 The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control says a sharp rise of 32 or 324 percent in the number of COVID-19 cases reported in the country within one month is their fifth wave or nine. Also on the breakfast, with victory over the indomitable lions, Super Falcon secured World Cup ticket to Australia, New Zealand in 2023. Don't forget also going through the national deities, looking at the biggest stories and analysing them without guests unless they are on the program. It's a beautiful Friday morning, we are back with the breakfast, right here in the bus, if you have come, my name is Kofi Bartel. And I am Mr Boko, a beautiful morning to you. Alright, of course we have interesting conversations for you, the sporty flavour, on what is a beautiful Friday, and of course as you start off with our trending segment, Mercy, sort of a landmark ruling, some would say, when it comes to such cases in Nigeria we do not have, you know, conclusion, you know, women are not as protected as they should and that's why we have a lot of women's, you know, groups of women's rights advocates in the country. It was refreshing to those, you know, who had been clamouring for something like this for a long time to see that Baba Ejesha, the popular no-load actor, had been sentenced to 16 years in prison by sexual offenses caught in legal state. The images of the man in court, someone who is a celebrity, the entire public, you know, who watch movies, know you, I'm sure you've seen one or two of his flicks, you know, here and there, you know, if you don't watch movies at all. It was quite a humiliation for this gentleman to be there. But of course, you know, a relief, like I said, for a lot of persons who had been advocating for, you know, the rights of women and the punishment of sexual offenders. But a background story, of course, you know, Princess, the comedian put out a complaint and a plea to the public and released a CCTV footage of Baba Ejesha, you know, at the time it was allegedly abusing a 16-year-old girl who was in her care. And this video went viral all over the internet. The older actress went out all out to support Princess and, you know, demand that some action be taken as far as Baba Ejesha was concerned. And this has led to where we are right now. It's not a 16-year stretch. You had six counts of count one, count two, count three, count four, five and six. The trial judge, not finding Baba Ejesha guilty on the first count and sixth count, but finding him guilty on the second, third, fourth and fifth counts. And therefore, this means that he was going to serve 16 years. He would look at the first count of five years. He would look at three years, four years and so on for the remaining counts. But the defense counsel, the one who represented Baba Ejesha in prison, asked the judge to be lenient with Baba Ejesha. In other words, pleaded for clemency, saying that, you know, Baba Ejesha should be allowed to run the sentence in the years concurrently, means at the same time. The prosecution counsel also did not object to the plea of the defense counsel and said, well, Baba Ejesha had not been known to have previously been convicted of any such offense before, you know, so he would not object to the plea for clemency by the defense counsel. And the judge approved that Baba Ejesha be allowed to run the term concurrently. So while some people are saying it's 16 years online and no social media, he's going to spend five years in jail. Well, it's been a lot just like you have rightly mentioned. I mean, you have some people who are super excited. Nigerians have really expressed, you know, joy in saying, hey, justice has been meted. And some people would say we don't have laws. The laws are not functional, but you do not pray to be cut up with the law at some point. And it's more like, hey, you know, that's a process with the judicial system. Because over time, some persons have actually lost hope in the judicial system in terms of metting out justice. So what have you interpreted the law to its letter without having it been twisted by powerful men? But so one for this particular case is not that, you know, justice has been served, but it's that it's a progress for the judicial system. And that's on the one hand. On the other hand, also, it's also a message, you know, to every other person who's out there, I hope that this might just serve as a deterrent, you know, to those who are engaging and acting in this particular act and behavior. So yes, this should be a deterrent, because that's what the law does. When people actually commit crime or do things and then they go with it, they just go with it without any repercussion, any sort of punishment and all of that. What it does is encourages, you know, the same act and practice. And people are saying that, you know, with this one, then it would just be that it would serve as a warning. But we hope that those who are out there would also learn the lessons. If you're in this habit or if you were engaged in such an act, it would be a time for you to have a rethink. But it's also important that we protect ourselves. And the issue of, you know, sexual assault and harassment and what have you, it's not just limited, you know, to the female in terms of a gender now. We cut across, I mean, the boys, the girls, the men and the women, everyone, we ought to respect ourselves and treat ourselves with dignity, basically. And that's it. But away from that, we're going to be looking at another one quite interesting as Nigerians react to President Mohammad Buhari's, you know, advice. So President Mohammad Buhari has