 Today on The Breakfast, with few hours to the most anticipated elections in the history of Nigeria, stakeholders say youth could play a significant role in deciding the direction of the 2023 elections, given the level of participation in the voter's registration exercise. But look at this in the first conversation on The Breakfast. Also on The Breakfast, the Nigerian basketball federation has released a 12-man lease for the final window of the qualifiers for the 2023 World Cup. Monday, Thomas will join the conversation as we proceed. And as usual, today's dailies have some interesting headlines who will there analyze some of the top stories on the front page pages of the national newspapers in off-the-press. Nigerians trip out to Kassia votes in less than 24 hours, like we said, in what has become one of the most anticipated elections in the history of Nigeria. And then of course, plus TV Africa here to give you blow-by-blow, minute-by-minute reports and analysis as the voting continues throughout tomorrow. Of course, election studio will be open right from the morning. And you're implored to stay with us. My name is Kofi Bartels. You're welcome. Merci. The atmosphere is so poppable. But let me allow you. First of all, I must say it's good to have you here. Really? So I would probably say it's good to have you here too. Yeah, it's good to have you. Her name is Merci Ebupo. Okay. Well, you don't have to say my name for me, but of course he said that already. My name is Merci Ebupo. There's so much tension. I feel like anxiety, people like this a lot. And another thing again is if you move around the streets of Lagos, everywhere is quiet. Kofi, everywhere has been quiet since yesterday. I need to tell you. So I'm wondering, are we in December? Are people traveled? What's going on? The roads are quiet, very quiet. The streets are quiet. Everywhere seems to be very quiet. But of course we understand that we're going to be heading to the polls tomorrow. A few hours to that. I am glad to be part of history. It's really exciting, democracy. And I think that this election is one that the world is looking at. Everyone is watching. From Africa, outside Africa, what have you? Merci, when we read that intro, of course we call it the most anticipated election in Nigeria. But you know, from as we're generally, so we can remember what happened last election. Every election has been the most anticipated. No, Kofi, but this is actually a little bit. In 2019 it was so... It's hard to say it's the most anticipated. You know, 2015 it was, how you say this is most anticipated. 2011 it was really, this is a, you know... So maybe the next one will be month is better than this. But I think it shows that we are making progress democratically, you know, years ago. We used to hear them saying Nigeria's democratic experiment. And so I say, ah, this experiment wouldn't have finished. But I think we're making progress. We're making progress. We are really making progress. We move from seeing Nigeria's move from being, you know, basically two-party state now to having a viable formidable third party. We used to hear that the third alternative, third force and all that. It seemed like a pipe dream. Now it's a reality. And the third party really has a chance of breaking the monopoly of the leading to the big two parties, you know. So rather PDP said they'll be in power for 60 years. I don't know, they want to go and complete those 60 years. And then the APC of course came in with a lot of promise, but delivered so little. If you look at the results based on promise, you know, we're not talking politics here. We just said the facts that they haven't been able to live up to expectations. Of course, they can say COVID-19, the war on Ukraine and all that, you know. But the fact is that, yes, the reasons you have to listen to these reasons, but what cannot be argued will be that things haven't really been as they hoped. And the candidate of the party has said that, you know, has said that, you know. The other guys are trying to offer something, you know, they want to offer a new thing, but it's easier said than done. So let's see what happens at the end of the day. Let's see what happens at the end of the day. Well, we'll start things at the top training segment. We'll look at the, this is the preparation of some of the agencies on the federal government towards the general elections. And we're going to look at that. Of course, we have the federal safety code being one of the government agencies doing their best to get ready. I mean, I was in Abuja yesterday. And at strategic points, you will see, you know, each agency coming out on the road. I think what has happened is that the, what has happened is that the, all the security agencies or, you know, power military agencies are out, you know. So when I got back to Lagos yesterday, I drove from the airport through Kejah. Even around the Kejah, you see the customs officers. Well, patrol, they had their vehicles outside, you know, on that Kejah road where you have the officers and, you know, you see seeing them, they even had their own armored personnel carrier, you know. In Abuja, you could see the guards of brigade around, you know, the guards of brigade around different places in the FCT. And of course, in Lagos yesterday, we saw the army going, doing a show of force around some parts of Lagos. In Podhakot, the Navy also did a show of