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ExxonMobil empowers medical students
By Ebele ORAKPO
If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail —Benjamin Franklin
LAGOS-IN recognition of this truth, TOMEB Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that focuses on education, youth development and sustainability, in conjunction with ExxonMobil, organised a one-day empowerment programme for final-year medical students of University of Lagos.
The aim was to get them to consciously plan for the future and equip them with basic skills and knowledge on how to set and achieve their goals.
At the event with the theme: Achieving Goals: A Dignified Successful Future is Possible, held at the College Auditorium of the institution, over 200 copies of The Personal Business Plan: A blueprint for running your life, purchased by ExxonMobil, were distributed to participants.
While delivering his paper, Art and Science of Self-Knowledge, Country Managing Director, Accenture, Mr. Niyi Yusuf advised students to reinvent themselves by developing communication skills that will enable them interact with people, stressing that students should have affinity for experimentation and change.
“Do you know who you are and what motivates you? What do you like and what would you die for? These are very important skills in life,” he said, citing renowned footballers such as J. J. Okocha, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi etc., who he noted may not have doctorate degrees but whose passion have brought them fame and fortune.
“To these people, football has become a business. Therefore, self-discovery is the key.”
Advising participants to find out when they perform best, Yusuf said “Confucius said ‘choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life’. You need to be conscious of what you are good at as self-awareness helps you identify your strengths, weaknesses, personalities, habits and values and ultimately areas for continuous improvement.”
Delivering a paper on Principles and practice of goals-setting and achievements, Senior Registrar in the Department of Public Heath, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Dr. (Mrs.) Ibipo Abdurraheem-Salami, noted with concern that underemployment is a major problem among doctors, adding that the quality of training is not improving with the changing times. She advised the students to always have a clear plan of what they want out of life.
“Unless you are excellent as doctors, you won’t fly. Know yourself before setting a goal as it helps to envisage what you want to be in future.”
She said people do not set goals as a result of ignorance, the fear of failure or the fear of rejection.
In his paper, Dealing with Procrastination, convener of the programme and founder of TOMEB Foundation, Mr. Tunde Popoola said procrastination is the number one enemy that defers goals and advised participants to avoid delays.
“You don’t write your goals in the paper and go to bed; you have to take action.”
Pointing out that impulsiveness is the major cause of procrastination, Popoola said “that is when you only do what comes to you – you have to watch it because if nothing limits you, you can excel in your future endeavours.”
He advised participants to always plan ahead by embracing the 6Ps’ formula: proper prior planning prevents poor performance.
On how to achieve set goals, Popoola said: “Select any goal on which you have been procrastinating and take one step immediately. Also, do the most important and difficult task. Do not follow the normal route of most people; always start your day by doing your most important difficult task first. Make a list of all that you have to do the next day/week. Review the list using the ‘ABCDE’ method and the 80/20 Pareto Rule. If you do this everyday for about a month, it becomes a habit, “he said.
In her vote of thanks, the Provost of UNILAG College of Medicine, and chief host, Prof. Folasade Ogunshola thanked the organisers for the life-changing programme. She charged the participants to use the tips received to be their guiding light in their life pursuits. “Your attitude and how you use your strength to get to the top counts. And for some who are not going to practice medicine, this platform is a place to make self-discovery. Follow your passion and make sure that the passion is relevant to the system,” she said.
Vanguard-
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Music Icon Quincy Jones Passes Away At 91
Quincy Jones, the legendary music producer, composer, and cultural icon whose career spanned over seven decades, has passed away at the age of 91.
Jones died peacefully on Sunday night at his Bel Air home, surrounded by family, according to his publicist, Arnold Robinson.
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” his family said in a statement. “And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.”
Renowned for his unmatched versatility, Jones collaborated with some of the greatest musical talents of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, and Will Smith. He played an integral role in producing Jackson’s groundbreaking albums Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad, which catapulted the pop star to global superstardom and earned Jones worldwide acclaim.
