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The Secret of Listening by Henry Ukazu

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“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply”– Stephen R. Covey

Greetings Friends,
Today’s article will take a different route because it will be structured to empower any rational mind to think out of the box. One of the greatest force in life is love. There’s an imaginary strength that comes when we truly love. If you have truly loved, you’ll agree with me that you’ll not only care how your partner or friend feel, you’ll also listen to them.

I once read a book by Gary Chapman “The five love language Love language” where the author beautifully wrote about the five love languages (Words affirmation, physical touch, gift, services and time). When you truly care, you’ll apply all this love languages to your partner, friend, work or whatever you are doing. I choose to use love to buttress the important of listening because in whatever you do in life, if you don’t love it, you won’t give it your time and listening is one of the components of loving.

There are so many things we are stand to gain when we listen to people. One of the greatest things you can do for anyone is to listen to them. It should be noted that listening comes with respect. Whether you are in the cooperate world, self employed (entrepreneur), Non Government Organization or even faith based organization, you are bound to listen to your audience because that is the best way to communicate with them while serving them.

Listening is a choice, you decide to listen to what you like. It is really hard sitting or even standing up listening to people you don’t value. When you listen to podcast or programs of interest, you select music, talks or even comedy of interest that appeals to you. In this digital age, experience has taught me to pay attention to what really matters to me. In fact, unless I am sacrificing my time for a worthy cause, if it’s not taking me to the next level and if it doesn’t involve money, it doesn’t worth my time.

In any industry you are in, you need to practice good listening skills. Are you seeking for a job, or currently working, you need a good listening skill to succeed in a job environment.

With this skill, you can navigate the politics of the job environment. Even a leader needs this skill the most. I have always opine that one of the great art of a leader is the ability to listen and learn. This is because you get more ideas when you listen to your followers.

Listening gives you ability to hear (feedback) what others feel about your work. According to Bill Gates “your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning”.

During the course of this article, we shall be discussing the different styles of listening and how we can use effective listening to enhance our business or opportunity of interest.

Practice active listening: The most important gift you can give to a public speaker is your ears. When you listen to someone, you are not only giving the person your time, you are also learning more about the person. There’s a saying you can learn more about a person by what he/she does than what he/she says. Practicing active listening is a very good way to learn and be engaged. In communication, what is important is not what is being said, but what is not being said, therein, lies the message. When you practice active listening, you hear the unspoken language from the other person in addition to being engaged.

According to G.K. Chesterton “there’s a lot of difference between hearing and listening.” This is because hearing isn’t necessarily listening. This is because you can hear someone but not present at the same time. Active listening makes you to be present. You may have heard of the saying, the joy of life is not happy you are, but how happy someone can because of you. Everyone loves to be listened and loved. In my book Design Your Destiny – Actualizing Your Birthright To Success, specifically on page 111, I wrote about the four levels of gratitude (Appreciation, administration, approval and attention). In order to understand this teachings you must practice active listening to understand the unspoken words inherent in such deeds.

Eye Contact: A great communicator uses eye contact to deliver his/her message. One of the most valuable ways a public speaker communicate with his/she audience is by using eye contact. With eye contact, you can tell if your audience is listening or feeling bored.

Sometimes you hear what the person is saying when you look directly in the eyes of the person, sometimes, maintaining a visible presence by looking over the head audience gives them the desired space they need. This is because some people don’t feel comfortable when they have direct eye contact. Eye contact also goes with the body language of the speaker. In communication, sometimes, somethings are better felt than spoken.

Don’t interrupt the speaker: A good way to know a great speaker is by looking how he/she pitches his/point or message. Interrupting a speaker can ruin the flow of information. That is why sometimes, it is good to reserve questions towards at the end of any presentation.

Listen without judgment: –: In communication, most times, people listen with the intent to respond as opposed to understanding. This normally plays out most times in marriage. In law, a good to way to apply justice is by listening to the other side. In applying this knowledge, the judge normally use Audi alteram partem, a Latin phrase meaning “listen to the other side”, or “let the other side be heard as well”. It is the principle that no person should be judged without a fair hearing in which each party is given the opportunity to respond to the evidence against them.

