 President Mohamed Abu-Hari's planned visits to Igmo State causes quite the stare. IPOB orders sit at home order and dares the president to come, while Ahanez Indigo, who welcomes him, will be joined by the deputy president general of the Igmo Social Cultural Union. Also coming on the breakfast this morning is the Lagos State Commissioner for Fiscal Planning and Urban Development, who will be talking about the government's plan for residents. Don't forget, off the press, where we give you in-depth knowledge on the headlines of the day's newspapers. Good morning and thanks for joining us here on The Breakfast on PLOS TV Africa. Middle of the week, Wednesday morning here, and we hope that you have a very, very interesting time with us. I am Osau Ghi, Ogmoa. And I am Annette Felix, glad to have you join us on The Breakfast. Good morning, Osau Ghi. Good morning. Our top trending story is today. Now, on Saturday, Igmo State Governor, Hupuzo Dima, had announced that President Mohamed Buhari will be visiting his state on Thursday today to commission some significant projects. And he had returned from a trip to Abuja, where he said he and the president had discussed some very key political issues. So, the top trending story here is the reaction of the indigenous people of Biafra, so that announcement of the president's coming. Now, they have gone ahead to declare that the president is not welcome in Igbo Land, he is not welcome in Igmo State, and what they've called Biafra Land. So, it's just an opposition, basically, to the president's visit into Igbo Land. We know that the IPOB Ghost Mondays are still on, even though it has been suspended, and they've gone ahead to declare another citizen order. So, it seems like a confused situation there in the southeast, where we're seeing different announcements there regarding if people are sitting at home or not to force the hand of the government to release Namdi Kanu. But here's what the situation is. They have dared the president to step foot in Igmo State. The president's visit to Igmo State is definitely part of a schedule of activities for today. So, I guess we'll just be waiting to see the showdown where the president actually go ahead to Igmo State to commission this project with his security and all of that. Or does the IPOB have plans to blockade the airport? So, what exactly do they have up their sleeves to give them such authority? Because when they spoke, it seemed like they had the power to go ahead and back their word. But it's just left for us to see what eventually happens in the next few hours in Igmo State. Well, I'll tell you for free, the IPOB can't do anything. This is really just, you know, them in local parlance making mouth. You know, I'll tell you that for free, because it's not the first time the president has visited the Southeast since they've been agitated. They always will put out segments like this every now and then. So, two things that I will mention. First of all, you know, I personally don't, you know, subscribe to the idea of president moving around different states to commission projects. I feel, you know, it's still politics. It's really just politics. Because I feel like if you're a governor and you are working for your people, you're doing the things that are meant to be done, you're investing in infrastructure and healthcare and education, some of all of that, go ahead and do it in silence. You don't necessarily need to make such a loud noise every time that you build a poetry or you build a bridge or you build, you know, a big building that they call state of the art, you know, here in Nigeria, because they will quickly rush to call anything that is built, state of the art, you know, model infrastructure and some of all of that, you don't necessarily need to be inviting the president every time that you build something. And this really just says that, you know, it's obvious that you're not building, you know, infrastructure every, you know, as often as you should, because, you know, this is, you know, one time, you know, the next time the president will be invited to commission anything, maybe, you know, it will never happen, you know, through Opus Adima's tenure. But that's for him. So I personally don't subscribe to it. You can work in silence. Nobody needs to come and help you commission anything every time that you build, you know, some level of infrastructure. That's on the side. With the IPOB's views, yesterday we had a conversation, you know, and one of the things that was established was trying to figure out who exactly controls the political space and the narrative in the Southeast. Is it the governors? Is it Orhanez Ndebo? Or is it Orhanez Ndebo worldwide? Because these are two different bodies. The Orhanez Ndebo and the Orhanez Ndebo worldwide. They're two different bodies entirely. Is it the traditional leaders? Is it IPOB themselves? Or is it the ESN? Who do the people really listen to? When they say, don't come out of your homes on Mondays, you know, side by side with when the government says, come out and do whatever you want to do, you're free to, you know, go about your lawful businesses. Who do the people listen to? And it's going to be interesting to see how tomorrow plays out. So it's actually tomorrow, Thursday. It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out tomorrow. If they will be able to enforce that, which I don't think they can. They are really just enjoying, I've said it multiple times. The attention. The IPOB is enjoying the attention and the euphoria of power that they've seen, that they've seen that they have in the Southeast to tell people to stay at home. And it's not because people actually respect them or everybody is really interested in their cause anymore. It is mostly because of that element of fear that we pointed out yesterday that people would just rather stay out of trouble and not get themselves involved in any