force. The men patrol the streets of Podhakot, you know. It's a unique one because you don't normally hear of the Navy, you know, doing a show of force during elections. But the Federal Safety Corps is one of those agencies. You're looking at them on the screen now. This is a Federal Safety Corps in Anambra State. Deploying about 1,060 personnel for election duties. That's what we see, Kejah, as we get ready for the polls tomorrow. This is in Anambra State. The sector commander of the FRSC explained that although the Independent National Electoral Commission dictated the pace of the election, the FRSC would only play a supportive role in conjunction with other security agencies to ensure a successful poll. So this is trending. A lot of people are talking about it, you know. FRSC, FRSC, people are out on the road. You know, there's a lot of conversation. Well, the FRSC is participating in vehicle certification for the election. Okay, they know what to look for. You can't just get into your car and drive. They also said that it is a duty and responsibility of the core to ensure that vehicles convey election materials to, you know, local government areas and other places across the state in good working condition. Okay, that's interesting. They expect it to enforce total lockdown on the day of the election against unauthorized movement of vehicles on election duties as the electoral law provides, especially interstate movement so that the people of Anambra State can cast a vote freely and fairly. I mean, that's interesting, isn't it? Well, very interesting. But just as we say that this is what Nigerians are talking about, it's also important to note that people are saying, oh, it can't be, you know, at this moment that we're saying the FRSC should be out and open out. Now, the FRSC has a commitment. There's a reason why they were established. So it's okay they're saying we have to be supporting of the electoral empire that's INEC. But after now, Nigerians are saying, so what happened before now? Because every other time yesterday I was driving back home, not necessarily me on the steering but getting back home and then I was in front of a vehicle and we had to take a lot of time because we're just being careful that we can't overtake, we can't just be anywhere, we just have to be careful. Because I wasn't on the steering. Yeah, so much fear now because I wasn't on the steering. For me, the vehicle looks very medieval. The vehicle looks old, like the truck. It's not even a vehicle, it's a truck. So for me, I just wish I could just, you know, sway my way. I had already thought out how I was going to navigate and just get out of it because there were just in front, slow and steady, there was no way to overtake. My point is, I think, without even having the knowledge of certification and what have you, that truck is not supposed to be on the road. So yes, we applaud the FRSC for being very proactive and acting in a supportive way to the Empire, whether it is its dear duty or not, but we appreciate the fact that this support system to it. But we're saying beyond the elections what happens, right? Every other time, especially if you live in Lagos, you will know that there are too many vehicles on the road or trucks that are not supposed to be on the road. They have no business. Kofi being on the road is a disaster. In Lagos? Yes, in Lagos also. I mean, I've been in Pohakos and I... I'm saying, Kofi, you need to see this vehicle. If you were driving behind this truck, you will be scared for yourself. On election day. Whether or not, no. So Nigerians are saying that it's okay that this should happen on election day. Now, yesterday, if we were talking about election day, there was also another video that emanated. Unfortunately, I'm not sure we can put out that video here. So these are the regular things that we see on the roads every day? Yes. So we're saying that we shouldn't streamline it to the election day. And if we're saying we need to pay attention to the vehicles that will be conveying election materials, you know, to where elections will be happening in different locations pulling units, we're saying that let's not just limit it. The FRSC is not just committed to election day activity. They have a duty to perform and show that safety of the road is paramount. I mean, you look at the nomenclature, road safety, that's what it is. But as a yesterday or so, there's also a video, I don't know if you've seen that video, of a vehicle that broke down. I mean, if you see the vehicle, it's just, you know, what is that? Someone made a video. It's a user-generated video that was put out yesterday. A vehicle that was conveying materials to cross river state. And it was looking very, very, very, very coffee. So these are the buses that the NURTW members would have, you know, who were contracted, who were being contracted by. Contracted? Yeah, so these are the everyday buses that Nigerians use. You go to the bus parks, these are what they use, you know. And it is indicative of the poor state of public transportation, you know, in the country. I mean, in different cities, the standards of the vehicles and the taxis, whether a bus, care care, whatever, or a sedan. The taxis that convey Nigerians around, the standards are really poor. You know, I remember, I mean, in Podhakot, you know, residents have complained severely. You look at the taxis in Podhakot, for instance. Terrible. I