Meditation: Mediation is a form of listening. According to Thomas Carlyle, “Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together”. Meditation is truly a great form of listening. According to Wayne Dyer, an inspirational author, meditation is simply the act of being quiet with yourself and shutting the constant monologue that fills the inner space.

Meditation helps in self discovering. You learn more about yourself when you listen to your inner self as opposed to what other people think of you. There are many benefits that comes with meditation. Examples include: it reduces stress, helps you to focus very well, it reduces anxiety, it gives you better memory and enhances creativity.

In conclusion, a good listening skill if properly utilized will set you on a good path that will set you before leaders, kings and Heads of Industries if properly applied.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with New York City Department of Correction as the legal Coordinator. He’s the author of the acclaimed book Design Your Destiny – Actualizing Your Birthright To Success.

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2027: Nigerians Will Choose Their President, Atiku Berates SGF Akume

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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has stated that the power to decide who will occupy the office of President of Nigeria in 2027 ultimately resides in the Nigerian people.

Atiku’s statement was in response to a comment made by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, who claimed that President Bola Tinubu’s second term in office for 2027 is a done deal.

Akume had argued that for equity and fairness, it is only right for Tinubu – a southerner – to complete a second term, as the North had already had its fair share of leadership.

Atiku’s Special Adviser (Media), Paul Ibe, responded to Akume’s remarks through a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, asking, “Where, then, does true equity and fairness reside?”

Ibe highlighted that by 2027, the South would have enjoyed 17 years of leadership—eight years under Olusegun Obasanjo, five years under Goodluck Jonathan, and four years under Tinubu—while the North would have experienced only 11 years, with Umaru Yar’Adua serving three years and Muhammadu Buhari serving eight years. This, Ibe argued, creates a six-year disparity between the North and South, affecting the balance of power.

He concluded by emphasizing that the power to elect or remove a government lies firmly with the Nigerian people, who will decide whether the current administration deserves another term. “But has the Tinubu government demonstrated that it deserves to be re-elected? The answer, alas, is as clear as the heavens themselves—God forbid!”

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John Dramani Mahama: The New Landlord at Jubilee House

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By Eric Elezuo

The phone call from the opposition, New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, and incumbent Vice President, Muhammadu Bawumia, was not just the dose Ghanaians needed to erupt into a frenzy in celebration of the election victory of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, and former President, John Dramani Mahama, it was also the antidote to neutralize any unforeseen electoral brouhaha that might erupt in the near future.

The admission of defeat by Bawumia sent the people of Ghana into loud shouts of victory; singing and dancing to celebrate the return of a man known for his penchant to deliver good governance. To a great number of Ghanaians, even those who did not vote for him as a result of party affiliation, and other technical reasons, another ‘black jesus’, who will restore the economic efficacy of the country has returned to Jubilee House, formerly known as Flagstaff House, the official home of the President of the Republic of Ghana.

Today, Mahama is no longer former President, he is President-elect, waiting to take up the mantle of leadership for another four years. He is the new landlord of Ghana’s Jubilee House!

The President-Elect, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, is not a stranger when it comes to churning out people oriented programmes and initiatives. During his days as minister, vice president and subsequently, the president, Mahama’s landmark achievements have remained a reference to administrators and would-be administrators. His feats have not escaped the discerning minds and eyes, who have showered him with accolades from home and abroad. In Nigeria, he has been recognized on more then many occasions including his state of of ancestral connection, Kwara, where he bagged the title of Aare Atolase of Offa Kingdom, conferred on him by the Olofa of Offa Kingdom.

Also among the avalanche of recognitions the President-Elect has garnered in Nigeria, is the award of honours on his person by the premier private university in Nigeria, the Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State.

On November 24, 2018, he was conferred with an honourary doctorate degree for his foresightedness, infrastructural development and general achievements which have affected humanity positively.

Mahama, a politician of great repute, was born on November 29 1958, and has been privileged to serve in various civil and political capacities, culminating in holding the highest office in the land from July 24, 2012 to January 7, 2017.

Mahama started his primary education at the Accra Newtown Experimental School (ANT1) and completed his O’levels education at Achimota School and his A’levels education at Ghana Secondary School (Tamale, Northern region). He proceeded to the University of Ghana, Legon, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in History in 1981 and a Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies in 1986. As a student, he was a member of Commonwealth Hall (Legon). He also studied at the Institute of Social Sciences in Moscow in the Soviet Union, specializing in Social Psychology; he obtained a postgraduate degree in 1988.

