 The Senate passes Bill to manage and control sickle cell anemia in Nigeria. I'm still talking healthcare, the more doctors leave Nigeria, the research by National Daily shows 353 doctors migrating to the United Kingdom in just 100 days. The papers are here this morning and we'll be taking a look at them. Welcome to the breakfast on Plotts TV Africa, it's a very beautiful, beautiful first day morning in the city and we're glad to have you join us. I am Annetta Phillips. Good morning to you. Welcome to a Thursday morning here on the breakfast side. I am a Sao-Gi, a Bon. So our first top training story, Sao-Gi, really takes me back to a statement that Chris made regarding the number of doctors that are living in Nigeria, the supposed brain drain. And when he was asked the question about Nigerians living in droves and he said, oh we have a lot of doctors and if we have enough then we can definitely export our talent to other countries. And the presenter of that particular program looked in shock because we know that the brain drain problem has been a lingering one for a long time. And we got a publication yesterday and that's from the Office of the General Medical Council. Their websites put out a publication that showed that 353 Nigerian doctors have actually received licenses and have been registered to work in the United Kingdom for the past 100 days. That means that in 100 days, 353 Nigerian doctors were registered to work in the United Kingdom. If this isn't surprising to you, I don't know what is because we know really about the brain drain problem. But the fact that we see that in the past 100 days this is just how much have left Nigeria. And overall we see that 8,787 Nigerian doctors who obtained degrees to practice overseas basically practice in the UK. So most Nigerian doctors who are living in droves, it seems like the United Kingdom is the destination of choice. And there's this vice president of the National Association of Resident Doctors, Julia Najibor. She said that the rates at which Nigerian doctors are living in the country is also expected to double in the coming weeks. Because according to her that in fact now that it seems that the destination of choice for Nigerian doctors is the UK, in the coming weeks most doctors will begin to gravitate towards Saudi Arabia. And we know that we know somebody who knows somebody who definitely is a doctor in the UK, in the US, in Canada, in Saudi Arabia, in these countries. And all this really brings us back to the conversation about the welfare of doctors in Nigeria. We've been talking about striking doctors for a long time, NARD going on strike, Johoso going on strike, conversations between the government and the medical association unions. These unions accused the government of reaching an agreement and then breaching that. So it's just a lot and you really can see reason why these people might want to take their trades somewhere else, where they are valued and their welfare is a priority. Yeah well, you stated that it was shocking or it should be shocking but you know I think for a lot of people it's really not shocking. 353, 600, whatever the figure is, it's really not shocking. And bear in mind that the conversation we're having now is about the UK, the Saudi Arabia, there's Canada, there's the US, there's many, many, many destinations. The Nigerian doctors are looking forward to leaving and heading towards. And a lot of these people don't even bother with practicing in Nigeria. They finish school in, do their, as a resident here, housemanship. And right after that they are on their way. I think they will start processing papers right after they finish the housemanship. So it's not shocking in any way. Saudi Arabia also has very, very mind-blowing figures with doctors over there. There's thousands of Nigerian doctors that move to Saudi Arabia. The UK really is mostly because of the currency and of course they would rather be paid in pounds. Getting paid for 3,000, 4,000 pounds monthly cannot be compared to whatever it is that you receive here in Nigeria. And also looking at what the current exchange rate is. And it also gives you a better platform to practice. Really, you learn more. A lot of Nigerian doctors over there would say that some of the things that they learned while being trained here, only about 20% of what they really needed to learn concerning medical practice. And so when they go over there, it's a much more interesting space. They get paid better. And they basically are able to create a different future for themselves financially and career-wise and just with their own goals. So it's not in any way shocking. And more and more and more people will continue to leave. Nigeria currently, the way it is, I don't think I've ever lived through a time when there were more Nigerians eager to leave. I also want to tweet something yesterday saying that he is about to leave in Nigeria, but he is hurt. And he's not hurt because of the process through which he has to go to leave, seeking Canadian immigration or whichever country. But the pain really that this is what we have to deal with, that our country is no longer good enough for us. And so a lot of people are moving to another man's land just so you can have some sense of a better future for yourself. The airports. And that's it. Crowded. Yeah, I mean, yeah, you know, that's not even the sexual part. The hospital office is crowded. It's just the mental picture of the fact that you have a home. You have parents, you have family, you have a roof over your head here. But you have to find your way to another man's country. Just to live better. Just to live better. Just to give yourself some sense of a better future for yourself, whoever it is that you get married to and for your kids. Many people would sell property, sell their houses, sell their cars just