been in Daurah prior to the Salah period. And so the holidays are over now, today is Friday. And that was in his hometown, Katsina. But in the course of all of this, there were a lot of, you know, activities that went on and part of it was more like a communication, having a chat with the people. Now, he implored parents to inculcate right values in children, including the deep fear of God, respectful constituted authorities, and leaving a purposeful life through a continuous education. The president charged the youth to seek education, not for government jobs, which are available, but to arm themselves with skill and ability to fight poverty and to meet the needs of the 21st century. And that's the part that got to Nigerians, we'll definitely get to that one. He was also saying that there should be a time where people are giving to coaching of future leaders. And that's when he was at the palace where he paid the homage. Now, with basic knowledge of moral values, as fast as the world is changing, it should be driven by new technology so that, you know, this future leaders can be competitive and demanding, and who would not agree with the president? According to him, he said, I was locked up for more than three years after leading the country. At that point, I realized that I told my children that you are neth what is what is in your head, not what you have acquired in life. My focus has always been on training the children to be relevant, wherever they find themselves. I told my children, particularly the girls, that they can only get married after getting a first degree, and they already know that I am not leaving anything for anyone to inherit. My greatest legacy is to my children is to ensure that they are properly educated. He said that younger children should be guided and thought history as they would be able to, it would be able to, you know, be patriotic if they are taught history, then they are sure of being patriotic, responsible, respectful, and having that thorough understanding of their background. So whatever they have to do would, you know, the sense of history would actually help guide them and ensuring that they do not make mistakes. Now he said, we shouldn't show that the children get proper education. The knowledge they acquire should not be towards getting government jobs and what have you, I mean, it feels like that, you know, part of education has been very emphasized. But we need to move away because it's a lengthy one. I mean, if you want to catch up with that, the president verified Twitter handle, you can find all of the conversation. But what has gotten Nigerians talking is the part where the president said, sick education. And the question is, you're asking people to sick education and not for government jobs, but, you know, to be able to compete with the world and what have you. At the time where ASU is in strike, what an irony, what education should I be seeking at this point where, you know, the higher institution have been on strike for over six months and counting and nothing has happened. Mr. President, what exactly are we talking about? At the time where we constantly see pictures on the internet popping of, you know, the ruling class, the elites, whether you have the current or the past, having their kids, I mean, not what I say, you don't have to send your kids abroad, but you see these children, their kids outside of Nigeria. It seems to be the presidential spokesman's handle that put this out, a verified handle. Yes, and so you now have, you know, these children out and you see all of those pictures, they go out and maybe in the United Kingdom and the United States, and it's getting a lot of persons concerned because you ask yourself how many persons can afford, you know, this is education outside. What's the problem of our educational system? Why don't we have our leaders having their kids, you know, school in Nigeria? Is it that the educational system in Nigeria is not good enough for the structure? Why do we have to patronize, you know, the educational system outside of the country? That's really the part that got to a lot of persons, but most of the things that the president said, really, you know, very true and very important, that the values, you know, we shouldn't call catered kids or children with all of these values because it would go a long way, you know, in helping them as a people to become better humans in a society, and of course they can compete globally, but the question would always come back to whether or not the leaders himself, including the president, has left an example as a president and as a father. Yeah, so, you know, this is another classic case of taking the message, you know, leaving the message, as they call it, or taking the, you know, would Nigerians take the message without, you know, looking at the messenger? So there are two ways of looking at this. Is what he's saying true, message is it true? Of course he said, if he said. So, you know, that's one approach. You can look at what he's saying, if it's true, you take the advice, or the advice rather, and we forget about the fact that it's a president who's superintendent over months of astro-strike, but it's hard for a lot of people in today's Nigeria, with all the political energy flying around, to take this message without the messenger. And of course, when you're in a politically sensitive position, a crucial position like the presidency, and when you give such an advice, it will be, or advice, it will be, you know, of course, it'll be x-rayed alongside your policies, alongside your performance, you know, when you talk about