Show up by delivering value, quality, service, integrity and trade”.




ON MARRIAGE AND PARTNERSHIPS

“Except you have come to terms of who you are, you have no reason of thinking of marriage”.

“Marriage is the most critical decision you can ever make in your life. It is a key successfactor to your life and must not be made based on mere emotions”.

“In the end, your partner is not an acceptable excuse for your failure in life”.

“Find someone who God has given the right resources to bring out the best in you. Because God doesn’t waste resources”.

“Don’t be contented with been a Cinderella for just one day and live the rest of your life in misery”.

“Your partner will influence your life. So choose someone that will take your life to the right direction”.

“Marry someone who is always happy to see you emerge successful”.

“You need to seek the counsel and mind of God concerning the man or woman who will be able to nurture your future”.

ON MENTORSHIP

“Your mentors are meant to be your advisers, they do not instruct you”.

“Don't let anybody ever tell you that you are a failure”.

“Counsel is called information and not instruction. Listen to counsel but take the final decision by yourself”.

“All things work together for your good; what appears as failure has a good in it that I might not see now”.

“Don't be so focused on failures that you forget life is a journey. When people think you are down, let your attitude shows you are not. That is the key to your success”.

ON FACING CHALLENGES

“Do not get consumed by your challenging moments. Be available to take on challenges knowing that the whole of heaven is ready to back you up”.

“Challenges don't kill you. They prepare you for places of authority”.

ON COMPROMISE AND OTHER THINGS

“Compromise is short term. Your little compromises short circuits your ability to see beyond your immediate wants”.

“Do not let the world take what money cannot buy from you to give you peanuts. Don't let anyone steal long term value for a short term benefit”.

“Don't let the sins of yesterday hunt you today and destroy your tomorrow”.

“Do not have shades when it is comes to Christ. It is either black or white”.

“Fly the flag of righteousness everywhere you find yourself and do not bring shame to the name of Christ”.

“Be an active reader, make up your mind to learn from reading a variety of books”.

“Decide on the things that are important to you and invest in those things”.

“Trouble adds spice to life. You need it to discover some hidden elements that God has placed in you. Never hold back from taking risks. Even if it turns out wrong, you will at least learn something you should never try again”.

“Sometimes you are the one that has to fight the future that you see and no one else. Because nobody can see your future the way you do”.

“When you know your limitations, it becomes easy to accommodate your weaknesses. Always play to your strength and outsource your weakness”.

“Don't eat your dinner for breakfast. Always learn to delay the gratification for the future. Build for the long term”.

“The trades of the future are not necessarily the traditional ones. Gone are the days when parents always insist that their children must be doctors, lawyers or engineers”.

THE PLATFORM 2016: A RECAP

Pastor Poju Oyemade

"This generation must open its eyes to the way politics is played".

"Freedom of speech when used intelligently will always drive the wheels of change". 

"Words of wisdom are always better than weapons of war". 

"An enlightened populace is key to good governance".

"One of the works of the Church is to act as salt on the Earth".

56 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT NIGERIA YOU SHOULD KNOW

As Nigeria celebrates her 56th Independence anniversary today, we bring to you 56 things about Nigeria that you should know. Happy reading!

1. The most commonly spoken phrase in Nigeria is "How far?”

2. Nigeria is home to seven percent (7%) of the total languages spoken on earth. Taraba State alone has more languages.

3. T.B. Joshua's Emmanuel TV, originating from Nigeria, is one of the most viewed television stations across Africa.

4. Nigeria has produced five presidents from the minority ethnic groups. They include; Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar (Gwari), Yakubu Gowon (Angas), Umar Musa Yaradua (Fulani) and Goodluck Jonathan (Ijaw).

5. In April 1994, the Super Eagles ranked 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, the highest ranking ever achieved by an African nation.

6. The Nigerian Stock Exchange is the second-largest in Africa.

THE SURVIVORSHIP BIAS: BETWEEN ME AND LINDA IKEJI

An old classmate recently tagged me on a group photo on Facebook. It was an old picture that was taken when we were in college many years ago. Out of excitement and more out of curiosity, I decided to view the profile of all my classmates who were tagged in the picture. My concern ranged from what they currently looked like to how their life had turned out. Have the ones who were really exceptional in school turned out to become the most successful in life?  

Back in college we had students who were top performers. They were the A students and the envy of all at every prize-giving day. The rest of us would sit back and watch them as they collected award after award. They were hailed as the stars of the future and they were treated specially because of their brilliance. And by every standard they were successful at that level and got all the attention they deserved.