violence. And, you know, leave that Monday. But it's hurtful to see that, one of the things we mentioned yesterday, that when the IPOB puts out a statement like that, the government who controls the power and security agencies in the whole of the Southeast cannot put out a counterstatement and get people to actually do what the government says. So if the federal government, if the state government, the Southeastian government, say there's nothing like sitting at home on Monday, everybody should come out, businesses should be open. Nobody's going to listen to them, which is painful. And the people who control security agencies, the federal government cannot also assure the people of the Southeast of their own safety and security when these things happen. So they're really just sitting back and watching the Southeast shut down every Monday, which makes absolutely no sense. See, you know, this is something I mentioned yesterday. I think getting people to fall in line regarding certain things, getting, you know, people of the Southeast to go ahead and live their lives, right? Getting people in the Southeast to disregard that sit-at-home order would actually take more than press releases, even though of course that's one of the ways the people, the government can communicate with the people, you know, let's see your stance on this, using press releases. But I'm saying it's going to take much more than press releases. We know that the Ahaliz in Libo worldwide released a press statement yesterday. This was signed by Deputy President, General Orhaniz in Libo, Mr. Deem Uchu, who will be having on the breakfast later on today, released a press statement asking all EBOs and residents in the Southeast to disregard any sit-at-home order, go about their lawful activities, and all of that. But what I'm saying is, it's a take more than press releases. The actions need to be done. Like I mentioned yesterday, what does a security agency's law enforcement need to do? And one of our guests yesterday suggested that the active steps we need to see, being taken by the government, is maybe patrol teams going around, making sure that if you see anybody who's trying to harass anyone, trying to vandalize property of people who are going about their lawful activities, those people should be apprehended. So it basically sets the tone. You get those scapegoats and you punish them according to the law. So those actions need to be done. That's not really what I'm saying. But I personally believe that, first of all, I think we should admit that the security agencies are not capable of policing the whole of the Southeast. Do you think so? Yes, it's pretty obvious. And that's why people would rather stay at home and avoid trouble because they know that there's not enough patrol teams that will be able to actually ensure that there's safety and security of everybody in the Southeast. That's not to say by ourselves. I can't speak to the statistics of how many police people or police officers we have in the Southeast as regarding their capability. But we know that one thing we've repeatedly talked about is, are the politicians and people in power willing to go ahead and use what they have at their disposal? It's pretty obvious. It has been obvious for a very, very long time. And that's why we continue to have security challenges in Nigeria, including the aftermath of the ENSA's protest. Because there's enough, there's enough, you would assume that there's enough security agencies. And we mentioned yesterday that there's the NSCDC, there's the DSS, there's the Army, there's the police, or there's all different formations in the police, anti-diss, anti-dat, anti-uncle, dis-uncle, you know, there's many of these squads. But there's obviously not gonna be enough to actually maintain law and order. But one thing that I feel is, at the end of all of this, there would be a breaking point. There would be a point where everything, you know, either implodes or explodes. There's gonna be a particular point. It might be tomorrow where people will get to realize that, okay, you know, we actually do not fear the IPOB and whatever it is, and they will come out. It will get there. It's either gonna be caused by hunger, when people realize how much they've suffered every Monday and they would say, well, IPOB, we understand your sentiments and whatever it is that you're fighting for, but don't involve my business with it, because I have to feed my family, I have to eat on Monday, and that's your personal problem if your leader is not released yet. That's your personal challenge, don't involve me. It's gonna get to that point. I'm looking forward. Let's see how tomorrow plays out. I'm very sure that nobody's gonna obey the IPO because it's a Thursday, and no one's gonna be sitting at home. After that's not home on Monday, you want me to sit at home again on Thursday, everybody's gonna be out tomorrow and they can't do absolutely nothing. They will probably bully a few people in the villages and the outskirts, but that's the most that they can do. No, they're not declaring a seat at home on Thursday, our day. They're daring the president to come to the house. No, they actually did declare a seat at home. They said people should sit at home. No, okay. All right, so our next top trending story still borders about security. It seems like security is like the big deal these days, and it's not because of security, it's because of the lack of it. And we know that on Monday, Katsuna State Governor Amino Matari had spoken on a TV program saying that all Cata-herders, or all criminal-herders are Fulani indigens. So he basically said, quote, majority of those involved in this banditry are Fulani's, whether it is palatable or whether it is not palatable, but that's the truth. Matari said, I am not saying that 100% of them are Fulani's, but majority of them are, and these are people who live in the forest, and their main occupation