You have a great valour

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Chidi Okoroafor

Text: Judges 6:1-24.
Key Verse: Judges 6:12, “And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him and said unto him, the Lord is with me, thou mighty man of valour.” (KJV)
The above Bible text is derived from the event that happened, while Gideon was threshing wheat at a wine press. Here, the Angel of the Lord called Gideon a mighty man of valour. Notice that despite the fact that Gideon had not yet fought and defeated the intimidating Midianites, God already saw the great valour in him. Valour means great courage in the face of danger, especially in a battle. It means to have a daring and bravery spirit.

Are you a believer? If yes, then you are not a loser, for there is greatness in you to win the battles of life. Remember that you are a branch of the True Vine, and Christ is the True Vine (John 15:1-7). Stop looking at yourself with pity and unworthiness. Start now to see the greatness in you through Christ. You can attain greatness in life. You can achieve those plans that seem impossible. Your business can grow into an institution and that great idea in your mind can become a reality. Step out in faith and you shall succeed and it will be amazing to see what God can do through you. You can conquer the world for Christ. You are a peculiar person with a peculiar mission.

Gideon, though a coward at the beginning, turned out a mighty warrior. God used him mightily to deliver Israel from bondage the Midianites have kept them. God changed him to a challenger of false worship and led the nation back to God. Gideon conquered his foes (Judges 7:15-21). He fought the battle against the Midianites with 300 men with only lamps and trumpets. But that was enough to frighten the Midianites out of their wits, and give the victory to God and Israel.

God is looking for a Gideon today – men and women of faith, who are willing to step out and do great things for God. Do not be afraid to confront the challenges because God Has deposited in you the strategies to win the battle. Gideon saw himself as a coward, but unknown to him, that greatness was resident inside of him. God is not looking for perfect people – just people who want to be moulded and made for the Masters Service.

ARE YOU WILLING TO BE A LOAF OF BARLEY BREAD READY TO BE USED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST EVIL? Gideon gives us all hope that we too can be winners, even when we think we are weak and powerless. Through Christ, we can be more than conquerors! Are you a person of Fear or Faith? People of fear make excuses. People of Faith say – HERE I AM SEND ME. Let’s overcome our fears, foes and feelings, and it will amaze us what we can do for God and what He can do for us.

The words that the Angel of the Lord spoke to Gideon greatly boosted his confidence and self-worth. Allow these words that you have read today to do the same to you. Where have you felt like a layback? Is it in your family, marriage, educational pursuit, Christian life, finances, etc.? I announce to you that there is great valour in you. Receive the power to step out in boldness and overcome all those challenges. Keep going; do not give up for after now, comes a great victory.

What you do not know is that you are yet to harness the great potentials God Has deposited in you. You are not useless. There is something in you that your generation, world and contemporaries need. The world is waiting for the manifestation of your valour.
Today’s Nugget: There is greatness in you to overcome every challenge.

Prayer: Lord, by your power, I receive great valour to succeed in Jesus Name, Amen.
Prayer lines: 09078154261.
E-mail: evangelgospel@yahoo.com
Dr. Chidi Okoroafor, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God Nigeria.

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What is the actual definition of mid-life crisis?

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You are young now, but you won’t be like this forever. A lot of things change inside and around us as we advance in days and sometimes the realisation of the passage of time adds some thought about the process, the transition between youth life and adult life: Enters mid-life crisis.

The name “Mid-life crisis” often strike fear and is misconstrued a lot of times because of the prefix, but it’s far from being a disaster. However, it could turn out to be a disaster if poorly managed. The term refers to the period between youth and adulthood where the need for self-actualisation and the need to radiate it so others can see becomes almost an imperative. It’s the normal period the human lifespan where we transit from younger people to older adults. This period is marked by an evaluation of goals, achievements and dreams against the set benchmark and against what we would have wished for: A period to evaluate what stage we are in life.

The manifestation in both genders differs; men and women experience it differently. Men tend to focus on their achievements and their innate desire to prove to others that they are now successful, while women tend to look at themselves, their appearance and their sensuality; their sexual attractiveness and what they would do when parenting ends. The events may be mild, it may be dangerous, because we tend to deal with issues differently. But it’s best to know the warning signs of mid-life crisis so as to address them as they occur.

