 The rising spate of insecurity in Nigeria raises concerns about the future of the nation. We'll discuss insecurity in the country today on the breakfast. Also on the breakfast, as poor power supply persists in many parts of the country, the federal government has quietly removed all subsidy in the power sector, with a plan to gradually end subsidy on petrol. We also have analysis of the headlines on the front pages of the nation's national dailies. There's a moorhead on the breakfast right here on Plus TV Africa. A very good morning to you. Welcome to the breakfast on Plus TV Africa. It's a beautiful Monday morning and we're live from our studios in Victoria Island, Lagos. My name is Kofi Bartels. And I am Messi Bofors. Really great to be back in the screen this beautiful Monday morning. Of course, no surprises. Messi is looking extra special this morning. No, no. Today is her birthday. Messi, I'm not leaving this studio without something from you. Don't worry. Happy birthday. If not for time, I would have sung a birthday song for you. No, that's okay. Thank you so much. Yeah, that's an extra shine. Amazing, amazing. All right, so all Messi's fans, you know how to reach her so you can help her enjoy her birthday. That sounds like a promo. Yes indeed, yes indeed. Well, it's been a very, very, very active weekend. A lot to talk about. We want to fit all the training issues into our segment this morning. We will not finish. But let's start off with a look at the political scene where a letter popped up from the, you know, some people say purportedly, but we won't say purportedly because it was signed from the Redeemed Christian Church of God informing that they had launched what they call a direct rate of politics. And you can see that memo, a copy of it on your screen there. The Redeemed Christian Church of God led by Pastor Inok Adeboye saying it, it's newly released or newly created Office of Directorate of Politics and Governance has nothing to do with Vice President Yemio Shiba-Jaw's presidential, purported presidential ambition or any other person for that matter who might have a presidential ambition in 2020. And that was the immediate reaction of people when they saw this memo and said, no, they want to campaign for a Shiba-Jaw. And even some of the papers, you know, some of the blogs and, you know, the newspaper, if you look at the headlines, they were very suggestive of that particular fact and which is not it because I mean if you go through the memo, the memo states that they were supporting members of the church who were vying for it. And I know that has actually been generating a lot of conversation, especially for country as Nigeria where we're very big on religion. So we understand where that would come from. Some people are saying, should we meddle politics and religion? I mean, what business should church have with politics and all of that? There should be a way from it. But constitutionally, you want to look at it, everyone has a right, you know, to be there, via for political office. And if the church is, because we're governed, I would constantly say that we're governed in bits and pieces, in fragments, and so you have religious organization, you have different paths. And I'm thinking that we have not harnessed the fact that we're in groups and we can achieve a lot. So imagine that the church, the mocks, and everyone is pushing a particular agenda for the Nigerian cause. Then we will not be where we are today. So yes, it's commendable. I mean, I think it's commendable. It's a great one. It doesn't necessarily mean that having, you know, it's a good thing to see that the church is supporting her own and not necessarily saying, hey, you don't have to be part of politics because it's a worldly thing. You know, all of that secular conversation, always a secular thing, you can't be part of it. But people who believe in the scripture, you know, what the Bible says. Yes. Indeed, when you hear the, you say the letter said it's set up to, that directorate of politics was set up to support members of the church. I mean, Oshibajo is not just a member of the church, a professor in Oshibajo. It's not just a member of the church. He's also a pastor in the church. So it doesn't mean that he won't support him. I don't know. But anyway, let's not put words in their mouth. What the church said was that, you know, they've been, you know, trying to sensitize it. They actually want to sensitize members of the church as far as political activities and political participation is concerned, including voter education and getting the permanent voter card. This is the media release or media reaction, the public relations software of the church. He's the head of media as well, Pasolito Ulubi, he said. He granted an interview. He said the redeeming Christian of what has been creating political awareness since the transition from military rule to civilian rule in Nigeria in 1999. And there was nothing new about the development. He said Christians cannot afford to act ignorantly by staying away from politics because the choice of political leadership affects the entire well-being of the people. So this is what they have put out to the media. The memo was an internal memo that got leaked, you know, creating this office of directorate of politics and governance. But they've had to now come out and say, this is why. You know, but I mean, he talked about very interesting points in race and mercy. He's talking about the, you know, question. Should the church be involved in politics? Should the church be involved in politics? That is an all-important question. But you see, they say that bad things happen when good people do nothing. You understand? Bad things happen when good people do nothing. In Christendom, people have sat back for years saying that politics was for the dirty people. You know, it was for the sinners. So if you are in politics, you have to be a sinner to be a successful politician. And some part, some aspect, some segment of the church has enforced or reinforced that mindset. That those who are involved in politics are dirty people. Or rather, that if you want to be successful in politics, you must be dirty. Or if you want to get into politics, you must be dirty. And I think that it's a welcome development for a church as big as Redeem Christendom, to realize and to decide, hey, we actually have power. We have the power to determine the future of this country. Because if you look at the membership across not just Nigeria, but across the world, who knows if there will be diaspora voting tomorrow. They have a large following. Let's see where the power lies. Let's see where the numbers lie. Let's see where the population lies. And Nigeria's