mean, Lagos right now, you have mostly downfall, the buses. Not necessarily, there's also Koropwe. Koropwe, no, no. But I'm talking about sedans, regular car taxis. You don't have that in Lagos as it used to be, then the yellow cabs are no longer there. So mostly you have the mass, you know, transit taxis, like those buses, Koropwe, like you call them, or downfall. But in cities in the country, we have normal car, you know, sedans. Some of these cars are so bad, you know, so bad. Abuja is where you have maybe green taxis, a bit okay. But if you go to other cities around the country, let's say it's terrible what you see, you know. As one day in Podhakot, I saw a taxi, a cab, which isn't a shower cab, it's gear. Because the gear had come out, so we used the shower. Some don't have lights, some don't have side mirrors, some don't have brake lights, some don't have doors, some taxi, you have to use something, tie the door when you sit down. You know, so you've made the most of the point. This is not to say the FRC isn't doing well. As far as tomorrow's election is concerned, they are. We want to commend them for really stepping up to come out. I think they need a lot of commendation, you know, for they're doing their job, but they're doing the right thing. Okay, so, but what you're saying is very important, that beyond the elections, they need to wake up. They need to do more, because you have a lot of infractions, a lot of unworthy cars on the roads. So, about movement on election day, why will people who have no business, no accreditation, be moving on election day? What exactly are you going to do? Now, of course, we need to make exception for people who have emergencies. You know what I mean, election is meant for, to enhance the life of people, right? It's not meant to make their lives worse. So if there's an emergency, somebody has a medical emergency, they're meant to be on the road. They're meant to access a medical facility. You know, my HMO provider yesterday sent an email telling us, me, you know, some of the things that would not be available on that day. But they said you can access your facilities. You're very fortunate that you got a mail. Yeah, yeah, they say you got a mail. They say you can access some of their facilities that they have in your uncleanings. But the thing is, it means that they, so I said, okay, means that they expect people will be able to get medical attention. And, you know, medical attention is very essential. So I do hope that as they're doing their work, that they'll also be aware that people may have emergencies and nobody should be harassed. Like COVID-19, you know, some people who are going for medical emergencies will be harassed. There was abuse of human rights by Nigerian security agencies. But for those who have no business on the road, you know, you just stay at home. All right, go and vote. Now, you know, mercy, even as a journalist, in 2019, I had my tag, I moved from place to place. But the thing is, there were soldiers on the road. They were stationed at different junctions, mercy. You know, soldiers, they sat there, they built their tent. They ate there, cooked there, sat there, did everything there for a couple of days. So where you won't go, you know? So, I mean, they don't need to even do too much. Yeah, F.R.C.D. will do their job. But they say they push soldiers on the street. If you don't have any business, if you like, go now. Those guys, those guys are not out to discuss with you. When I saw them, 2019, when I saw them, I just knew how to respect myself. Trust me, I'm sure you were in Potakot, right? If I'm not mistaken. With my tag, I had to explain myself. That's where I was. I was in, you know, the creeks, Bakasi, you know, around Cameroon, you know, doing all of that reporting, getting all of the stories out there. Because these are not very fancy places. Bush, that would be the word. Like, imagine that you allow me to say it in PGNOW. Bush, real bush, like you, you know, so at some point, I started getting very emotional because I can't be. Is this a place? Where are we going to? You know, because it feels like the forest, it's like we're going nowhere, but people live in these places. And then I started saying that the roads were horrible. And then I started saying that, you know, in local governments and worlds, they had no roads, they had no structure. You know, it was nothing to write home about. Then I understand that there's need for, you know, the presence of the third tier of government. And that's why every other time, I probably would raise the question as to, what exactly are we doing to get, you know, government closer to the people? Because that's what you understand. Now, what we have in the cities, Lagos, you know, the metro police, is different from what you have in the creeks. People live in these places. You would pass a lot of forests that you see in the movies, whether foreign movies or local movies. I'm telling you about thick forests. But people live after these places. And it's really unfortunate that they don't have access to the basic things of life. And so it just gave me a different perspective entirely, that you have to cross from one point to the other. But just like we have mentioned, the election is an event. And some people would say that, hopefully we're able to just even, I mean, why should we even talk about restricting activities movement? Shouldn't