education, when you talk about skills and competence, you know, job creation, blah, blah, blah, people will not listen to you, because they're not robots. They also have feelings, they have emotions, they have what they're going through, you know, message work in the media. You know, we interact with people on a daily basis, both on air and online, and we get to sometimes manage, you know, the emotions of people. And you're aware, Merci, that sometimes some things some people are saying, you know, sometimes it may not make sense, you know, they may just come out and you just, but you feel, you feel the emotion, you know that people are talking, this person is making this comment, you know, because of what he or she is going through, you have to put yourself in their shoes. So right now, whilst you and I can separate the messenger from the message, we can also put ourselves in the shoes of Nigerians who are, you know, responding and reacting to what the president is saying, in a not so favorable manner, you know, people are tired of their kids staying at home, and they're not ready to take advice on education, advice on training your children from a president who was superintendent over their kids staying at home for months, you know. So it's understandable, it's understandable. I think it means the president has given good advice, but of course you need to match your words with what? Action. It sounds like in a classroom. Yeah. Anyway, and this one, people have been looking forward to it, you know, have been talking about it, have been asking, when is the NMPP going to release the name of their substantive presidential running mate or the vice presidential candidate? You know, they had already put out a name before a Lagos lawyer, blah, blah, blah, but everyone knew, and Juan Cueso had said himself before that's the presidential candidate of the United Arab Emirates Party, Rabi Musa Juan Cueso. He had said that, you know, somebody else is going to replace the person there who was there already as a placeholder. You've seen this tactic being used by the All Progressives Congress, Asewajibola Tenbu. We've seen it used by the Labor Party, presidential candidate, Pete Opie, and now we're seeing this placeholder tactics being used by NMPP as well. Well, the New Nigeria People's Party, which is one of the third-force party, or should we call them fourth-force, announced yesterday, July 14th that it had chosen, you know, the presidential candidate had chosen the money you see on your screen, Bishop Isaac Gidahosa, as is running made for the 2023 General Lectures. I don't know if we have those videos, you know, but interestingly, it made a big splash in social media yesterday, because of the sort of the antics or lame city actions of Bishop Isaac Gidahosa. I mean, you're a pastor, you know, of a big church. Your videos will be around, because you know, this is part of ministry today. And the videos of Isaac Gidahosa, you know, you know, laying hands on some people who attended his program, it's gone all over the internet. You know, at one particular point, one video he used his head to transfer the power of the anointing, you know, and so whilst, you know, you would normally see a pastor lay hands. He was using his head to do the laying. So he would go to the person who is receiving the anointing, and he would do this, you know, like you're heading the football. The person would fall down. Another one, the person would fall down, of course, would be shaking, you know. Another person would fall down. There's one guy who, he did like this, he did like this, the person fell down. You know, so some supporters of what do you call it, the Labour Party online and being, you know, mocking, you know, making, mocking the whole situation, saying, is this a, Nigeria, is this a person you want to be? Your next vice president. In another video, Bishop Isaac Gidahosa has several men in his church, you know, trying to drag him back. Maybe trying to show them the power that he possesses, you know, Stan. Trying to drag him back. You know, as they dragged him back, they were the ones who fell down. They tried to push him with the info, and they fell down. You know, but I mean, this is ministry. It's just, you know, his religion, his belief, you know, and all that. Which maybe, you know, we shouldn't look at his competition before we should be talking about. But if you go online, and a lot of people were laughing at the situation, saying, is this a person you want to be, your next vice president? But apart from this, Isaac Gidahosa is quite a competent, well-read gentleman. A very successful person. He is a presiding bishop of the, and senior pastor of the Godfrey's ministry, publicly known as Illumination Assembly, in Leci, you know, Leci Light Center, in Ajah area of Lagos State. Merci, I know you visited Ajah once once. Are you a member of his church? I need to know. So I know what I say, I'll change the way I'm talking about this thing. Go ahead. Okay, I should go ahead. I'm safe, right? So, I mean, he started the ministry 25 years ago. He's been to grow his ministry over 25 years of dedicated ministry work, you know, to this level. He started the ministry in Mina, Niger State. And then he has been able to grow it, so that they have their church now in Ajah, Lagos, you know, such a picture. He's a well-known pastor. He's been married to his wife, Chrissy, for 22 years. They both blessed with two lovely children, Chrissy Bellamy-Sage. He was born to a family of six. He's a third child. He is a qualified mechanical engineer from Ado State. He's from Ado State. That's why