future cannot be mortgage. We cannot sit back. So the church has to be involved. And if people are questioning, why should the church be involved? Then you go back to the history of Christianity and politics. You realize that this thing we're talking about politics and Christianity have been intertwined. Right from the early days of the church, including the Roman Catholic Church. So what are we talking about? They are the same. Politics and Christianity have been together for centuries. I mean, I'm not actually on the other side of the divide. Like I rightly mentioned, if you look at it constitutionally, they do have a right. Because they are Nigerians. They do have a right that you're Christian. Or you belong to a particular denomination that does not disenfranchise you. As long as you are low abiding and you do not constitute a nuisance. So yes, they do have a right. And it's very commendable. Maybe, but it's not, you know... Well, let's tell ourselves the truth. No, but I think you ought to push it. It doesn't necessarily mean that that would translate when you have people from the church becoming... It doesn't necessarily... It's not a guarantee that, yes, you're going to have good policies, governance. That's not it. So that's another conversation for another day. But to be honest... But I think that they have a right. And what they're doing is totally, you know, correct. I'm also saying that maybe the Marx, every other person, we need to come together. The Nigerian project is not a project for one person. Everybody, including the native doctors and herbalists, they can come together. We have another top training story. And this, of course, is bizarre, really sad. I think it was last week we saw... We had a training story of a man who went into a hospital, a public hospital, a public health facility in Lagos state and was dressed as a nurse. And the allegation was that he was trying to steal a baby. You know, though the authorities came out to say he was trying to steal something, he went in there and then he decided to steal nurses clothes so that he could disguise and escape. But we've been talking about this. And I think I've said it before that when we get closer to elections, I'm sorry to say this. I know that it's a lot of conjecturing going on here. It is. But from my experience as a journalist, especially on radio, talking about issues affecting the nation, issues in the news, I've realized that the closer we get to elections, sorry, but the closer we get to elections, the more we hear of things like this. What is a dispatch rider doing with a baby in a dispatch box in the Sagottero area of Lagos state? Now, of course, those who came out to start to react to this in the way I am will be too hasty. You know, will be too hasty because you never can tell what could be going on. But yesterday we're told that the police had launched a search for that dispatch rider and the pictures were all over the internet. I'm happy that the media houses blurred the face of the baby. The police in Lagos had launched a search for that dispatch rider over the alleged theft of a baby. That's what the police had intensified the search for this dispatch rider. So first of all, it's quite unfortunate. I would say that security is still everyone's business and we need to pay attention. And if you have, because I know that dispatch rider, you have companies whose business is to, you know, dispatch goods and what have you to different location. So apart from the fact that they are looking for the dispatch rider, they need to investigate if it's just an individual or it's a company. That's also another issue. It's really, really very dicey. But it brings us back to the fact that I mean security is everyone's business. What's a baby doing a dispatch rider's boss? That's exactly what I'm saying. What's a baby doing there? So you also have to agree with me that some of the dispatch, I mean, you don't really, I'm sure that individuals can decide to say, OK, yes, we're a dispatch rider. But if the investigation is going to go on, they need to find out whether it's an individual or it's being owned by a company. I mean, it's being owned by a company. We have renown very popular. I mean, for the fact of, you know, commercials, I wouldn't want to begin to mention all of them. So you should be able to understand. It still brings us back to the fact that we as humans need to understand that we're responsible for security and protection. Now, what's most scary in all of this as much as we call government to be responsible is the fact that we have lost humanity. So when I read that story, when I saw the pictures and I saw videos on the Internet, it is a good time that, I mean, we have the smartphones and the smartphones are really working. Like, I started imagining, wow, no one could ever think that you could. That's also already also, you know, suggestive. And so people could actually also consider this. But it's a lot of work for security, you know, agency. And we must commend those who actually were at the forefront of it, who actually are let it. So mostly what I'm saying is this, we need to pay attention. We need to pay attention to the issue of security. The persons who commit this crime are not, they don't fall from the sky. They don't leave far away from us. They leave with us. We need to be part of, you know, the security. As much as we always want to blame the government. Oh, yeah, the government is not doing X, Y, V, all the government. But you need to understand that the people who commit these crimes are not strangers. They're not spirits. They're human beings. They are our brothers. Like I always say, sisters, neighbors, and you see them and you know what they are doing. You should report them. Yes, I understand that the people have lost trust in the entire system, in governance and police. But we need to take the issue of security. And I commend those who actually were very let's because, I mean, it's an issue of being alert and being able. Some people say, you see the reason why, you know, the Nigerian police should continue with the search and stop. But I am taking aback. I am blown away and taken off. And a human being would take another human being, a baby for that matter, put in a box and transport this baby to another location. Very sad. But that's the much that we can take at this point in time with top trending, top trending conversation. Before we go, we also have to look at the news that the federal government shut down some loan companies. These are loan sharks in other parts of the world, kind of loan sharks. Over what it calls customer privacy violations. Some of them are really well known. The names I've seen in some reports include