 Fellow Nigerians, the first 18 months have been some of the most difficult periods in the history of Nigeria. They truly have been, with killings across the country, secessionist agitations in the south and multiple school adoptions and terrorism in the north. But President Mohammedu Buhari says Nigeria is going on the offensive. We are taking the fight to our enemies from all angles and we are winning. The Nigerian armed forces have recruited over 17,000 personnel across all ranks. Furthermore, I have also approved for the Nigerian police force to recruit 10,000 police officers annually over the next six years. The president also disclosed that 8,000 members of Bukoharam have surrendered and a federal lawmaker has been identified as a sponsor of his secessionist group. The recent arrests of Namdeh Khanu and Sandeh Adeymo and the ongoing investigation being conducted have revealed certain high-profile finances behind these individuals. We are vigorously pursuing these finances, including one identified as a serving member of the National Assembly. The ban on Twitter will be lifted if the social media meets some demands. These are A, national security and cohesion, B, registration, physical presence and representation, C, fair taxation, D, dispute resolution and E, local content. Five million Nigerians have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and Nigeria is working to ensure it produces its own vaccines, not just for COVID but for future pandemics. Already, the Nigerian sovereign investment authority is raising a 200 million United States dollars fund for this initiative. President Buhari concluded the broadcast by saying no administration since 1999 has done what he has done in six years to put the country on the right track. For Plus TV Africa, Ngoziqa or HSE. We now have joining us and plus news now, a public affairs analyst, Ambrose Ebuke. Thanks for joining us, Ms. Ebuke. Ms. Ebuke, can you hear us clearly? Yeah, I can hear you. Thanks for joining us. I want us to start with your views on the president's speech. Some people have said it was uninspiring. Do you agree with that? I don't think, no, the president has a slow way of talking. So I don't know what is uninspiring about it, whether it is the slow pace of talking or the content. For me, it is content. Nigeria should not be talking about our independence speech. Africa is to one year. It should not be about the content of what the president has said. We should not be talking about successionist groups. We should not be talking about arrest of people. I mean, those are routine fundamental things that the nation does. We have left where we were in the 70s. Nigeria was a power block globally. Nigeria in the 70s took stand against the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom was a protein appetite in South Africa. Nigeria stood against it and formed alliance with the Soviet block and ensured that the fourth appetite will stand still against Western interests. That is the kind of height we attained 40 years ago, 50 years ago. For us to come back when we are now celebrating 61 years, we are talking about mundane things. So it is a sad comment on our country that at 61, instead of talking about going to the moon, instead of talking about scientific breakthroughs just yesterday, I was reading an article of how China has created an artificial song that is uttered by the natural song so that they can use it to build their solar renewable energy so that it cannot be discussed and have it all time-round. These are where countries are heading to. Countries are exploring artificial intelligence and other scientific breakthroughs to ensure things like 3D technology. People are printing, want to print art and other parts of the body, want to print liver by just 3D scientific method. These are where countries are looking at. And here we are talking about things that are very consequential when it comes to global economy. So it is not going to be... For any Nigerian who is passionate about the country, these kinds of speeches is not what we want from our leaders. We want to know, as independents, between the last time and the previous, how many jobs have been created, for example? We want to hear about how many investors have we got up. We want to hear how many FDIs, for the rate investment we have got in. We want to hear the rise of our GBP. We want to hear that we have paid our debts. We want to hear that export potentials have increased and we are exporting more. We want to hear that our local refineries are now working with the food capacity and we are now exporting refined petroleum food. We want to hear that power supply is now uninterrupted. We want to hear that there is possible water across the rural and urban centers in Nigeria. We want to hear that our routes have been fixed and that we are no more dying because of... On the side, okay. I guess the things that the President spoke about represent where we are as a country. And like you've said, you might be a little disappointing that after 61 years, these are the things that we are still speaking about. But the current administration has had six years to put us on a different trajectory. Of course, as the country moves forward, would you say that they have, in somehow, some way, created avenues which with Nigeria can grow and be better than it has been in the last 60 years? Well, when you make your arithmetic calculation, which is the same for 61 minus 66 years, you will find that it is very, very negligible. So the administration has tried what it ought to do, but we have known that the decay of the last years before they came in, when it suffered that, I think it got 55 years. So the Nigerian problem has been going on for a few years. So the efforts that have made in the last six years have not been able to obtain the things we have noticed in the last 35 years. The problem of Nigeria is not about the regimes, whether it's six years or eight years. The problem of Nigeria is that there are no systematic advancements. It is all about, it's a staccato arrangement. We have not been able to systematically grow. So this regime comes, does its own thing, another regime comes its own thing, and then that is where we are in the top seat of the situation. So I think what I had, for example, the growth we made in the 70s, when oil boom was there, where we were having, we were extending $2 to a Naira, if we are sustained that growth by now, then we're talking about having an economy that is even bigger than that of the United States of America. So we are judging this based on the next six years, by two years they're complete, they're tenor, they go, and then maybe there will be another policy somersault. The one thing I would give to this administration, which is very key, is that this administration had continued the projects of the past administration. And this is not normal in Nigeria, because most regime, the road administration is where they're from, tends to discontinue what these predecessors have done, and then all create their own project. That's just like the rail line project has gone on, things like the, some of the projects that were brought up by the past administration were continued, and that is where we can also, you know, say that this administration has done well. Beyond that, both of the debt, the administration is plunging into more and more debt, and that has to be looked into. Why are we borrowing to fund, we were saying we are going to fund capital projects, but we have said that we have borrowed money in this administration to pay salaries. We have shared, we've patrated funds to pay salaries. So these are not things we could borrow from. So we need to, you know, administration has like one and a half years to go. I think that can still do better. All right, like you mentioned, you know, some of the things that we're spoken about in the speech aren't things that we should be focusing on now, but unfortunately that's where we are. So I want us to look at one of the things just before we go, one of the things that he mentioned, and of course it is the succession of Sagittators. He may have mentioned that, you know, Namdi Kano and Sunday Boho in particular, very likely, you know, from what they found, have people financing them, you know, a particular person in the National Assembly. So I want you to speak with regards to the succession of Sagittators. Was Nigeria always headed in this direction? And, you know, what would you expect from the president now that he said that they know that, you know, a person in the National Assembly was sponsoring these Sagittators? And one of the things I would say that we have to work with is the root cause of all these things. For example, why are the citizens of France, why are they not agitating for succession? Why are the citizens of the United States not agitating for succession? Why are the citizens of Ghana not agitating for succession? Where you have a country that works well for you, you know, agitate for succession, because nobody wants to live something that is good. Therefore, the government should be looking at what are the root causes of these agitations? And it's only when we're able to approve the root causes that we'll be able to tackle the issue headlong. And then we also have to look at the both solutions, the international diplomacy and governance, we have what we call the stick and carrot method. So while we are supplying this tip, we also look at the carrot. How do we now be able to use a diplomatic solution as well as there are just like what is happening in the Northeast? A lot of these sectionalists that I got the book around people, I've been sent overseas that have been integrated into the society. Some of them were sent overseas to apply as good labor and they own a Nigerian idea and they have been integrated. So such political solutions should also be looked into. Because the country, when it's on fire, it doesn't favor the successionist, it doesn't favor the masses, it doesn't favor the government in any way. It is only a peaceful atmosphere that can engender economic growth for any country. So the priority of the government should be to ensure that we have a peaceful atmosphere so that our economy can grow and the country can be at peace. Okay. I'm Russi Bokeh. Always a pleasure speaking with you. Thank you for your time this evening and of course, we wish you a very interesting weekend ahead. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. Hello, hope you enjoyed the news. 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