Dear Destiny Friends,

It is with great pleasure that I write to you today about an extraordinarily great man who is celebrating his unique, scintillating and surreal birthday on this auspicious day.

One may be wondering who is this great man in question? He’s no other person than the great Chief Dele Momodu, the Chairman of Ovation Media Group, who was born on May 16, 1960.

According to my spiritual mentor, Evangelist Ebuka Obi, he’s not preaching about Jesus Christ, who he heard about, he’s talking and preaching about Jesus Christ whom he has experienced. In the same manner, I am not talking about Dr. Dele Momodu whom I have heard about, I am talking about Dr. Dele Momodu who I have personally experienced. When I talk about experience, I have spoken to him for over a thousand hours. In fact, he once stated on a live Instagram program, he talks to me more than everyone in the world.

Let me begin by talking about the humble beginning of Chief Momodu. Chief Dele Momodu really had a humble beginning.  His father died when he was barely 13 years old. One can imagine when life was in stock for him as a 13years old boy. According to him, his mother was poor and unlettered. Ordinarily, in the eyes and hearts of men, the future appeared bleak and insecure, but as the saying goes, the way of man is different from the ways of God. As we proceed you will discover how faithful God appeared to him.

The life of Dr. Momodu can be described as a testimony because life seems to be very fair to him. There have been situations when life seems to be coming to an end for him and out of the blues, God will send a destiny helper to him. One thing that is certain about this great man is that he has a charming personality. You can’t see him and hate him unless you are a witchcraft spirit. It may surprise you to know that Chief Dele Momodu’s enemy loves him because he tells them the raw truth when they either need to hear it or when they consult him.

The doggedness of Chief Dele Momodu was first felt when he had to retake the West African Examination Council three times to secure admission. Coming from a teenager with an extremely humble background, most times, one is not given an opportunity to thrive, but here is the young Momodu who is making a name for himself by not giving up on himself even when friends, relatives have already given up on him. His late mother once asked him if he was cursed when he couldn’t get his West African Examination Council results and Jamb cancelled results. As God will have it, he was able to secure admission to study Yoruba at Obafemi Awolowo University. Upon graduation, he applied to study Literature in English and thereby became the only Nigerian that read Yoruba language with master’s in literature in English language.

On 30 July 2016, Momodu was awarded with an honorary doctorate degree (PhD) from the University of Professional Studies, Accra, Ghana, earning him the title “Doctor of Humane”.

Upon graduation, getting a job was very hard for him, he began to freelance, luck and fate found him when he got an opportunity to work for Chief Moshood Abiola African Concord Newspaper and in two years time he became the highest paid editor in Nigeria.

Chief Dele Momodu’s love for humanity and good governance can be felt when he opposed bad governance from 1978 till date. He has always stated he has always been in the opposition party. He played a critical role in restoring peace in Sierra Leone, Rwanda and other African countries.

Dr. Momodu is one man I can say he rose from grass to grace. Here’s a man whose father died when he was barely 13 years old. His mother, a poor unlettered woman who knows the value of education went over and beyond to positively send his child to school. I guess she has the premonition that apart from God, education is the only gateway that can shape their future. She was so right because even the Bible states in Proverbs 4:13, your education is your life, guard it very well and proverbs 1:7 states “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

One may be wondering why I had to quote the Bible. Well, it is instructive to note that Dr. Momodu is a child of destiny because how can you describe a man who was evicted from the house with this mother because they couldn’t pay the rent, they resorted to find a temporary solace in the church to a man who has met  Presidents of different countries who have engaged him on a one – on – one personal basis, met with world leaders, and travelled to more than 60 countries.

One may be wondering what made it possible for Chief Dele Momodu to achieve all these great strides. The answer is very simple, he has been able to achieve this feat because of his brand, Ovation Media Group ( Ovation International Magazine) which makes him irresistible, but importantly Dr. Momodu has the “God factor” in his life. It won’t be out of place if you call him a child of destiny because his life seems to be more than an uncommon one.