it just be normal? Can we just have normal activities and then still have the election? But I don't think that we, as the people, are ripe for that kind of conversation. We're still grappling with voter activity. It is a very, very nice idea. A very nice suggestion. You know, life doesn't need to end when we have elections. You know, we can have elections in the country. And still have life. And still have life. But the thing is, we haven't proven that we have the capacity. The politicians themselves too, and they are thugs, you know, and they are thugs and supporters, haven't proven they have the capacity to stay away from trying to cheat during elections. Yeah, we haven't shown we have the capacity. So for now, let's go through this one. Definitely. You know, because in the days of ballot box snatching, of course, you see that they'll move the ballot paper from one place to point H1B, you know, unauthorized to go and dump, yeah, you know. So now they want to know who is who, you know. If you're moving, you're not authorized. Then the authorities deal with you. Okay, so it's very important. However, the capacity of the authorities to really spread themselves around everywhere is being called to question in recent elections. I mean, I think in 2019, it was when a reporter from radio station I worked with, you know, and several reporters were picked up by, by, you want to call it them heavily armed, you know, cultists or militants in some part of river state who were working for a particular local government chamber. Heavily armed. They, their local government was cordoned off, you know, like they locked down the entire place. They locked down entire place. You can't move in river state. Okay. They determine who votes. So at that local government, our guys were prevented from going in till they finished the operation for that election. Then they now release them. It wasn't funny. And these guys were armed to the teeth and there's no police officer or police station that is as armed as the guys that we saw. Sophisticated weapons. No, you know. Sophisticated. Missing elections in some part of this country is when you see that there's another army. There's another force. Outside of that. Sophisticated weapons. Coffee, you know that this other army, we need to move on now. So, so, so, but what, what the aim is is to make sure that people, because now they realize that they can't still vote anymore. These guys have realized that they cannot take ballot boxes and just, you know, thumbprint and then stuff them and stash them. They realize that now they vote. There's power in the vote. So what they do is they go control who come out to vote. Okay. And watch out. You're going to see a lot of that on Saturday. They will make sure that they intimidate the people. And these people are working for people in government. So I don't know any government. They'll go shoot everywhere, shoot everywhere, shoot everywhere. And now it's a local language. I don't think that that's... Announce the local language that if you come out, you are dead. I don't think that that's going to be the case because... Merci. In some, I'm telling you what we see. In some local government areas, you know, in Riverside, they actually flog you. Those ones don't want to shoot. They have their guns. They don't want to shoot. But they flog. I can give an instance of Crick or local government here. They were flogging people out of old men, you know, old... So you see, oh, maybe people are protesting. I think it's trying to, such as trying to scuffle elections, but people are not allowed to vote. Well, so, so I think it was a conversation. Yeah, yeah. So it's a conversation that, you know, we have had the points that you've raised very valid, voter suppression. And I ask the question. That is a strategy. If we can talk about, you know, credible elections without making reference to voter suppression and voter intimidation and also vote buying, because sometimes the next top trending we're looking at is the fact that the EFCC has deployed personnel to ensure that there's no vote buying. But you know, vote buying takes place even before the elections. It's not even on the election ground. Let's just talk about that. So we talk about that now. There's also a conversation that's making the rounds which get a lot of Nigerians talk, is that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, that's the EFCC, has deployed operatives to 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory to combat vote buying ahead of tomorrow's January election. Well, it's part of the team's effort, you know, deployed across the country to ensure that there's also a release of incidents reporting hotline for the 36 states of the Federation and the EFCC. So when you say 36, you have to say and the EFCC. And the move was part of the effort to ensure that the integrity of the elections, the 25th Presidential National Assembly election is upheld to, you know, the latter. That's exactly why this is happening. EFCC, as it is, has sent out personnels to different parts, states to ensure that vote buying is nothing to write home about. And vote buying is not an issue. But fingers across. Interesting, interesting. Merci. Vote buying is a serious issue in the country, you know, and this has been a strategy of this guy. These politicians are out for war. I'm sure you saw the video of one House of Reps member in River State who