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Born in Chicago in 1933, Jones’ journey into music began early. His childhood introduction came from a neighbor’s piano playing and his mother’s singing. After moving to Washington state following his parents’ divorce, he honed his skills in his high school band and began playing with a young Ray Charles in Seattle’s vibrant club scene.
Jones’ career took off in New York, where he played trumpet in Elvis Presley’s early TV performances and worked with bebop legends like Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. By 1958, he was working with Frank Sinatra, arranging for the singer’s band at the request of Princess Grace Kelly. Their partnership flourished, spanning several projects including Sinatra’s final album LA Is My Lady in 1984.
Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Jones’ talents extended into film and television scores, composing music for films such as The Italian Job, In the Heat of the Night, and the acclaimed The Color Purple, for which he earned three Oscar nominations. He also scored hit TV shows including The Bill Cosby Show and Roots.
In 1985, Jones produced and co-conducted the charity anthem “We Are the World” alongside Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, raising millions for Ethiopian famine relief. Despite personal and professional challenges—including surviving a near-fatal brain aneurysm in 1974—Jones’s career continued to thrive.
Jones’ influence wasn’t limited to music. In 1990, he founded Quincy Jones Entertainment, the company behind the popular sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which launched the career of Will Smith. His media ventures also included the creation of Qwest TV, an on-demand music streaming service, and the magazine Vibe, which celebrated Black music and culture.
Over his career, Jones earned 80 Grammy nominations, winning 28—making him one of the most decorated artists in the award’s history. Tributes poured in following news of his death. Actor Michael Caine, who shared Jones’ birthdate, called him “a wonderful and unique human being.” Music artists such as LL Cool J expressed gratitude, saying, “You were a father and example at a time when I truly needed one. Music would not be music without you.”
Jones is survived by his seven children, leaving behind an indelible legacy that will resonate through generations to come. His life’s work transformed music, television, and culture, proving that there truly was no limit to what Quincy Jones could accomplish.
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Prayers Won’t Build Roads, Fund Children’s Education – Jesse Jagz To Nigerians
Singer and rapper Jesse Jagz has called on Nigerians to rethink their approach to religion.
Jagz suggested that African traditional religious gods have become ineffective, attributing this to the excessive alcohol given to them during rituals, which, according to him, has made them obese, diabetic, and unable to aid their worshipers.
Speaking on the ‘Big Talk’ podcast, the rapper also criticized followers of foreign religions for relying solely on prayer and expecting miracles without putting in the necessary effort. He stressed that prayers alone cannot provide essential social services or infrastructure.
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“When you go to a shrine and you see the priest pouring gin on the gods, Google how much a bottle of gin was in slavery. 40 slaves.
“Our gods are drunk on alcohol and meat. They are obese and diabetic.
“They can’t help us do anything. Prayers do not build roads or buy books for children. We have forgotten humanity,” he said.
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Presidents Invite Me To Dinner Wherever I Go – Davido Boasts
Renowned Nigerian singer, David Adeleke, known by his stage name Davido, has stated that he receives special treatment globally due to his celebrity status.
The Afrobeats sensation mentioned that he is frequently invited to presidential dinners in nearly every country he visits, with the exception of the United States and the United Kingdom.
In a recent interview with Kiss Fresh London, Davido confidently shared that his fanbase includes influential figures such as the World Bank president, presidents of powerful nations, and other notable personalities.
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“Every country we go to, the President invites us for dinner except London [United Kingdom] and the United States of America.
“It’s beautiful to see. I mean, leaving my country, Nigeria, and people welcoming me like the president in other countries, shows how well Nigeria is doing around the world in terms of music and cultural impacts,” he said.
Davido has expressed that he feels most respected in Africa, which is why he cherishes his African tours more than those in Europe and America, even though the latter bring him greater financial rewards.
He shared that his Jamaican collaborator, YG Marley, was astonished by the immense admiration from fans when he visited Nigeria for the video shoot of their joint hit, ‘Awuke.’