is cattle raring. This is what Matari said on that TV program on Monday. There's been a response to this, and it's by the Fulani Sociocultural Organization, the Mieti'ala Kotau Hori. They lambasted the Katsuna State Government in a speech, in an interview, they granted Sahara reporters. They said that Katsuna State Governor Amino Matari is a drunkard. They say he is a vote thief, and that he's the worst governor that Katsuna State has ever had. So they just went on and on to say, it's a fallacy for you to say that Cata-herders are Fulani origin. I mean, Matari also said that even the infiltration that we've seen in Nigeria from West African countries and North African countries are also people of the Fulani extraction. You know, he's saying there are people like me, we speak the same language, we pray to the same God, we have the same religious beliefs, and that they are banded. So he's basically putting them one and the same. But the issue is beyond an admittance of the ethno-religious backgrounds of these people. It's what's been done about it. But for this Fulani Sociocultural Group, they're just against the governor's claims that most of the Cato-herders who are terrorists, who are bandits, how Fulani origin. But let's interrogate the truth. Is that a lie or not regarding where these people come from? It's not necessarily a stereotype of, oh, all Fulani people are this. But the issue is the Cato-herders who are terrorists, the Cato-herders who go ahead and commit criminal offenses, where are they from? But like I said earlier, it's beyond an admittance of where they're from. It's what's been done about crime, regardless of who commits it, regardless of where they're from. That really is my take. Well, Governor Minu Masari, you know, I think it was a respond to a question where he was asked, you know, who are these people? You know, and of course also the question also went further to point out that he had met with them a few times, which is true, there's pictures of him and, you know, these alleged bandits or terrorist meeting. And he said, oh, they're like you know, they're like me, they're not very different from why I'm their Fulani's and all of that. Which, you know, if you are looking for, because I've repeatedly said this, that we need some level of truth. And if we can't find the truth, we will continue to deceive ourselves within the insurgency and the inscurity challenges. If people aren't also being honest, then we'll continue also to deceive ourselves that we're fighting these terrorists and we will never win. So he has spoken his own truth. The Fulani group that is countering, they have still not been able to point out who exactly is, you know, or who these people are. You know, but they wouldn't say instead. They would rather attack Governor Masayri instead of pointing out, you know, their own facts. There is a possibility and I think over time there's also, it has also been mentioned that there's a possibility that there are other criminal elements that have taken advantage of the security situation in the country to also carry out their own, you know, motives. You know, and of course, everybody will be grouped as unknown gunmen or grouped as bandits, you know, or grouped as, you know, kidnappers. They would also commit their own murder and, you know, the media will simply just report it as, you know, unknown gunmen or bandits or terrorists, you know, attacks or so on. So village. There's that possibility. But from what Amino Masayri is saying is I guess he's speaking from what he has seen and what he, you know, knows to the best of his knowledge that these people who are committing these atrocities are, you know, mostly Fulani. And, you know, like you mentioned, who exactly, which are the tribe, which are the set of people who are moving around with cattle in country or cattle headers in the country. There's barely any other tribe that does cattle head in country. They're, you know, mostly Fulani. So I'm not sure what the argument is. It's mostly just that group trying to save face. So, you know, you don't completely paint their tribe that way and all of that. But I don't think it's the, I think it's an important question, an important angle with your fight against insecurity. And it's important that people get to know who they are, but it doesn't necessarily mean stereotyping the whole of the Fulani's as cattle headers or murderers or, you know, terrorists. There's very many of them who have simply just done their business. Unfortunately, their trade and their head in business has been taken advantage of by criminals to commit these atrocities. There's also the part where, you know, people have said that this is really just land grabbing, you know, and trying to wipe out communities and take over their land and some of all of that. There's many angles. We must search for truth and we must be honest with ourselves. And if Masari has been honest, then that's his truth. If the other people, the other group, don't agree with him, then can they share with us? But like I said, who they think it is? Beyond whoever is committing it, what's been done to checkmate crime. Our next top trending story is about double speak. The seeming hypocrisy of our social media influencers. So, seeming like politicians, like influencers where you hear them say one thing and it seems like just a short time later, we're hearing a totally different perspective, a totally different angle. It seems like, you know, but let's bring you the fact so you understand exactly what I'm saying. So, Jeff Phillips won, put out a tweet on Twitter. And he says, this picture is of an electronic voting machine from Kaduna. It's coming on your screen in a few seconds. This picture is of an electronic voting machine from Kaduna Local Government's election. Cotsie of the best. He is describing the governor as the best and most reformative governor Nigeria has ever had since