There are many symptoms of these crises; an adult desperately looking for new ways to recapture his childhood fantasies that portrays success and wealth is a symptom, also are habit change, mood swings, sleep habit change and an increased obsession with their physical appearances. When someone leaves his/her old friends for new younger friends, it mostly typifies trying to recapture lost years and the thoughts of death come again and again. All these culminate into an unfulfilled career and this often shows in having extra marital affairs, alcohol and substance abuse, boredom and ultimately depression. Sometimes all these are triggered by a major trauma like the loss of a loved one. All these are flashpoints of mid-life crisis, which if recognised on time can aid in containing it.

Before you can solve the issues of these crises, you have to first admit it exists; acknowledging the changes occurring around you makes you more ready to deal with it. It’s always advisable to seek professional help during that time and share our issues with loved ones who would listen to and truly care. However, moving out of your comfort zone also helps, as it takes your mind off what the problem is. Volunteer more, create new goals, eat healthy and exercise more; you would be better for it. But ultimately please seek professional help if you feel like you are exhibiting any of these signs aforementioned.

Mid-life crisis is real, often misunderstood and most times people are not well informed about it and are not prepared for it. In some adults, it signals the start of decline. Death and trauma may set it off, but you have to be informed about it; once you know it is real, it makes it easier to deal with. Watch out for the signs; take steps to deal with it and help others around you deal with it too.

Walk through life as an achiever, be successful and be informed about life’s issues. With the right attitude, you can always deal with whatever is thrown on your way.

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‘We want our Emporium to wear the look of luxury’

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Luxury goods purveyor, Silky Touch Limited, recently renovated and reopened its emporium in Abuja. Chief Executive of the company, Ogbuefi Victor Okolie, sheds more light on reasons for the upgrade and other issues concerning the luxury goods sector. Excerpts: by Nike Sotade

Why the closure and re-opening of the Abuja Emporium?
The Abuja office was commissioned last year February for upgrade and complete reconstruction. Initially it was a project that was to last for 90 days, but due to unforeseen circumstances, it has dragged to 365 days. We decided to reconstruct the Abuja Emporium just actually to meet international standards and complement the luxury brand we stand for. I believe in upgrading all the time. As time goes on, I believe one should look back and look at one or two things. The luxury emporium has to wear the look of luxury, not only with the goods, but the interior ambience, comfort, technology must also speak luxury.

So what new luxury looks are you offering your customers?
The luxury is something you can measure with the best luxury shops anywhere in the UK, USA, Europe and Asia. That’s what we’ve set out to do; we want the Emporium to be at par with most luxury shops in the world or even better.

What does a luxury shop entail?
It has to provide all the comfort you can think of- a good ambience, the atmosphere must be well controlled, the display stands, the floor, the walls and the lightings. Not only that, we are also working on the staff, the personalities. They would be trained to have an idea of what they are there for. So comfort isn’t only with the shop as a culture, but it has also got to do with the people working there because customers have to be comfortable with the staff.

The after-sales service we render is also next (equal) to none. We have our Italian-trained tailors that do alterations to specification. Customers can be sure that they’ll be well taken care of.

What luxury labels do you stock?
We always go after the best. We have Stefano Ricci, who’s now rated to be the best and the most expensive luxury goods for now. We do Pal Zileri, a brand which has upgraded so much with their change of management. We also do Cortigiani, Umberto Biliancioni and in the leather section, we do NIPMAR, Mauri, The Bridge and Delga- all top-notch brands.

How has the current recession affected the luxury goods sector?
I like that question because during recession anywhere in the world, the luxury market is always the worst hit. But I’ve always said the truth that luxury is not a necessity, it is a success story, a way of patting oneself on the back, and not a must-buy. But it becomes a must-by if you have made it your lifestyle. You will find it difficult to step down and will only need to adjust your spending at times like this because you have other obligations to meet. The only thing is that somebody who wants to buy five suits for instance may decide to buy two instead. That is what recession is doing to the luxury goods sector, but we are not closing shop. We have faith in the economy. Recession comes, recession goes. I believe it would soon be a thing of the past…Recession can never be a permanent situation. I’ve been in this business for over 33 years and I’ve prepared for times like this. Recession can never be a permanent situation, it will soon go as government has promised us. It is not business as usual, we are passing through some slow pace in business, we are feeling it, but we are not closing shop.