Looking back to his humble beginnings, I doubt if anyone will give him an opportunity to thrive because he has little or no support for him except his belief in God, belief in himself and dare-devil mindset. Yes, I said it because Dr. Momodu is an avid strategic risk taker. He has taken routes which are less travelled by many people and by the grace of God he has come out stronger. The strangest thing about Chief Dele Momodu is that the more you look, the less you see.

 I can him the mentor of mentors because he embodies a lot of qualities in me. Above he is the definition of a pinnacle mentor.  Of all the qualities he possesses, the one that endears to him is his sophisticated level of humility and selfless spirit.

Dr. Momodu has received hundreds of awards and honors for his work in the world of business, politics, literature, the music industry and the fashion industry

Love for good governance and exile:

In 1993, Momodu resigned to join the Moshood Abiola presidential campaign organization. Momodu was arrested and detained at Alagbon Close in Lagos, after the annulment of the 12 June presidential election by General Ibrahim Babagida He was punished by the reigning dictatorship for his pro-democratic views but was undeterred. He was to be arrested in 1995 and charged with treason by the government of Sani Abacha, then a dictator. Momodu was accused of being one of the brains behind the pirate radio station, Radio Freedom (later Radio Kudirat), after the murder of Alhaja kudira Abiola, Momodu managed to escape by masquerading as a farmer through the Seme border into Cotonou, in Benin Republic, from where he fled to Togo, Ghana and eventually to the United Kingdom. For three agonizing years, he could not re-enter his homeland, Nigeria.

Business

Momodu started Ovation International in 1996 while still in exile. After the death of Abiola in prison, and the subsequent death of his military ruler  Sani Abacha, Momodu ended his exile. Since then, he has expanded Ovation International, and is now one of Africa’s most popular celebrities.

Political career

Dr. Momdou’s passion for good governance continued when he wass fraustred with Nigerian leaders. Instead of lamenting like Jeremiah, he  contested for the position of president of the federal republic of Nigeria under the Labour Party, during the 2011 presidential election Unfortunately, the Labour Party dropped out of the presidential race and he ended up running under the platform of the National Conscience Party and lost to President Goodluck Jonathan in the general elections.

In February 2022, he declared his intention to run for president of Nigeria, on the platform of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, but lost the ticket to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Dr. Momodu always describes himself as a man of modest income who has become a global citizen.

As I am about to end this article, let me state some obvious facts, The story of my life will not be complete without the mention of  Aare Dele Momodu, a man of many immeasurable qualities. One thing about this great man is that he is largely underrated, but those who know him know for a fact, he is a patriot who stands for the right principles, ideology, values, causes, and what he believes.

Today, l boldly state, he is one of the great men if not the greatest man God used to give me visibility. I say this because apart from my book in which he wrote the foreword, nothing has given me prominence in the world than my writing skills.

I have been writing since 2012 on my blog, but in 2018, he gave me the opportunity to write on his platform The Boss Newspaper, and since then, l have developed a keen interest in writing and have not missed a single week of publishing articles about self and human capacity development.

When we talk of mentorship, l learnt the art from him. When we talk of intentionality, l learnt it from him. When we talk of humility, l learnt it from him, when we talk of strategic networking, l learnt it from him. When we talk of working hard and smart, l learnt it from him. When we talk of being objective, speaking truth to power, and being selfless to humanity, l learnt the art from him. I can go on and on, but as the sage will say, a word is enough for the wise.

Sir, as you celebrate your 65th birthday, I pray for more blessing, good health, and the mercy of God upon your life. Amen.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator.  He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design Your  and Unleash Your Destiny .  He can be reached via info@gloemi.com

Dear Destiny Friends,

There is no doubt everyone experiences different levels of pain and disappointment when things or life don’t go as planned. Many thoughts naturally run through minds. Depending on the issue on the ground, one might wonder what he did wrong, or what he could have done differently. More questions such as ‘was my request too much, did I act too fast or slow, was my approach bad, was my work untidy, did I under prepare will continually flash tbrough the mind? No doubt, the mind will be busy wondering what caused the failure.

