 Education under attack. 1.3 million children affected by targeted raids on schools in Nigeria according to the United Nations. We'll be discussing ways to keep our schools safe. Our plan is to lowest rates in nearly 50 years. It exchanged for $545 to the dollar yesterday. We'll find out why. And the Lagos State House of Assembly passes the Value Added Tax Collection Bill, as well as the bill banning open grazing in the state. Good morning and welcome to the Breakfast & Plus TV Africa on this very beautiful Friday morning. It's a little wet if you check the weather report this morning. But thanks for joining us and we hope that you have a great time with us. I am Osaoui Ngong. And I am Annette Felix. Thank you very much for joining us on the last episode of the programme for the first week of September. The year seems to be wrapping up pretty fast, doesn't it? Absolutely. It's gone actually. I think everyone should start mentally preparing themselves for 2022. For the new year. Right in their new year resolutions in advance. Final quarter of the year so let's have it. Fantastic. Thanks for joining us. I am Annette Felix. And our top trending stories today really is a mixed bag. Good news. Not so great news as well. But let's see where the mixed six are. First of all, I have to have been at home for a while. Students in Kaduna State primary and secondary schools can finally resume on Sunday, September 12th, 2021. And that's after the state schools quality assurance head, Umar Ahmed, released the school calendar on Thursday to journalists. And now listen, there was no mention of a third term in that 2021 to 2022 school calendar. And we know that the People's Gazette is reporting that a source in the Ministry of Education noted and confirmed that there will be no third term. And that means that what will happen is that those students who missed out on the third term because of the indefinite shutdown of the schools due to security issues will be promoted to the first term of the next academic session. And that's when they can catch up with the with the counterparts, you know, they're made. So yes, we know about the security challenges in the north and how it has seemed to cripple academic activities. Some other states like Zanfara have issued a total shutdown of academic activities. Kaduna did the same. It, you know, it was supposed to resume August 9th because of security, but they postponed it to September and now finally September 12th. So yeah, still good news for the students, you know, you're coming back to school. But two things really I must say, people have been commenting about this saying, why don't you have them do that third term? They're vital lessons for them to learn about the books and about the world in that third term curriculum. And that when you say they should skip that because of failure of the government, you're basically breeding the lazy youth that you talked about. Also, it's not just about saying, come back to school. Have you put protocols in place for schools to be safe? What's the guarantee that students would not resume and the bandits have laid siege for them Sunday, September 12th, waiting to swoop them from the schools and into Vance and into the forest? So what are the security measures? I didn't see that, you know, the plans that the education head director general there went on to say, but I guess we can only just wait and see. Yeah, you know, so I'll start with agreeing with the last point, you know, it's important to know if the schools are safer. If Kaduna State is safer now, you know, now that you're inviting us, you know, these young ones back to school, what moves have been made in what ways are the schools safer? I mean, what ways have they improved on security in architecture in the state? If nothing has changed, then you're basically bringing them back into harm's way. I personally have never, you know, subscribed to the idea of shutting schools down because, you know, for me, it felt like, yes, it might be, you know, important, you know, because of security concerns. But I always felt like it basically told the story of the bandits winning or the terrorists rather winning, which I never wanted to see. I wanted instead to see that the Nigerian government won the war against insurgency and these terrorists and kidnappers and whatnot. And so shutting down schools felt like victory for them, for the terrorists, either because of those who are anti-Western education or because of those who are really just criminals and chasing people out of the schools. But of course, I still have to understand that desperate times call for desperate measures and for, you know, the situation that Karnas said had found itself at that time, they had to, of course, keep the kids at home to, you know, protect them. But also, the third term that has to be skipped, once again, desperate times call for desperate measures. And so in order for these kids to not be left behind, you know, in the school clock and school calendar, when the counterparts in other states across the country are moving into a new class, moving into, you know, third term, they would still be struggling with, you know, first or second term. I guess this is, you know, what is necessary and the educational system would have to find ways to make up for the third term that they are missing, you know, in the new session and find ways to, you know, inculcate some of the knowledge that they should have learned in this time. I'm sure that there's one or two who are celebrating their third term because, well, less stress for them. But it's left for the state government to do what is necessary, the education system in Karnas state and all around the north, because the other schools, the other states who still haven't sent kids back to school would have to make the same decision. What's the plan for protecting the students or the pupils when they're going back to school? And also, what school calendar are they going to be working with when they finally go back to school? It's entirely important to ensure that, regardless of whatever calendar they're