You’ve been in this business for 33 years, what have been the challenges along the line?
There is no business that does not have challenges, either with government policies or facilities needed for the business but most importantly is the human factor, as we try to get the real professionals in this field because it is a specialized one. It is not like a bank or insurance firm that you can leave for another one and you know the human factor has got a lot to do with the success of any business. Once you can get it right, then you can get the business going. We also have some difficult customers. Because we are dealing in luxury goods, customers always want the full benefits for their money.

So we have to deal with every little complaints when they come. We cannot say no, so most of the time we’ve had to replace the goods for them. Apart from that, I can also tell you that one of our biggest problems are debtors. We are not good debt managers in Nigeria. Debts are owed all over the world, but it is better managed in some other countries. Here we don’t look at debt owing as a crime, we see it as a game whereas it is not a game and that is why credit lines should be better explained in this country. The issue of dud cheques and bad debts should be well addressed.

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Etisalat donates to Gbagada general hospital

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One of Nigeria’s telecommunications service providers, Etisalat Nigeria, has reinforced its commitment to the development of the health sector with the donation of computers to Gbagada General Hospital in Lagos.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, the firm’s Director, Regulatory and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Mr. Ikenna Ikeme, said the move was in furtherance of its commitment to continuously support efforts that improve access to quality healthcare for Nigerians.

“Education, health and environment are the three pillars on which our CSR drive rests. We are happy to partner with the Lagos State Government in using technology to advance the operations of this hospital, because this initiative aligns strongly with our belief that innovation can be used to transform anything including healthcare.

“The computers will go a long way in impacting on service efficiency in key departments, such as medical records, procurement, HR/administration, pathology, audit and accounts,” he said.

Receiving the equipment, the hospital’s Medical Director, Dr. Tayo Lawal, commended the firm for the support, adding: “We are very happy to receive these computers, as they would go a long way in making our work easier and our staff will be further encouraged by the gesture.”

Manager, CSR, Etisalat Nigeria, Oyetola Oduyemi, said the computers would assist the hospital staff in becoming more efficient and productive and support the drive towards digitalising its processes.

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Pate misses leadership position at Global Fund for AIDS, others

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Muhammad Ali Pate

Former Minister of State for Health and Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate, may have missed the opportunity of being named the next Executive Director of the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

According to ScienceInsider, Pate was among three shortlisted candidates to lead the Global Fund, but the group has decided to reopen its search due to leaks on concerns about alienating United States President, Donald Trump and allegations of conflicts of interest.

All of the reasons led to a surprise decision by the board of the Global Fund on Sunday to continue the search for a new executive director.

A statement by the Geneva, Switzerland-based Global Fund read: “Due to issues in the recruitment process, the Board felt they were unable to bring the process to conclusion.”

The current head of the Global Fund, Mark Dybul, would step down in May, and the group was expected to select his successor last Sunday from three candidates identified during a search this winter.

The New York Times had ran a story that said Pate, “had called Mr. Trump a fascist in his Twitter posts, saying he has much in common with ISIS for his anti-Muslim stance.”

The story also said: “American officials may look askance” at a second candidate, Subhanu Saxena, who formerly headed the generic drug company Cipla, which has sold large volumes of drugs to the Global Fund.

The third candidate, Helen Clark is head of the United Nations Development Programme and was a former prime minister of New Zealand.

According to the Times, Clark’s background raised concerns because the Trump administration “has expressed hostility toward United Nations programmes.”

Pate had stated in an e-mail that he has no plans to reapply for the job, noting that he was told the process was merit based and that he was the first-ranked candidate in the report. “The Global Fund Board’s decision is unfair and unjustified,” Pate wrote.

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HuCaPAN decry poor treatment of employees at workplace

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Human Capital Providers Association of Nigeria, (HuCaPAN), has cried out over the indecent way some employers treat their workers, describing it a violation of labour standards.

Speaking at the yearly general meeting of HuCaPAN in Lagos, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Dr. Clement Illoh, said protection of the fundamental human rights and absence of social protection at work were other impediments to decent work.