independence. Madam Nassil Irrified. He went on to say, retreat to all the timelines of all frustrated children of multiple anger. Those were his words. He put a picture of this, you know, voting machine. And only for us to see a while later, Nassil is saying, what is sure that electronic voting is susceptible to manipulation and electoral moral practices and that the Western world is already having a rethink and going back to ballot paper. So you can see where exactly does he stand regarding commending governor Irrified for, you know, the electronic voting machines in Kaduna State elections with the picture there and then going ahead to say in another breath or even in the same breath that electronic voting is susceptible to manipulation and electoral fraud. We have another proof here for you and it's by Mr. O'Dance. It's also quite popular on the timeline on social media. This quote by Mr. O'Dance is in reaction to a picture of Aisha Yousufu. That's coming up on your screen soon. In that picture, that picture went viral during the N-SASS protest where Aisha Yousufu, she's very vocal regarding social political issues where, you know, her hands were raised up to the air, her hijab was flowing. There was a crowd of protesters behind her and it took that picture and it became like an embodiment of the, you know, the Nigerian spirit saying no to oppression. That picture really went viral and I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. So in reaction to this, in 2020, this Mr. O'Dance said, Madam Aisha Yousufu is a brave woman. While everyone was running, this woman was walking casually in front of the police with her face held high in defiance. Wish my phone wasn't dead, would have been a perfect shot. We need more people like her. Hashtag N-SASS. Now guess what, just yesterday, this same Mr. O'Dance put out counterstatements on Twitter and he said, when we got to the police headquarters, she, and by she here, was referring to Aisha Yousufu. She was lying down by the side, pressing her phone. It was the great oracle, another popular voice and face who was negotiating with the police, addressing them and all. If you ask me how Aisha managed to position herself for this photo, that's the same photo he praised. Well, Lai, I can't tell, like it was quite a surprise. Like next day, that photo splashed everywhere. I am not sure she returned for subsequent protest too. I am not sure. She just grabbed headlined with that photo and that was it. And great oracle, he was sidelined and totally forgotten. Barely anyone remembers he protested. So, my question is, when he put out that statement, first of all, saying while everyone was running, Aisha Yousufu was casually walking in front of the police, did he not see that? Or did he hear? Was that hearsay that he tweeted? Because that tweet sounded confident that he saw with his eyes that while everyone was running, Madame Yousufu was casually walking in front of the police. Did he see that on video? Did he see that with his own eyes? Also, when he went ahead to counter himself or himself yesterday, what changed? So it's the double speak we're talking about here and the hypocrisy of politicians and influencers. Well, I think it's important to know, there's not much to say about this. It's important to know that a lot of these persons that are called in court influencers, put out tweets for two reasons. First of all, their own personal thoughts and then second is what they have been paid to say. Or really dependent on what narrative they are trying to spread. And that's what they're called influencers because they can influence a narrative, they can influence a perspective on different things. Jeff Phillips has been known to be a person who tweets in favor of the APC, I guess. And in favor of government for a very long time. That's really the position that he has taken for a long time. And it really also depends on what the government or what the person in quote and what the person he is tweeting in favor of feels like expressing at that point. And so that's really what to expect from them. If tomorrow, these are people that you can stand under the rain with and say, oh, it's raining so heavily and they can tell you, no, it's not raining. Somebody just point water from the ceiling because they need to favor whoever it is that they are taking stance with at that time. It's stereotyped Nigerian influencer behavior. And so everything that you read at every time, take it with a pinch of salt. Ordan's really could have seen whatever he saw back then but decided that at that time it wasn't necessary to express that and so he would rather put out this statement to create this narrative and then a year later thinks, okay, it's not time to speak the truth and share what exactly happened on that day. Or it could be vice versa. It really depends on what narrative they're trying to put up at that time and so they can change their perspectives left and right. Take everything you see on Nigerian Twitter Exactly, just moving on with that thought. We need to develop critical thinking. Question everything you see. This is something I constantly educate my parents about because it seems like people who are older almost take everything they see online, literally. You send them DMs about contributing money to this and it seems like, oh, they want to do that. So we, the younger generation, have that responsibility now to educate other people, to develop critical thinking. Question everything you see. Once someone puts something on Twitter, it doesn't mean it's facts. Even though they put, oh, according to the WHO, that could be made up. You have a responsibility to still go and say, oh, did the WHO really put out a statement to verify fact check before you share and before you take things in hook, line and sinker? And that's it on top trending this morning. Let's take a break here and return to analyze the papers on Off the Press.