you see the name Dahosa. I don't know if he's related, well, you know, to the popular bishop, Adahosa Benson, Dahosa Pleasant Memory. But in 1985, he went to Soulclair Bible College. He was decorated by the Lagos State government, as one of the mayors of the Lagos State traffic management authority, LASMA. He received a United Nations Peace Ambassadoral Award. I don't really happen on that one, because I'm still trying to understand where that award is coming from, you understand. I have never seen United Nations tweet about it before, you know. I see people get that award and call themselves ambassador. We'll investigate that. But he was given that for his immense contribution to the growth of humanity and peaceful coexistence through evangelism and costalism. So that's that. You know, he has a PhD in theology. He has a PhD in theology. So he's well-read. If we want to talk about academics, he has gone to school. He has read law books to have a PhD in theology. Well, apart from that, I think that's why you would have Rabbi Yukwanko so saying the reason he was picked, and he will be officially unveiled to Nigerians on Monday, all things being equal. That's because of his integrity, his track record of, you know, the fact that he has faith in Nigeria. And basically, all the interesting things that you want to look out for, you know, in leadership. But it would be totally under electorates to decide whether or not, you know, they make it that they become a pair at the end of the day, the president and the vice president. But one thing that also stands out is the fact that at a time where you have political parties not being very sensitive, you know, to the issues of religion and, you know, tribe and what-have-you, it feels like, you know, the NPP, that's the NPP, has actually showed something differently. Because this is one thing that's, you know, the APC has been held for. And so if you look at the ticket, is it a Muslim-Muslim ticket? So you find a Muslim-Christian ticket. Which is something that some people are really worried about, the fact that some political parties have been carrying on without being very considerate to other religion and to other region at the end of the day. Sounds like, you know, rhyme there. But like I said, fingers crossed. Let's see how all of this pans out for the party. Indeed, indeed. It's also, like you said, time to look at the motive behind, you know, choosing a running mate. You've had time to look at Shatima. You had the opportunity to look at Okowa. You've also had the opportunity to look at Dati Baba Ahmed. Look, what's the thinking behind the selection of these running mates? So each of the presidential candidates, they have their own strategy. They have their own permutation. You know, Shatima being chosen by Tino because of his trap record and his depth of his political base in the north-eastern part of the country. Something, okay, because of the fight against Boko Haram. He's also well positioned to be able to bring a resolution to that situation. You look at the PDP and the choice of Okowa. He's from Delta State, but he's also Delta Igbo, so both ways for Artiku. And of course, as Artiku said, he needs somebody who will not be giving him sleepless nights. But Artiku has his own thoughts on that. You look at the reasons why Peter Obe chose Artiku Baba. He's talked about those already. So for Kwan Kwan So, we can speculate, we can analyze, but we don't know for real what is in his mind. He said that, you know, looking at the Klamma for Christian Muslim ticket and all that, apart from the qualifications of Aizuki Dahosa, he may also be using this as a way of reaching out to the Christian community. Just like Buhari did with the choice of Tune Bakari, all those years in the CPC. You know, like Tini Bu said, Olule, he tried the other ones, Olule, before he said Emiloko. You know, Buhari kept trying and trying. And Buhari still deployed that same tactic in choosing someone like Yemi or Shibajie. There are several names, a few names on the table who could have chosen from. Or Shibajie, of course, a pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God and that sort of appealed to the Christian base in the country. So maybe, maybe, maybe Kwan Kwan So is also looking at that. You know, it's a Muslim-Muslim versus Muslim ticket conversation, Muslim-Christian ticket conversation. And also, some are saying, you know, it's the time of the South to produce next president. If you like bring Pope Francis, you know, bring Pope Michael right single back. If it is not a Southern presidency, we are not accepting it. But, you know, you never can tell. And one person who has responded to this is a former aide to the president, talking about President Muhammad Buhari on new media. He said he would like to go contest in election in primary. Bashir Ahmed reacted on Twitter saying that Nigerians who want to vote along religion and ethnic nines have a lot of options to choose from with the Dihosa's emergence as Kwan Kwan So's running mate. He said those who prefer to vote for competence also have their own choice during the presidential election. In other words, it's about competence and about the candidates. So these are some of the debates going on online. We'll see what happens in the coming weeks and months as we coast towards the presidential election. But now, it's time for us to coast down like you normally say and move on to other things. Alright, that's it this morning. We take a break when we return. We'll be looking at the front pages over national dailies. Gide Johnson joins the conversation. Please stay with us.