using, the most important thing is the safety of these young ones and their teachers and, you know, everyone who is concerned with education in those states. So we don't continue to have a repeat of these incidents. Really, you have hit the nail on the head though, Sarah Gay. Let's get down to what seems to be like a good news for Lagos state. Lagos state, the Lagos state House of Assembly, have passed two crucial laws regarding their security and their economy. They passed the Value and Attacks Collection Bill and the Bill Against Open Grazing. Recall that the government of the states, Governor Babaji Desong, who had earlier this week presented those bills to the House of Assembly. And yesterday, Thursday, all 40 lawmakers were present. They gave their vote on the bill. You know, they approved it. And the speaker of the plenary, Mudashiro Basah, who presided over it, went on to describe this as a historic feat for Lagos state. And you know that, you know, the issue of the killer heads, men, criminal heads, men, whatever name they have been tagged have been a source of, you know, frustration for a lot of Nigerians. And not just in the north, we've seen other cases in the south as well. And how that seemed to have affected the prices of food in the market because farmers have been unable to go to their farms to conduct their business. Its impact on security as well. And how much of a heated topic it's been in the Nigerian polity. So, still refers back to the southern governor's meeting that from September 1st, they would begin to put steps in place that legally criminalizes open grazing in the state. We've seen Lagos do that. Now Lagos joins other states like Benwe, like Aikiti, like Ondo, to criminalize open grazing. We've seen other states in the north as well. Not necessarily passing a bill, but the government making a declaration that open grazing is banned and that the movement of cattle interstate and within the state is prohibited as well. We've seen Kaduna, Katina, and Zamfara take such moves. And also, the other side regarding the economy, the VAC collection bill. We know how much of a row that really has generated too with the river state governor seeming to lead that conversation by challenging the legality of the federal land revenue service going ahead to collect value at a tax on behalf of the state government. We know the ruling was that the Benwe state government has the constitutional authority to collect VAT in the state. How that generated controversy as well. So many other states, Amino Masari going ahead to say that no, shouldn't be. Something that I was saying it should be. But Lagos has taken a stand. They have passed it. And now what this means is that Lagos state should begin to be able to collect value at a tax, generates more revenue for the state and move the state forward. I threw this question to one of our analysts on the press one of these days, asking if this really was a test of true federalism. If this really was going to put Nigeria on the path of the evolution of powers and restructuring with all been clamoring for. Because when states begin to sit up to say, I want to take charge of my finances. I want to be totally responsible for my security. When states begin to take such moves that that really is an embodiment of the federal of federalism principle of federalism. Each state being autonomous in some way of being able to control what really happens in this state. So that's what's happening in Lagos. Once again, Lagos State House of Assembly have passed the bills to collect value at a tax and that and also to prohibit open grazing within the boundaries of Lagos state. So a couple of points that I will point out. For me, I first of all thought it was going to be so, you know, in the build up to this because Lagos contributes. You know, I believe more than 50% with regards to FIR's collections nationwide. In the build up to this, there were, you know, people who had pointed out that Lagos was a very, very important state, you know, with this controversy and how the tides will turn because of what it contributes. But there were also the concerns that in the midst of all the, you know, yes, you know, they are excited about being able to generate more money for the state and how much development that, you know, that amount of money will be able to bring into Lagos State. Every state government is always excited when there's more money in the conversation. So in between that, you know, that and of course governance and some of all of that, there's still politics. And the reason I'm saying this is because there were still fears that the Lagos State House of Assembly will be watchful over, you know, pay very close attention to the body language or want to hear first from the national leader and from a governor of Lagos State, before going ahead, you know, with this, because it's a very, very vital, it's a very, I mean, politics wise, you can't rule it out. It's a very, very vital, you know, perspective that he kind of would need to give, you know, a little go ahead. That's why we're still emphasizing on the independence of the arms of governments. There should be free of influence from external parties. Well, eventually, you know, we're still going to have to face, you know, what politics is. So I felt, you know, that there was going to be that, you know. And so it's interesting to see that between when the governor, you know, presented the bill and when it was signed was so quick, was so fast. And it's very, very good to see. There is also, you know, the comments by certain state governors in the north that, you know, are saying that, oh, you know, if you pass the value-added tax bill, or, you know, the anti-open grazing bill, you know, cows who cost as much as 2 million Naira, be your brother's keeper, or relax. You are governor for a reason. You appointed governor for a particular reason, and that is to govern and to ensure that you can, you know, completely be in charge of the affairs of your state. And that includes generating money for your state. And when they make these statements, do they