was saying that they should just crack two or three people. And he was invited and I think arrested, detained by DSS. You know, just crack, crack, carry a gun and crack two or three people. Always just shoot two or three people. So these guys have devised all sorts of means. You know, we're going to stop supporters of other parties from coming to vote. We want only people to vote so that we can have, you know, the highest votes. So higher thugs will shoot, will intimidate, will beat people, will fire guns in the end, then make people scared so they don't come out. That's the first one. Second one is if, you know, this doesn't work in some places and people come out to vote, then we're going to pay. We'll take this money, vote for us. And the vote buying makes it cannot happen if the electorate do not allow it happen. So let's say a party comes and its agents go to a particular polling unit and say we want to start sharing 10,000, 10,000 naira, 55,000 naira, okay? New naira notes. What will the voters there say? Will they allow it to continue? Will they say, yes. Or would someone say, no, you can't do that, okay? What will the ionic officials there say? Okay? All the agents of the other parties say. But if they've devised means, in other ways, they don't go to the polling units to share the money anymore. They can say, okay, we'll pass a message across the local language. If you vote, take a picture of your vote, your ballot paper, let's see it when you come out to see somewhere behind and we'll pay you. Or you lift it up so we see that you voted for my party. You know, and then when you come we'll pay you. So I said something yesterday at the particular forum message, I said that it takes two to tango, okay? If somebody is buying something, means someone is selling it, right? Message, this hair you're wearing now, okay? And you know what? Okay, let me not go. Why are you talking about? I don't know what to use. I don't know, use something else. You're wearing that, you know, but of course, you saw someone was selling beautiful Brazilian hair, you know, very expensive. And then you said, okay, I want to buy it. This is very rich, by the way, you know. I'm glad. Yeah, yes. So if there was no one selling it, would you buy? Would you buy? Coffee, so I don't know why you're driving out. No, would you buy? No, see, coffee, the thing is, I don't know why you're driving out. No, no, no. Okay, what I'm saying is it takes two to tango. Tango wear. For someone to buy, something of you, I'm happy for the EFCC, but for someone to buy something of you, someone must be selling it. Okay, if you don't sell, if the person who you bought this hair from said, said I'm not selling, will you buy? Can I say something? Yeah, please. So I think that, you know, I know the point that you're driving, you're about to, you know, send home the points you're trying to make. But I think that there's no, I feel that it might not necessarily connect with what we're dealing with. Now, let's look at it. No, it connects because, because we're talking about a vote buying. And EFCC is saying- So if someone is not selling, there's no going, you're not going to have a buy. Can you force me to sell to, can you buy what I refuse to sell? But why, why are you selling? What are you selling? It's also another thing that we're talking about. Yeah, but I'm saying that you can't ignore the seller. You understand? So the seller is selling now. We're looking at what is the seller selling? A vote. Am I need of it? Your votes. Let me give you a story. So you're selling your votes. See, coffee, this is what I'm trying to get at. So I understand your point. I understand your point. So politicians are vote buyers, they, they, they, they, they. But I'm saying, I'm saying, yeah, but, but the people selling, we need to also- So can I talk about the people that are selling, but not to hold brief for the people that are selling? And that's why we say this. And that's why I say this. And you know how the people would say, you can't say you're not a thief. Coffee, you can't say you're not a thief until you're faced with a scenario where you should steal and you come out with your head straight. And you walk out of the scene without taking the penny. That's when we can see you're not a thief. But you stole. You didn't steal. So people will say, you know how someone wakes up and say, I can't tell you I'm not a thief. I'm not a thief. You can't call me a thief. But what if I've not been presented with a situation where I should steal? I have a story for you. I don't know if you, I don't know if you get what- I have a story for you. Your coffee, I don't know if you get what I'm saying. Yeah, I have a story for you. But I'll help you to learn. Okay. Now what I'm saying, I think that the reason why vote buying is thriving. Yes, they are the conversation. On this platform. And one of our guests talked about this, of poverty, how the people have been impoverished by government, or poverty has become a tool. Coffee, there's a lot of poverty. You and I might not be on that table. You and I might be sure that we would have a meal or two every other day. You and I are sure that we can have clothes on us. You and I might not be scrambling for the Niren notes. Yes, yes, yes. That's what I'm saying. So people are hungry. But you have a lot of people. There's a lot of hunger. Now, prior to this time, what I've seen in the university, I