One of the best creators of picture quotes in the world, Kushand Wizdom, once said “Words are free. It’s how you use them that may cost.”
This same view is shared by Africa’s most creative and influential mind and Affirmation Queen, Bukola Lukan, who since her Junior Secondary School days, has been winning through words of affirmations. In an exclusive interview with Ayodeji Ake, she expressed belief that affirmations are a simple solution to mental health and hardship. In fact, since 2020, she has distributed over 5,000 affirmation cards to Nigerians with positive testimonies and by 2030, shewishes to have reached out to 13 million Africans evangelising the power of affirmation.
What does the concept ‘Affirmation’ ideally mean to a layman?
Affirmation is every word we speak positively or negatively. Our affirmations create our reality, and the first thing I say to people is to be careful
of what they say if they are not sure they are ready to live in what they are creating with their words.
When we begin to carefully watch what we say knowing how powerful our words give expression to our emotions and determine the outcome of our reality,
it is called ‘Positive Affirmations’. When we speak carelessly without putting our outcome into consideration, which is when we are using negative affirmations.
In the reality of things, in this part of the world where insecurity and economic hardship are big burdens, how does your affirmation concept give succour to Nigerians?
I tell people that we are in this present situation as a result of our Affirmations. Affirmations are seeds that grow to become fruits as we keep affirming them. Our dear nation is here today due to so many reasons which we know about, but I can also say that our negative seeds of affirmation are a reason we are here today. If you want a good seed to grow, let us not look at the present situation of
the seed to affirm negative words, it is high time we start speaking about where we want to see ourselves in the years to come. A good number wake up every day planting negative affirmation seeds into this nation. Words are powerful, and until we understand that we are only having what we have planted, we will keep seeing the same result.
We need to start creating the world by being intentional about the kind of seeds that you daily plant into it. America is a good example of using positive words, you hear Americans say “God bless America” whether we like it or not, God is indeed blessing America. It is no more news that mental health has become a growing concern in Nigeria due to the aforementioned.
How do we strike a balance addressing mental health through your affirmation concept?
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. As I earlier said, our words change our emotions, and our emotions put us into action. When our emotion is affected, our body changes and reacts differently based on what we have sent out to create with our words and this is likely to affect our well-being.
If you want to have stable mental health as it relates to affirmations, be different in what you are constantly affirming irrespective of the happening around you. Stop affirming into creation what you would not like to experience as a person.
How old is your Affirmation concept and so far, how has it impacted Nigerians proximally, directly, and indirectly?
We can boldly say that our Mind & Affirmation is two years now, although I have started since I was in secondary school in Junior Secondary School II, that was when it became a gift I needed to nurture to serve humanity in seasons such as this, but I remember that I heard God say to me to launch out in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
I heard God say “Bukola, my people have lost hope in me and themselves due to a lot of uncertainty, I want you to use Positive Affirmations to make them begin to intentionally create the lives they desire to experience while they build faith back in me and their ability to achieve their desires”.
The truth is that it will only take a person who believes in his or her ability to achieve a goal or dream set out.
Within the past two years, we have given out over 5000 copies of Affirmation
cards and books to children, teenagers, youths, and Adults. Our affirmations cut across all age groups. We have recorded a lot of testimonials through these concepts, from a small girl who screamed from her sleep and was asked to use our affirmations for kids and she began to smile and gain joy and confidence to go back to sleep, to a man who struggled three years depression and got introduced to our affirmation material without even having any mentorship with me was delivered from the state of depression. A lot of transformational stories I can share if you permit me.
Take us through the journey, how did you get here, and what are the challenges?
It all started when I suddenly realised how important my environment had a great way of influencing my destiny positively or negatively. As a young
girl living in a place usually known as “the city of ruffians”, I desired to stand differently irrespective of my environment. I remember how I usually take a small mirror and say some words to myself like; I am beautiful, I am going places, I can do all things and do them well, I have a figure-eight shape, I am a solution here. I repeated these words every time until I began to act in the reality of the seeds I have created. Challenges, I would like to call them the opportunity.
We have had several opportunities in reframing the mind of an adult who has been conditioned in a certain way. It’s been a beautiful journey as we keep unveiling new things from how humans behave and respond to things generally. It is a whole lot we are doing in this world where negativity seems to be the norm in this society, bringing people to a state of reframing their words is a lot but we are breaking all limits gradually.
Share with us some success stories your concept has generated since inception.
Asides from some transformational stories we receive daily, we have also been able to sell the vision and importance of positivity in this society and its major impact on the younger generation. This vision has helped a lot of children including adults to reframe their beliefs and move into creating their desired life
with the use of positive affirmations.
How do you feel as an affirmation coach?
I feel blessed to be known as Africa’s Most Creative and Influential Mind & Affirmation Queen. Transforming the minds of people has led to transforming the lives of several people, seeing people becoming conscious of their words and speaking positively to create the lives they desire to live in gives me the strength to keep going always.
We are partnering organisations to create positive awareness in society today; it’s a win for both our partners and our organisation.
It’s not only the fact that they are giving back or creating a healthy foundation for the young generation, it is also bringing them into a huge space of market awareness to their potential clients across the globe.
We are looking forward to hitting over 13 million children, teenagers, and youths across Africa by 2030 with the partnership of organisations, individuals, foundations, government, and others to build a positive mind-set that creates a positive society that we all desire to live in. Every child’s foundation is key for us, and we are committed to ensuring that every child is gifted with a healthy foundation.
One of the key ingredients for building the right foundation for any child is the ability to build positive thoughts inside of them, when your thoughts are positive, they will affect your emotions, and when you have a positive emotion, it becomes easier to build the right attitude.