understand that if a cow costs 2 million Naira, who exactly is buying these cows? There are still some of the people in the southern states that are buying these cows for 2 million Naira, because that's where they can afford it. And where is the tax going to be paid for the sale of those cows? They're still in the states where, you know, they're complaining about. So at that point just, I really don't know how they put these statements together, where these ideas come from. But another thing is governors who are complaining about the value-added tax are the same governors who have large numbers when it's time for elections. They have very, very large numbers, shocking numbers, and populations when election time comes. How come they've not been able to convert that population that they claim to have into money? How come they've not been able to convert those millions of people that show up when it's time for election? Why don't those people work and pay tax? So you have these numbers, and yet you still are not able to raise any money in your state, internally generated revenue in your state. You're instead continuing to clamor for the federal government to continue to feed your state while you're governor for 8-0 years of the lives of members of that state, or the indigenous of that state. So there is that also. But something else that we shouldn't forget is the conversation concerning value-added tax. Yes, the narrative seems to be going mostly towards northern governors who are opposing it. But there are certain people who are quiet. And that is some southern states and some southeastern states that have very, very embarrassing, internally generated revenue also. And so whenever, because I heard the FRS has also approached the National Assembly to put value-added tax into your exclusive list and some of all of that. I don't know why they're fighting for it. But we should be very, very watchful that if ever the National Assembly has to make that decision, they need to third of National Assembly of the states rather to give a go-ahead for that. That's 24 states. There is some southeastern states and some southern states that might swing the other way because they know that since the times that they've been governor, they've not been able to do anything concerning internally generated revenue. If you look at the IGRO map for all 36 states across the country, you would still see, yes, it's a larger number of northern states, but you would still see some southeastern states and some southern states there in the very, very bottom barrel of this figures. And it's really, really embarrassing. Let me bring out the details for you. On the Nigerian Tribune yesterday, we saw that a story was published. You said River State got 4.7 billion Naira. Out of 15 billion, yeah. Sorry? Out of 15 billion, yeah. Yes, out of 15 billion Naira VAT. Cano received the same, but it generated 2.8 billion Naira. So that really is all we're saying. You generate lower, but you're getting almost the same from the others who are generating higher. But the point I was making here is, yes, the northern states, you know, majority of them, maybe except Cano, with regards internally generated revenue, a lot of them are embarrassing. The figures, you know, that the Gerrit annually are very, very embarrassing. But in that space, there is still some southeastern states and some southern states that have pretty much the same very embarrassing internal Gerrit revenue every year. And those are the states that we really should watch out for and where they would really stand in this conversation, because they're basically not generating anything. And if you take value out of the tax away from that, they're in trouble. So yes, it might seem like it's, you know, northern governors who are speaking out against this, but I think we should also be very watchful at some of those southeastern states and see, or southern states and see how they, you know, what position they take. Okay, interesting way to wrap that up. Let's quickly now go to Imos state and southeast in general and to review what happened yesterday. The governor of Imos state, Opposite, had been teasing for the president's arrival that was scheduled to hold on Thursday. And the whole controversy surrounding that with the IPOB declaring a seat at home order saying the president is not welcoming the southeast and all of that. But, you know, we know that it went ahead to dare the president to come, but the president did come. He arrived at this Bakwe airport in Imos state at around 9 a.m. yesterday and he was received by Opposite and Dave Omai, head of the governor's forum. And, you know, some other leaders in the south, we can see him there basically exchanging pleasantries with southeast leaders. But really the bone of contention here is about if the seat at home order that the IPOB declared was successful. Because we're seeing very reports on the news media. I mean, look at how Sahara reporters is describing it. Sahara reporters headlines about the story says breaking, Buhari arrives in Imos state as residents comply with IPOB's seat at home directive. The vanguard is describing it this way. They say Buhari's visit shatters IPOB's seat at home order in Imos. So what really is it? But what we can do is take a closer look at some of the major cities in these states and see what happened. And from the reports we gathered and the seat at home order recorded partial compliance in places like Onitsha, Oka, Newe and Enugu. But in Imos state, some people actually came out. Some people were banners coming out to line the street, welcome the president. But of course you would hear whispers saying these people are members of the APC. These people were probably paid. All these whispers and reporters definitely come up that they're there so that they would not embarrass the governor. Nobody was out there to welcome the president. But really that's what it is. The president visited Imos state. The state's government and security agencies had assured Nigerians that the security there would be heavy and heavy it was. The president visited