Ordinarily, they are supposed to make us feel frustrated, especially when it is an opportunity we have been praying to have. Imagine having an idol, celebrity or an influential leader who can change your life giving you an opportunity, but for reasons beyond your comprehension or articulation, you couldn’t seize the moment to create a lasting impression; an lost opportunity.

Trust me, I can relate to the feeling having experienced similar fate on several occasions. There are relationships that I have lost either because I was naïve or couldn’t nurture it well. However, one may try to look at it, life may not always go as planned; one may be planning out his life and God or the universe will be planning something else. Sometimes, what we thought might be good for ourselves, might not really be good for us.

Let me share a practical story; during my formative years in the United States of America, I worked as a security officer for a decent amount of time, while still applying to many other companies. Though I couldn’t secure a decent paying job, I didn’t lose hope either, I kept my hope alive. It is important to state that I was frustrated and felt depressed. I wondered when my life will change for the better. It got to a stage I felt only a miracle can change the course of my life because people who have less capacity, competency and capability than me were getting opportunities and I began to wonder if I was cursed. Many thoughts were running through my mind. But what gave strength were the words of my Registrar while at New York Law School. According to him, if you lose all options, don’t lose hope.

One thing I did was to maximise my present status as a security officer and used the opportunity to network during the day. I attended events of interest in the morning, afternoon and nights. Sometimes. I will go to work from the event.

In all honesty, I didn’t know the people I met during my formative years while working as a security officer will be instrumental to who I am today, and what I will be doing in the near future. Why do I say this? I know for a fact, assuming I had a decent paying job after my law school program, I doubt if I would have had time to write my first book and as well, attend events and network with the high and mighty in the society.

When I look back, I will say this is a disguised blessing because all these people came in handy to support my work when I published my book.

Furthermore, there was a time I missed a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award event, an award that could have changed the course of my life. While I was troubled by the incident, a mentor of mine said to me, “don’t grieve for what didn’t happen because what didn’t happen could prevent disaster from happening”. This is so true because sometimes we might not know the people we meet, who can do harm to us in the nearest future which we might not know, so the creator of the universe can cause a scene or situation that will prevent the relationship from going forward.

It can also be a case where one is looking for a job, and the job might be that which will consume the fellow in the nearest future. So, when one gets denied the opportunity of working, instead of crying over spilled milk, consider seeing it as disguised blessing, which can be a bigger company that might offer you more benefits. It can also be a case of maybe, your destiny helper might be in the company that offers you less pay as opposed to a bigger company that one is aspiring to get, but was denied.

In the journey of life, sometimes one must refuse to capitalize on one’s gain, this is because anyone can do that, but what’s more important is to profit from the loss, because that requires a certain degree of intelligence.

Disguised blessings can come in different forms, for instance while some people are begging because one of their legs is amputated, another person has won Gold at Paralympics because both legs are amputated and thereby receiving global recognition.

Life is about perspective; how you see it is how it will reflect on you. Life itself is a mirror; it depends on the lens you are using to view it. If you believe that life happens to you, you will be the beggar in that situation. But if you know that you happen to life, you will be bigger instead of being a beggar. So, wake up every day and don’t gauge how you feel that day. Instead, tell yourself how you want to feel on any given day. Be the driver of your life, not a passenger.

In conclusion, when you have done what you are supposed to, and life still doesn’t turn out as expected, instead of feeling frustrated, try looking at it from the angle of disguised blessings by learning the inherent lessons the said situation is bringing to your table of life.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator.  He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design Your  and Unleash Your Destiny .  He can be reached via info@gloemi.com

Dear Destiny Friends,

We all need faith to succeed. Whether a student, entrepreneur, politician, leader, clergy or even woman in desperate need of a child; without faith, success will be difficult.