His catalogue of enviable services include serving as Vice President of Ghana from 2009 to 2012, and took office as President on July 24, 2012 following the death of his predecessor, John Atta Mills. He was also a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2009 and Minister of Communications from 1998 to 2001. A communication expert, historian, and writer, Mahama is a member of the National Democratic Congress.

Though he was born in Damongo in the Damango-Daboya constituency of Northern region, he is a member of the Gonja ethnic group, and hails from Bole in the Northern region. His father, Emmanuel Adama Mahama, a wealthy rice farmer and teacher, was the first Member of Parliament for the West Gonja constituency and the first Regional Commissioner of the Northern Region during the First Republic under Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah.

After completing his undergraduate education, Mahama taught History at the secondary school level for a few years. Upon his return to Ghana after studying in Moscow, he worked as the Information, Culture and Research Officer at the Embassy of Japan in Accra between 1991 and 1995.

From there he moved to the anti-poverty non-governmental organisation (NGO) Plan International’s Ghana Country Office, where he worked as International Relations, Sponsorship Communications and Grants Manager between 1995 and 1996.

In 1993, he participated in a professional training course for Overseas Public Relations Staff, organized by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo. He also participated in a management development course organized by Plan International (RESA) in Nairobi, Kenya.

Mahama’s first triumph in politics came in 1996 when he was elected to the Parliament of Ghana to represent the Bole/Bamboi Constituency for a four-year term. In April 1997, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Communications, and barely a year later, was promoted to the post of Minister of Communications, and served until January 2001. During the period under review, he also served as the Chairman of the National Communications Authority, in which capacity he played a key role in stabilising Ghana’s telecommunications sector after it was deregulated in 1997.

As a minister, he was a founding member of the Ghana AIDS Commission, a member of the implementation committee of the 2000 National Population Census and a deputy chairman of the Publicity Committee for the re-introduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT).

In 2000, Mahama was re-elected for another four-year term as the Member of Parliament for the Bole/Bamboi Constituency. He was again re-elected in 2004 for a third term. From 2001 to 2004, Mahama served as the Minority Parliamentary Spokesman for Communications.

In 2002, he was appointed the Director of Communications for the NDC. That same year, he served as a member of the team of International Observers selected to monitor Zimbabwe’s Parliamentary Elections.

As an MP, he was a member of Standing Orders Committee as well as the Transport, Industry, Energy, Communications, Science and Technology Committee of Parliament.

In his continued efforts to expand his interest and involvement in international affairs, in 2003 Mahama became a member of the Pan-African Parliament, serving as the Chairperson of the West African Caucus until 2011. He was also a member of European and Pan African Parliaments’ Ad-hoc Committee on Cooperation.

In 2005, he was, additionally, appointed the Minority Spokesman for Foreign Affairs. He is also a member of the UNDP Advisory Committee on Conflict Resolution in Ghana.

As Vice-President, he served as the Chairman of the National Economic Management Team, the Armed Forces Council of Ghana, the Decentralisation and Implementation Committee and the Police Council of Ghana in this capacity.

Mahama is full of experience, having served at all levels of poltical office, and he brought them all to bear as President, giving out a sterling performance that could only compare with the very best. He was the first, and remains the only Ghana president to have been born after independence.

On March 30, 2014, he was elected to preside over ECOWAS. On June 26, 2014, he was elected Chairperson of the African Union’s (AU’s) High-Level African Trade Committee (HATC).

On January 21, 2016 on the occasion of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mahama became co-chair of the Sustainable Development Goals Advocates group which consists of 17 eminent persons assisting the UN Secretary-General in the campaign to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that world leaders unanimously adopted in September 2015.

In December 2016, he was part of the ECOWAS mediation team to resolve the post-election political impasse in The Gambia between the defeated incumbent, Yahya Jammeh and declared winner, Adam Barrow.

Mahama, now a member of the Assemblies of God, is married to Lordina Mahama, and they are blessed with five children named Shafik, Shahid, Sharaf, Jesse and Farida.

Over the course of his career, Mahama has written for several newspapers and other publications both locally and internationally. Additionally, he is also a devotee of Afrobeat music, especially that of Fela Kuti.