He noted that these have largely led to inability of some employers to retain their workers and pay minimum wage.

He advised private employment agencies to comply with labour laws by enforcing safety in workplaces, ensuring employee compensation and payment of minimum wages.

While pointing out the role of HuCaPAN in promoting decent work agenda, he said, “To what extent are you training your people? There are now workers without boundaries as a result of globalisation. How are you moving with respect to the new forms of work? To what extent are you contributing to sanctions, monitoring ad rewards for employment?”

The permanent secretary commended the association for being very effective despite the economic challenges in the country.

According to him, the ministry has maintained a cordial relationship with the HuCaPAN since inception and has participated in the formation of critical laws that govern its members.

The President of HuCaPAN, Neye Enemigin, said, “government must also modernise infrastructure and provide massive employment in addition to just allocation of resources and shift primary focus to the economic front to wriggle out of crippling recession that the nation had found herself.

He lamented that since the nation’s economy slipped into recession in 2016, for the first time in many years, all major economic indices had been on the downside such as two per cent growth, over 18.5 per cent inflation rate 14 per cent unemployment rate.

Enemigin said: “The primary cause of this scenario is the dwindling oil revenues in the last two years (caused by both falling price of oil as well as reduced production), and the fact that we did not diversify the economy when it was buoyant. The lower oil prices, which reduced our foreign exchange earnings, undermined the Naira, thus causing a steep rise in the cost of goods and services. To wriggle out of recession, government must ensure just allocation of resources and shift primary focus to the economic front. The decline of oil prices revealed the structural weaknesses of our national economy. Strategic objectives during this period of economic uncertainty must be to re-engineer the economy bottom-up, diversify the economic base, strengthen our industrial base, modernise infrastructure and provide employment.

“I will like to give two examples on diversification which is the surest way out of recession – Oil and Agriculture. On oil, our emphasis should be on building new refineries and fixing existing ones. Imagine if we are refining our entire petroleum products requirement locally and even exporting refined products to neighbouring countries, we will reduce by 40% our demand for Foreign Exchange, forex, strengthen the naira, create direct and indirect jobs for our people, some by-products from crude will grow industries like petrochemical, plastics among others.

The same scenario applies to Agriculture, where Government is putting half-hearted measures. Capital vote for Agriculture in the 2016 budget was 1.6% and 20171.8%, respectively. This does not show serious commitments. We should be able to feed ourselves and stop the huge foreign exchange going out for the importation of Rice, Frozen Chicken, Fish, Eggs, and a host of others.

“We need to reduce our consumption of imported products, grow local consumption and fix electricity generation and distribution urgently if we must get out of recession,” he said.

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CocoIce leaves as two ‘fake’ new housemates walk in…Read full details

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CocoIce

It was the end of the road on Sunday, February 12 for singer, CocoIce, a housemate in the ongoing Big Brother Naija reality TV competition, as she was announced the latest evictee. She was nominated alongside other housemates – Bassey, Bisola, Debie-Rise and Gifty – for possible eviction the previous week.

She was shown the exit door as she earned the least amount of votes, which terminated her stay in the house and her race for the N25 million prize money. Her exit from the competition follows that of Soma and Miyonse, who were evicted last week. As always, housemates waited with baited breath as the show host, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, revealed the results of the votes. Like the previous eviction show, the nominated housemates were sent to the arena, from where the eventual evicted housemate was announced by the host Ebuka.

Bisola was the first eviction nominee for the week to be announced ‘safe’ as she secured over 40 percent of votes as later revealed. Next was Gifty, who was asked to leave the house, and then CocoIce.

With Bassey and Debie-Rise as the remaining last two nominated housemates standing, he was relieved when he was asked to sit and Debie-Rise sent out of the house. At the arena, Ebuka reveals CocoIce as the evicted housemate and with that announcement, CocoIce made her final exit out of the BBNaija house.

During her interview with Ebuka on stage, CocoIce said she was nervous, as it was a new experience for her. She maintained that she did not know how to play the game and she was ready to go home to greatness.

When asked whom she thought might have evicted her, she shrugged and said TTT, Bisola and Uriel, were her top guesses. She, however, was not surprised when it was revealed to her that Uriel had indeed nominated her.