so they can afford to give birth outside Nigeria today. And that's really what has been going on. No matter how many millions of Nairaite will cost, now the exchange rate is crazy. They will do whatever they can just so they can give birth in the U.S. or in Canada or in the U.K. Just for that little bit of security that it gives them. So there will be more doctors. I'm sure that this morning there's more living. Tomorrow morning, throughout this week, there will be more living. Throughout the year. Yeah, throughout the year. It will continue. It's simply because there is almost zero faith in the Nigerian dream on the Nigerian goal on the country itself. That also is reflecting in our currency. And that's why we had this conversation yesterday that there's almost nobody right now that wants to save in Naira. As long as you have money, everybody wants to save in foreign currency in the dollar. Simply because there's zero faith. The minutes of information, whoever it is, Mr. Label, can paint this stain left and right. He can paint it in as many colors as possible but it would never, never, never be the true reflection of what the hearts of Nigerians are. And that reminds me of a recent publication by the World Health Organization. We shared this on the breakfast and off the press talking about the doctor-to-patient ratio in Nigeria. It was far, far lower than the recommendation. About one to five thousand. And as you find in other countries. So if we have very little amount of doctors that are catering for our own health needs and these people are going out of the country because they're not getting what they deserve here, why is the government not thinking about how to make these people stay, how to incentivize the health sector such that when you and I fall ill, we don't go to the hospital to meet empty wards without doctors to take care of us? So that's the reason I took the angle that I took. There is obviously the, you know, the perspective where patients will suffer. Nigerians themselves will suffer because there's not enough qualified hands in the hospitals to treat them. But, you know, I took that angle because I needed to explain the reason many of these doctors do not care at this point. And, you know, they need to find something better for themselves. We have very, very poor investment in healthcare, very poor investment in infrastructure and education in many of all these things. And once again, no matter how the Minister of Labor or the Minister of Information tries to describe this, they cannot change what the reality is on ground that many, many more people in the last couple of years have lost complete faith in the Nigerian dream in the Nigerian goal, whatever that is. There's zero interest in whatever it is that Nigeria is currently doing. And it is mostly whether we try to, you know, deny it or not is mostly because of the current administration and how they have handled the country. That's why the Naira doesn't have any faith. That's why our healthcare, our education, everything, you know, there's zero faith or trust in it, basically. So good luck to Nigerians. Okay, so our next top trend in the story is this. The independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission ICPC wants to regulate cryptocurrencies. ICPC Chairman Balaji Olu Olu Owasanui said this at a retreat in Uyo Aqai Bomb State yesterday. Now, here's what he said. He said, Nigeria needs regulatory intervention in cryptocurrency trading. And some people trading in cryptocurrencies have used the digital currency and assets to engage in corruption in money laundering and tourism financing. He also went on to say that corruption in digital assets is not easily traceable and that the government really needs to step up and regulate cryptocurrency so that it will strengthen the economy, lessen the rates of borrowing and all of that. Now, let's keep that aside and bring this to mind. Are you aware that Nigeria reportedly has the second largest Bitcoin market in the world? And that's, you know, with over $500 million worth of Bitcoin traded in the last five years. Now, let's break that down. In the month of May 2021, the value, the volume of Bitcoin trade in Nigeria alone was $38.5 million in the month of May. In the month of August, the volume of Bitcoin traded in Nigeria by Nigerians got to $44.4 million. In January was $31 million. You know, April was 33. So it just kept increasing. And by August it was $44.4 million. And you need to understand that the stance that CBN has taken regarding cryptocurrency has been one of almost opposition. But despite that Nigerians have always found a way and they still keep trading in crypto. So now that the ICPC is saying that it won crypto trading regulated, I really, you know, want to see how that's going to happen. Because we know, like even they admitted, it's not easily traceable for you to track, you know, transactions with cryptocurrency because it uses that blocked chain technology, even though there's some form of transparency, you can hardly track that. So that's going to be a challenge regarding regulation of cryptocurrency. And it's been a subject of debates, you know, globally regarding how can cryptocurrency be regulated to avoid fraud and scams and things like that. But let's see what the federal government is up to. They just might have something up their sleeves. So personally, I don't know very much about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. I've tried to get myself involved with it a few times, but I eventually always just procrastinate. And so, you know, I can't necessarily say, you know, so much with regards to how it works and some of all of that. But, you know, I personally also agree with, you know, some level, you know, with the Nigerian governments and of course with the ICPC now that there has to be some