Go Cash. You know, Go Cash. Your answer would determine what I say to you. You have Go Cash. You have easy credit. Cash, cash. I mean, some of these names are the first time. You have speedy choice. You have easy money. But do you patronize these fees persons? No, let me ask, you know. That's one look at it. But have you by chance, let me put this to you now. I'm putting you on the spot. Have you by chance patronize any of these loan companies? I wouldn't want to put my financial details on it. Okay, so you're invoking the fees amendment law? I just don't want to put my financial activities. No, no, that's not it. I'm just saying. But one thing I've realized is people need to be very careful. There are some phones that my phone has a spam feature that detects spam messages and then it hides them from you and then it tells you that you have some spam. Now, let's say I realize that you have some fraudsters who sense in the desperation of some people in the country because of the economic situation, they want to cash in on that. So what they do is they send you a link and tell you that you have some money available for you before you can cash it out and pay maybe very friendly, very, very small interest. And believe me, if you click that link, you'll be spammed in a way. So people need to be careful about that. Well, as much as I say, people need to be careful, but you know that out of desperation, as much as we want to... Just an aggression, by the way. Yes, out of desperation most times because they're always temps and agreement. They're usually temps and conditions. But because of the need for people to... I mean, you are in need and, of course, someone is throwing this at you and then you don't pay attention to the details. As much as we found out the means because I have gotten a couple of messages, I mean, that's what happened. So they begin to harass people. I've gotten many. Yeah, so I've got a couple of them. It's the same thing. We're saying the same thing. So they just tell you that, oh, someone, you know this. Who's this person? What's going on here? There was a time I actually talked. They put the person's name. So there was a time. Really, let me share this experience. And in light of that, there was a time I got a message. Right? And so this person is someone I talked to at the time. You know, we lived in the same region. So the South Side region. And I saw a text. Then I decided to verify the number. It didn't, you know, it wasn't really very clear. So I dialed the number and I said, oh, I have this person's number. So this person is a criminal? Defunded the company? They started the person was a criminal. That's what they said. The message they sent to me was like, this person is a criminal. If you find them anywhere, report them to the nearest police and all of that. So when I saw the message, I decided to dial. I mean, out of curiosity, I dialed the number. And then I found out that the number is stored on my phone. So I was like, oh my God. So this person is a criminal? Defunded the company? I said it panicking. Then as time went on, I realized that, you know, all of those things that we're saying was not what it was. It was just a way of trying to get this person to pay the debt. But I'm saying that yes, as much as we feel that, oh, we have to be very, I mean, we don't want to put all your issues out there. The fact that you even indulge number one, it gives you a way. And most times people don't read. We get to sign up for all of those apps and services. We don't read the agreements. We just say, yes, I agree. And so that's what a lot of migrants have been doing. Well, yes, we don't, as much as these persons are here to solve problems. But I think the outcry is that, hey, the way and manner in which people are going about it is, you know, is violating the human privacy or privacy. I mean, people need to be careful and you think twice. Because this has been an issue in other countries, like the UK. I don't mention names now. But they offering juicy amounts. For instance, mercy, this one was sent to me on Tuesday. It's an SMS. I didn't solicit for it. I didn't answer it. I don't know them. I saw some... Well, you have the willpower to say no. I saw something. New credit. That's me. Well, the other people out there, it says they're a customer. I'm not a customer. Congratulations for the beginning of your credit journey. Your available new credit limit is 15,000 a year. Get your loan now. Did I? I didn't... I never clicked anywhere. I never asked for... So why are you sending me these? So they're even pushing it in the faces of people. You know, it's really sad. And the first time I saw a message from one of these loan sharks, you know, I saw someone's name. I was... The first time I saw it, they said, A, B, C, X, Y, Z person. Let it be known to you that X, Y, Z person is a... is a criminal. It's a fraudster. That's a mistake. I mean, it's so hard to break it. This guy, why is Sabina... He might just say, Okay, no, imagine that it was me now that sent my name to you. How would you feel? So I called the guy, I said, Oh boy, what do you do now? We need to move on. You need to try yourself to the police. The guy, I explained to me, so my God. You know, but the thing about it is people also need to go in for loans they can pay. You know, I know life is hard. It's difficult, you know, when you offer these amounts of money, but do not take a loan. You know, you don't put yourself in the trap. Because it's going to be, you have to borrow from another person to pay back. Look for a better way. You know. No, but the truth is, if you actually look at it, a lot of people are not very good at paying debt. I have had a couple of persons who feel that this is also another way to defraud. So it still brings us back to the issue of integrity. Whether or not we like their approach, this person say, okay, yes, we're giving you. And if you have agreed to pay at a certain time, then you should pay. But so people take advantage. And so, on the other hand, this guy is a profit, a driven, a system. Well, hi. However, we're querying, you know, the approach and manner in which they're going about it. Yes. But I think that all of this should have been part of the conversation agreements that people get to pick yes to. So yes, it brings us to the fact that we don't pay attention, you know, to some of the things that we are agreeing to. But that's it on top trending this morning. We definitely return tomorrow with more interesting conversations, generating reactions and different spaces. When we return, it will be time for us to be looking at the front pages of the press. And of course, open up on Kataria. All things ViniCorp is in standby to join us.