As I clicked on each and every person, I was surprised to see that not every person turned out as was expected. Remarkably, passing examinations were no longer the basis for distinguishing between success and failure. That day, I learnt the incredible lesson that intelligence has little or no survival value. The measurement of success is not based on intelligence. In a layman’s language, a high IQ doesn’t translate to a high net worth.  

WHATEVER HAPPENS IN LAGOS STAYS IN LAGOS

It was one of those cold and gloomy Friday evenings. I wasn’t particularly excited like most people do at the end of the last day of work. A lot had happened to me during the week, and these episodes reminded me of the fact that I still lived in a world that keeps turning in circles. Tragedy, joy, defeat, fulfillment, grief, breakthrough and frustration; one emotion or sometimes more at a time.

On my way home from work that evening, Celestine Ukwu’s powerful and philosophical highlife tune from the 1970’s “Ije Enu” kept intercepting my thought flow. You know how a song just thoroughly captures your emotional state, almost perfectly. The song was a deep reflection of the journey of life and a reminder that our current emotional state is only temporary.

I quickly plugged my earpiece, scrolled through my highlife collection and let the song do justice to my emotions as it pleases. It turned out the song was the inspiration I needed to gradually snap out of the dark place my mind was persuasively taking me to. Its powerful message and melody brought sparks through my entire being. All I wanted to do was to recline on my sofa, be still and feel the anointing from the song until I became whole again.

WHO LOVE DON EPP?

Love can sometimes be so complicated that you give up ever trying to understand it on your own. Don’t get me wrong, I am not some heartbroken person trying to write from the depth of my disappointment. I am just another human being trying to make sense out of this thing called love.

What else do you do when you put all of your trust in people and they throw it right back at your face? Some of them are nice enough to announce their exit, others just walk away without warning or a sign. And for days, weeks, and months on end, you letting the feeling of betrayal strip you of all your sanity.

IF ONLY I KNEW: REFLECTIONS OF A LOVE LOST FOREVER

Every day, I tell myself I would get over this feeling. But deep down I know I will nurse this guilt for the rest of my life. Why did God bring you into my life, when he knew he will need you so soon? If only I knew it was for a short time, I would have loved you harder. You were so good that even heaven couldn’t wait to have you? Now my loss is heaven’s gain.

I remember when I first learnt of your demise. That moment I knew my world will never be the same. The next three hours were probably the hardest of my adult life. I don’t remember the last time I cried but that night I wept all through. A thousand tears will not bring you back. I realized this, because I have shed enough.

HOLD ON, PAIN ENDS

This is for everyone who woke up with their head aching and their heart hurting.

This is for those who have lost someone they truly loved and miss them so much that they don’t know how to survive alone.

This is for those who put on a smile and pretend they are fine when they are actually shattered and hopeless inside.

This is for the girl who feels worthless and too scared to fall in love again.

FIFTY SHADES OF INSPIRATION

1. Take kindness with you everywhere you go and deposit it at every stop you make. Never expect to get it back.

2. If you expect people to be kind to you because you are kind to them, you are like the man who expects the lion not to eat him because he doesn’t eat lions.

3. Forgive others not because they deserve forgiveness but because you deserve your peace of mind.

4. As much as you want the best for others, you cannot force people to grow. At the end of the day, it is their choice and their life.

5. Don't waste your energy on things that are outside of your control. Only focus on the things that you can control.

6. Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules and build a life that you are proud of.

7. In life, you will rise and fall so many times but never rise up by pulling others down. On your way up take people up with you. On your way down don’t let them down.

8. Tell everyone around you to be strong, even though deep down you know you are the weakest person in the world. It might not be convenient but therein lies greatness.

9. At your absolute best, you still won’t be good enough for the wrong person. At your worst, you will still be worth everything to the right person.

10. Whatever you do, never run back to the things that broke you in the past. Some things will never change and you have to accept that.

STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART

You,

Ever since you walked into my life with a ray of sun that has never stopped shinning. I have thought about you all day and dreamt about you all night. You had this mystery about you but I chose to call it divine.

I have never loved someone so much. I can't find the right words to express how I truly feel? I feel like I can be my true self around you. That part of me that nobody else can see.

They say that true love is like a ghost, everyone talks about it but very few have seen it. That is what you have given me, the purest of love.