came out with this ideology that poverty and corruption are cousins. Went to the same university, by the way. Okay. So, poverty, that's my ideology. And for the likes of great philosophers, like Aristo told, the likes, what you want to mention them. These things are not magical. I mean, I don't have to be there to begin to put out all of this. But this is what I believe. I believe that poverty and corruption are related. They are so related. They are, in short, they are blood brothers. Can I ask you a question? That's what I believe. That's a theory. But I'm not holding grieve for it. So, let me ask you a question. Go ahead. Are poverty and crime related? Poverty, crime, cousins, all. No, almost all of them. You can't say all cases. Okay. But I'm telling you that poverty... If you meet, if you maybe say you have a party to speak to, somebody who was engaged in kidnapping. All right? They kidnapped someone for ransom. I said you're not all cases. I'm coming for ransom. And they tell you that, oh, I went into this because I have no work to do. And we're hungry. I don't have food to eat. My family saw it. I said, let me do these things so I can find something to eat. All you say to them. She's poverty. To look at it. No, let's be very honest. But he or she's telling you you went into it for poverty reasons. And I probably would understand because I know that in the hierarchy of needs, you can't be telling someone to move away from a certain strata. They are tourists. Kofi, can I even learn with this one? You understand that? Okay. So it's not like I understand. I want you to see. So nothing actually happens outside of the blues. Nothing happens without understanding certain facts. We still know that some people come from very pronounced, reliable family and background, but they're still delving to other crimes. So these ones are their poor. But my point here is this, that you will still have a lot of people who will delve into this. Now, because if you have, if you look at the theory of needs, there's a need strata that you cannot move. It's just practically something that has been affected. But you cannot move from a strata of need to another where you have not satisfied the basic thing. It's a simple question. So a lot of people will not even understand a lot of Nigerians. And that's what we're saying, that you need to look beyond what you can do now. You need to look beyond being satisfied now. Good. So that's how I was asking you. So a lot of people are hungry and that's why they're selling their votes. So I'm saying that if someone, I know it's not the same thing, but just the concept of poverty leading to certain actions. It's not in all cases. So I'm saying that if you meet someone who is engaged, maybe theft, petty theft, and the police arrest them, or maybe armed robbery, and say, why are you into this? So because we don't have work. It's not an excuse now. Okay. So you've answered my question. Poverty is not an excuse to sell your vote. In fact, it's the most stupid excuse you could ever give. No, no, don't do it because I don't want to know. I have a story for you, very quickly before we go. You know, there's a WhatsApp message that's been flying around. Okay. Apart from some other text messages saying, if you vote for a particular person, you'll be given an amount of money. Now the one I'm referring to is the one saying you'll give you $10,000. There's a link. They send that. You've gotten that message WhatsApp? I don't. Okay. There's a link. Someone sent it to me yesterday. There's a link. Or is it this morning? There's a work this morning. There's a link attached to the message. It's a particular candidate. They say vote for this candidate is you have to register and you get, it's given at $10,000. So you go to the websites, you fill some details, and then they promise you to give you $10,000 for the candidate. A publication two nights, two days ago or so, put out, they counted how many will have gone on that website to register. Message. As of two days ago, 700,000 Nigerians had registered on that website to sell their vote for $10,000. Of course, we do know that none of them may actually be carrying people. We don't, we don't. But the point is, they're saying, hey, come on this website. Put your name and your bank account and stuff, and it will give you $10,000 to vote for a candidate. Yeah, coffee, coffee. I said, no, I can, I can, I believe that if they're running to millions, more than one million people have registered. Coffee, you know what? What does it say? We will have this conversation. What does it say? We will have this conversation. What does it say? Coffee, we need to go now. One million will are registered on the website. So, so we need... To get $10,000 there. So we need to go, and that's because we... So, so what is what I'm saying is that we also need to tell ourselves the truth that we have got our values wrong as a people. Value, there are certain things that if you have values, you cannot do. So... We have to go. Definitely, we really have to go. And we'll be right here to have all of this conversation. We know that, you know, we're still in the process. And we hope to get it right. It's a gradual one. Not holding brief for any behavior or any sort of mishap, you know, to our democracy. But to stay with us when we return, G.D. Johnson is already joining the conversation here to be part of Off the Press Distributes.