type of regulation. I think what we'll probably need to do is look deeper at what exactly they mean by regulation, what, you know, they plan to do in what ways they want to have some level of control over the cryptocurrency space here in Nigeria. They may not necessarily be, you know, put it, you know, you know, invading into people's cryptocurrency trade-ins or privacy or anything like that. But I think it's best that we understand to the best that we can what exactly the ICPC means by regulating it because there is still cryptocurrency theft. Sometimes last week I read about a huge theft of, you know, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency that was stolen by some hackers. So there are still those things, you know, and I think that those things are still challenges across the world. And they, you know, should be able to at least put some type of regulation here and there to ensure that it is a safer space for Nigerians to trade. There is already the E-Nira, which the CBN governor has announced, you know, will be launching soon. And so, you know, it's not like they are not totally, you know, they are totally against cryptocurrency or trading in digital currency. So it's obvious that they, you know, are interested in it somehow, some way. But I feel, I agree that there should be some type of regulation. What I would like that we know best is what they mean by regulation and in what ways they want to, you know, regulate it. But yes, you know, people still, of course, should be free to trade as much Bitcoin as they want to trade, I believe. Okay. So lastly on top trending, the permanent orientation camp in Abia State is on the verge of Goli Erushan. These are the words of the Abia State coordinator of the NYC camp, Mr Dennis Jingi. He basically came out to appeal to the government to say that this is what's happening. The flood here is just a lot on the verge of an erosion. It's going to affect the hostels. And, you know, I mean, take a look at what you're seeing on your screen. Such a terrible, terrible situation for an NYC camp that is supposed to be hosted. Thousands of Nigerians have traveled from far and wide to different parts of the country to come, you know, to come learn, exchange ideas and all of that. And just imagine the health risk, the life risk in that environment there. And he really makes us wonder the states of the infrastructure, the places, the schools that are used as orientation camps across Nigeria. Are they safe enough for youth to go and, you know, just go there and do the orientation camp two weeks before we get deployed to other places? So I think these are things we need to consider, the state of government infrastructure. Because usually these places that are NYC camps are schools. So if that is school, if what you're seeing there is a school, I think that's a pathetic site. It looks basically like an uncompleted building to me. And it really makes me ask questions as to why the government felt that that was a safe place for kids or for young adults actually, you know, to go and convert. And I agree. Before getting into the Ghalia-Russia discussion, you know, I think it's best that we know what exactly this building is. If it is an abandoned war building or it is a picture that was stolen from the Internet. Because I do not want to accept that this is a place where human beings actually go to school or to, you know, as part of the NYC process. Many schools are like that across Nigeria. Well, it also doesn't make it okay. I know that there are many of them that are like this, but it doesn't make it okay. And this doesn't even look like a place for humans or it doesn't even look like a place for animals. So that's, you know, the first point to be made. The Southeast has been recorded or seen to have the worst Ghalia-Russia challenges across Nigeria, mostly the Southeast. And that's why there was something called New Map. I was still friends with the head of New Map in Inugu State, who, you know, has continued to do what they possibly can to ensure that, you know, the whole of the Southeast and its Ghalia-Russia challenges are addressed. And, but this is also a good time to point out Gohme Okesepe Azu. And, of course, the numerous times that he has been called out on social media for his failings in Abia State, mostly with infrastructure. You know, there's a lot of marketplaces in Abia State. And if you look at the pictures of these marketplaces, it is so sickening to believe that there is even governance in Abia State. So he has a lot of work to do. Every now and then you see people come out to defend him when he is being called out. But, you know, you can't, you know, change. You can't, you know, use social media campaigns to take away the pains of the people. People, you know, will actually leave through these things. So Gohme Okesepe, Abia State in general, has had a very, very poor run with regards governments, you know, from since 1999. They've had a very, very, very poor run of governors. Their selection process has been very, very unfortunate, sadly. And I hope that in the next elections in Abia State they will be able to somehow, somehow we pick somebody who sees these challenges and knows what to do with them. So this is just another example of, you know, the failure of governance. At the state level, local government level, whichever level it is in Abia State, and these things should be addressed. NewMap itself is still an organization, still a government agency that I believe is doing what it possibly can, but, you know, a whole lot more needs to be done. Most importantly, the very first thing we started with, that school or that place is not a place for humans to teach or to learn or to live. Not at all. And those are our three top turning stories this morning. Let's take a break and we'll be back with Off the Press.