Ebuka had, at the start of the show, announced that one housemate would be evicted, while Big Brother would introduce two new ‘fake’ housemates into the house. These new housemates as explained by Ebuka would not be going into the house for the competition, rather, to ‘shake the housemates up a bit’ by causing drama in the house.

The fake new housemates, Jon and Ese, made their entry into the house without suspicion from the housemates, as Ebuka later announced that they are immune to this week’s eviction and also cannot take part in the nomination process. Multiple award-winning artiste, Falz the bad guy, added spice to the eviction show as he performed two of his hit songs ‘Well done sir’ and ‘Soft work.’

With the truth or dare games over, some of the housemates decided it was time to call it a day and went to bed, but a few decided it was time to pair up with their crushes. Gifty and Bally shared a ‘passionate kiss’ that silenced every other housemate. Kemen decided to go wake-up Debie-Rise for a midnight chat about the birds and the bees, after Gifty, who teased him about giving him a blowjob, dropped him.

The drama in the house came to a head, when the housemates realised that the pot of brew had gone missing, with Captain Efe, ThinTallTony and Marvis accusing Bisola of hiding the pot of brew.After an intense search, the pot was found and it’s content quickly guzzled and then the accusations began.

Who stole the pot of brew? It turned out that Bassey was the one behind the saga.With the nomination for this week done on Monday, February 13, and three housemates — ThinTallTony, Marvis and Gifty — up for possible eviction, fans of the hit reality show are unsure of who would eventually be evicted on Sunday, February 19.

The live nominations show took a dramatic turn, when the new housemate and Head of House, Ese decided to use her power and saved TBoss, who got four nominations and replaced her with Marvis, who had two nominations.

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Plateau United beaten at last, Nasarawa bash Abia Warriors…See full details

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Plateau United

Plateau United proved they are human after all by losing 2-1 to lowly Akwa United in a Week Eight Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) match at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo.

The Jos-based team, which have surprised league watchers with their tenacity and victories, home and away, were expected to beat Akwa United even in Uyo following the home team’s unimpressive performance in the season so far. But the side led by former Abia Warriors’ coach, Kennedy Boboye, succumbed to the desperation of the Uyo team, which played their best game of the season so far yesterday.

However, Plateau United maintained top spot on the table despite the defeat.

Akwa United opened scores through former Enyimba star, Christian Pyagbara, to give the Uyo side their second win of the season in the sixth minute. It was also Pyagbara’s second goal of the season.

Alhassan Ibrahim doubled the lead in the 50th minute, before Chima Ndukwe reduced the tally 10 minutes later.

Ten-man Enyimba of Aba continued their poor away form by losing 0-1 to Niger Tornadoes at the Confluence Stadium, Lokoja, with Sadiq Suleiman’s 13th minute goal the decider for the Minna team.

Enyimba’s neighbours, Abia Warriors, were also on the losing side, as they were beaten 3-1 by Nasarawa United in Lafia, while El-Kanemi bashed Gombe United 3-0 with goals by Bello Kofarmata and Samuel Mathias (brace) the decider for the Ladan Bosso team.

Lobi Stars’ could not overcome Katsina United, who held them to a goalless draw in Makurdi, where goalkeeper John Lawrence missed a penalty that would have given the Benue side the three points.

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UN chief urges end to discrimination against women…Read full details

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United Nations general secretary Antonio Guterres. PHOTO: JOSE MANUEL RIBEIRO / AFP

Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, has encouraged girls and women to study and explore careers in the sciences.

This, he said, would help girls and women to break the socio-cultural barriers that discourage them from making career choices in the core sciences and technology

Guterres stated this in his message at the 2017 International Day of Women and Girls in Science at the weekend. He stressed that for too long, discriminatory stereotypes have prevented women and girls from having equal access to education in the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

He urged commitment to end bias, greater investments in STEM education for all women and girls, as well as opportunities for their careers and longer-term professional advancement so that all can benefit from their future contributions.

Also speaking at the event organised by United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) and ‘Yes I Believe Academy’ (YIBA) in Lago, UNIC Director, Mr. Ronald Kayanja, said more girls and young women should be encouraged to study the sciences as there are no special subjects for boys and others for girls.

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