Imos state. He felicitated with the people. He commissioned quite a number of projects. Let me look at some of the projects that he commissioned in Imos state. I saw one that you pointed out. Sergi, you want to take you from there? Yeah, I'll eventually get to the project. But I'll start with, you know, great to see. I think I can see on screen Bishop Imano Chukuma. I think he's in the Anglican Diocese, head of Anglican Diocese in Enugu state. Really interesting personality. Great to see him. I miss him actually. But anyway, so yesterday it was filled with a lot of controversy. And yes, there was still a seat at home. All the people that I spoke with in Enugu state, most of them didn't go anywhere. Actually a lot of them didn't go anywhere yesterday because of the same seat at home order. In Imos state, it was pretty much the same thing. Yes, I'm not going to jump and completely agree that crowds were rented or people were paid to come out. But there's always, in Nigeria, there's always that possibility. But I think it's also important that we know that even in the Southeast, there are still APC members. There are still people who support the government and who will come out anytime when APC is doing its campaigns. They are still APC members. The whole of the Southeast is not completely filled with ABGAU, PDP or any other party. There are still APC members who would like to also show their support. But did people like to sit at home? Yes, businesses were open. The spokesperson, I think of the Imos state government, I'm not sure who it was, said that the market people, the leader of the market, rather decided that in all of the presidents they said they're going to shut down markets, which I personally don't believe. I think that the markets just didn't open in Imos state yesterday and everyone actually did stay indoors. What this means is it's not a very, very good look once again. That's one of the reasons we brought up that conversation with Ucho Kuku, the deputy president of Ohanazeh, Indigo, worldwide. And I was asking him what Thursday would look like. If people like to really do sit at home, if they don't come out, what does that say concerning who really controls the ears of the people of the Southeast? And so that's how it turned out yesterday. Another thing is with regards to security that was necessary in Imos state yesterday because of the president's visit. And that also paints a terrible picture of what they expect and the way that the president has handled, uniting the country and his relationship with the Southeast. If they had to bring that many, because I saw the convoy, video of the convoy, if they had to bring that many security agents just to be present at Imos state where the president was visiting, that's not a very, very good picture also of what the president's relationship is with the people in the Southeast and also because of the security challenges that Imos state has also had with the ESN and the likes. And yeah, I guess with the IPOB. Doesn't also paint a very good picture. The president's tailor was also called to question. Some people said it was a very likely abacare who made his pants. And that was just a funny side of the whole visit because yes, those pants looked very, very bad. The ESN needs to pick up that tailor and lock him up for a while. They look terrible. But that's just on a lighter note. The project, and I said this yesterday that I personally didn't agree with a president moving from state to state to commission some of the most basic things that normally should be there. A tunnel, drainage, is what the president left Abuja to, you can imagine, to go commission. So let's call it a tunnel because that's what it called. I saw the plaque or that thing. It was called a tunnel. That's what the president went to commission. And that's the kind of thing that I feel that we should put in the past in Nigeria. Should they have not been there? They should have died in the 90s. 10 administrations ago? Exactly. It should have ended in 1999 or 2000. That's the last time we should have seen people going to commission projects. There are people, there are governors in Nigeria who work, build bridges, build whatever infrastructure, and nobody is going there to cut any ribbons. There's a very, very embarrassing moment in Inigo State where the governor, the part of the road, I think it was a sinkhole that collapsed. And so the road... I remember that picture. And he, after they finished fixing it, went and cut ribbons, because they fixed a little section of the road that had collapsed. And it's embarrassing. So it's pretty much the same view that I have with the president leaving Abuja to Inigo State just to go commission a little tunnel, a drainage tunnel. It's unnecessary. And it costs taxpayers money. It costs millions of Naira yesterday just to make that trip possible. So those little angles here and there that I think are important to point out, there's also pictures. I think the same Dick Tiger Road, the vice president in the past, I think in 2019, also had been there to commission the same road, but now there's a tunnel with the road that the president now have to come and commission. It just doesn't make any sense why we do things like this in Nigeria. That trip for me was not necessary, except there's a totally different reason why the trip was made. I don't know what you're saying, Osirige, but all I know is that the president said word for word, verbatim, that he's impressed with the projects of Hopu Zodimba. All right, that's fine. You can't say anything about that. That's fine. All right. Let's take a break here. We've told you really about the top-trending stories in Nigeria. Kaduna State's primary secondary school popes will be resuming on Sunday, September 12. And we told you about Lagos State passing two important bills. They've passed the anti-open grazing bill, and they've also passed the vat collection bill in Lagos, and also the President visited Emo State yesterday to quite a shutdown city in Emo. And let's take a break here. Then we'll take a look at the papers on the press.