The stadium project

Mahama is not new to awards and honours as his good works have paved a broad way for recognitions. He received an honorary doctorate in the field of Public Administration, from the Ekiti State University of Nigeria, formerly affiliated to the Obafemi Awolowo University in “recognition of his politico-socio economic development of Ghana and Africa at various stages of his political career. Later the same university passed a resolution to name its Faculty of Management Science after him.

He was also honoured by the Cuban government with the Friendship Medal for his relentless advocacy for the Cuban cause.

Also, The General Council of Assemblies of God, Ghana has honoured him with its Daniel Award.

The Graduate School of Governance and Leadership also awarded him the African Servant Leadership Award while the Institute of Public Relations recognized Mahama with a prize for his leadership acumen and technocratic flair.

In 2013, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) conferred on Mahama the Africa Award for Excellence in Food Security and Poverty Reduction.

In March 2016, University of Aberdeen held a special convocation to confer him an honorary degree of Doctors of Laws (LLD).

In December 2016, he was honoured with a Life time award by Ovation Media Group during its yearly Ovation Carol.

A Bill Gates Fellow, Mahama was awarded the Great Cross of the National Order of Benin, the highest award in Benin, by President Yayi Boni.

In February 2017, Mahama received the 2016 African Political Leader of the Year Award from the African Leadership Magazine in South Africa.

He honourably left office on January 7, 2018 after losing to main opposition candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, in the general election held a month earlier.

“I will allow history to be the judge of my time,” Mahama said as he address his crowd of supporters as he concede defeat.

He repeated the same lines as he variously defended his administration in a bid to make a comeback during his campaigns.

Mahama has touted the achievements of his government in the areas of power, roads, the economy, water and sanitation. While delivering his final State of the Nation Address to Parliament, he said the government had extended electricity coverage, increased water supply and improved roads.

As president, he deployed emergency plants and sped up the completion of ongoing plants resulting in the addition of more than 800 megawatts (MW) of power over an 18-month period. That, and many more had helped to stabilise the power situation in Ghana.

Working on the standard mantra of achieving “water for all by the year 2025”, Mahama put in extra effort to achieve the target well in advance of the set date by increasing investment in the provision of clean drinking water, citing of boreholes, small town water systems and major urban water treatment. Consequently, by the end of 2015, excess of 76 per cent of both rural and urban residents have access to potable water.

Mahama contended that his tenure of office had seen some of the most massive investments in the road sector in the history of the country.

While he completed road projects he inherited, such as the Achimota-Ofankor, Awoshie-Pokuase, Sofoline and Tetteh Quarshie-Adenta, he also commenced and completed the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, fast-tracked the construction and opening of the Kasoa overhead bridge, completed the Airport Hills/Burma Camp network of roads, as well as the 37-El Wak-Trade Fair road and a host of others.

His trail of achievements are endless. Mahama is just another name for administrative excellence, and Ghanaians are blessed to have him return to complete his secure tenure as the landlord of Jubilee House.

Mahama will be sworn in to run another four-year course of administration on January 7, 2025, having defeated the incumbent Vice President, Bawumia, in a keenly contested election on December 7, 2024.

Congratulations sir!

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Ghana: Mahama Wins Reelection, Oppositon Candidate Concedes Defeat

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Ghana’s former President John Dramani Mahama has staged a political comeback by winning the West African nation’s presidential election after his rival, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded defeat on Sunday.
Addressing a press conference from his residence, Bawumia said he had called Mahama to congratulate him, adding that Mahama’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) also won the parliamentary election.
“Let me say that the data from our own internal collation of the election results indicate that former President John Dramani Mahama has won the Presidential election decisively,” Bawumia said.
“The NDC has also won the parliamentary election. Even though we await final collation of a number of seats, I believe ultimately these will not change the outcome.”
Bawumia said he conceded before the official results to ease tensions.
Before his concession, scuffles had been reported in several local constituency centres where results were still arriving from polling stations.
“I am making this concession speech before the official announcement by the Electoral Commission to avoid further tension and preserve the peace of our country,” Bawumia said.
“It is important that the world investor community continues to believe in the peaceful and democratic character of Ghana,” he added. “The people have voted for change at this time, and we respect that decision with all humility.”
Source: Reuters.com
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