Faith is a strong component of life. Faith can be described as the invisible energy one cannot see but feels. For one to truly succeed, one must have faith in himself and business. If this is in place, the path is therefore paved for the extra mile through attending events of interest whether paid or unpaid for, reading books, network strategically, and most importantly believing in his work and worth.

The sad reality about life is that sometimes we lose faith in ourselves, and in our work Sometimes, just because of criticisms whether direct or constructive, in some cases we believe we are not good enough or our work is not good enough.

There are many reasons why one can fail in life, and lack of faith is one of them. I strongly believe that if no one believes in you, you just have to believe in yourself, if no one loves you, love yourself, if no gives you an opportunity, give yourself an opportunity, if no one gives you a chair, bring your seat. I have also come to realize that one has to project the image they want the world to see them as. In doing this, there is the need to present and package visions with optimism as opposed to living a fake life.

When faith is well practised, it will definitely be tested; one’s desire, interest, passion and love will be tested. It’s just like a lady who professes love to her lover; she is bound to be loyal to the relationship, in good and bad times despite having admirers who are ready to splash the goodies of life on her. In the same vein, a married woman will have to prove her love to her husband when the man experiences a challenge in his finances.

The same theory is also applicable to men whether single or married, who are always in the business of messing with other ladies despite being committed in a relationship. The idea here is that one’s faith will be tested because at the end of the day, we shall all experience challenges in our businesses, friendship, relationship, marriage, and spiritual life.

The power of faith however, cannot be overemphasized. Barack Obama believed in himself when he contested to be the United States of America President. Many people doubted his ability to win, but he humbled them with his audacious victory. He even authored a book titled “The Audacity of Hope” and “Dreams from My Father”. A cursory look at the titles of the book will reveal that Obama had absolute faith in the future, and his faith was audacious. He also believed in the dreams of his late father which also speaks about his father’s faith as well as his.

I believe this might be the reason the tagged his presidential campaign “Hope”. Hope in the possibility of the future.

When you believe in your spouse, child, employees and friends, you give them imaginary strength to do wonders. I have experienced the blessings of having faith in oneself. When I was working on my first book, I had faith the book would leave a great impact in the lives of young adults and emerging entrepreneurs, in addition to opening doors for me, and as fate will have it, it turned out exactly the way I imagined.

I also have the firm belief that by the special grace of God, I will be celebrated like other great minds the world has known. How it will happen, when it will happen and where it will happen, that I cannot say, but I believe it will happen at the right time.

When the word faith is mentioned, its principle is universal. It is instructive to note that it is the name you call someone the person will answer. When you don’t believe in something, it won’t work for you. There is a story about a sick mother whose son was a doctor. The son gave the mother a pill, but she refused and insisted she needed an injection. The son told the mother that as an experienced physician, who had been treating different patients for years, he was sure of the prescription he was giving her. Still, the mother refused to take the pill and insisted she needed an injection.

According to her, she had seen him injecting other people, and they got well. After some pleading, the mother agreed to take the pill. Sadly, even after then, her condition didn’t improve. When the son realized what was going on, he decided to inject her with only water as a placebo. In two days, the mother’s health dramatically improved. This is an example of how the root cause of an illness may lie in the mind or belief, but more importantly the woman had faith in the injection more than the pill her son is giving her.

My late dad used to own a hospital with his siblings, and each time I visited the hospital, I heard music in the background. I wondered why music was played in such silent and melodic tones. I later understood that the music was a form of spiritual and faith-based healing method. When patients heard the spiritual healing music, it gave them hope of survival.

In conclusion, in whatever you are doing, or want to do, you need to ignite a proactive and pragmatic faith to succeed. While doing this, be aware that doubt, fear and distractions will show up along the way. When they do, just know that, your desire for success should always outweigh your fear for failure.

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator.  He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design Your  and Unleash Your Destiny .  He can be reached via info@gloemi.com