 You're welcome back to the Breakfast on Plus TV Africa it's now time for Today in History and I will share with you what happened today in history in the year 2011 on May the 25th. Well on this day in history Oprah Winfrey the renowned American TV host ended her famous talk show by you know telling her viewers of a quarter of a century about 25 years goodbye. In 2009 she had announced that she was going to end her show once you know it was 25 years and you know it was a very emotional moment that day when she walked on stage you know there was a standing ovation she held and kissed her partner and you know just said goodbye to her to her viewers from all around the world she said she had you know interviewed them but she lent a lot lot from from lots of her of her audience and interviewees. Among the most popular people Oprah Winfrey has interviewed include Aretha Franklin, Tom Cruise, TV Wonder, Michael Jordan, Madonna you know lots of stars of TV music and movies. Oprah Winfrey has you know gotten lots of accolades and awards throughout her career in TV you know she's just an amazing personality she's a name you can't afford to miss when you're talking about you know especially influential women in media globally. When she when she quit her show in in the year 2011 you know after 25 years she launched her own own network Oprah Winfrey network standing for you know OWN Oprah Winfrey network she launched that and remember in 2009 she also built a school you know millions of millions of dollars for disadvantaged kids in South Africa she's just an amazing personality she's kind she I mean Oprah Winfrey is just everything if you are a media girl if you're aspiring to be in media Oprah Winfrey is definitely the one person you would mention as your role model someone you want to be be like because she proved that it can be done I mean her earliest yeah Oprah Winfrey began her media career when she was just 19 years old and she faced rejection there was a time she was basically sacked from her news reporter role because her editor said she could not separate her emotion from a news reporting she's actually struggled with objectivity because how would you see a burning man and not cry you know live on air and things like that so she could not separate her emotion and she was she was sacked from her job but she was eventually given a talk show sort of like a consolation and she excelled at it because you know in the talk show she poured out her heart she connected with her audience she was very engaging so the show quickly you know became very popular and you know she did that in so many TV stations across the US before she started her own Oprah Winfrey show you know that lasted for 25 years so it was in this same history May the 25th 2011 that Oprah Winfrey had her last show and said goodbye to her audience you know millions of viewers around the world phenomenal story uh 25 years on TV not it's not a no joke and of course 25 successful years no joke rumor has it that she's actually from emo state uh yeah her name is opera yeah Winifred opera i think it's from Delta is it emo i think it's emo state or anambra must be anambra state all right we're just joking stay with us all right moving on on this day in the year 2020 Minneapolis Minnesota 46 year old man sadly of course her you know his death changed his you know a lot you know in in our history it was in the middle of the pandemic and it was one of those moments in American history and of course across the world that shook you know the the shook the whole world a 46 year old george floyd was murdered in Minneapolis Minnesota during an arrest where he was restrained in a prone position facing down on the ground for more than nine minutes provoking protests across the united states and around the world of course he was arrested as the suspicion of using a fake $20 bill during his arrest a police officer Derek chauvin a white police officer with the Minneapolis police department knelt down on floyd's neck for about nine minutes two other police officers j alexander keung and thomas lane assisted chauvin in restraint australian floyd a fourth police officer to thou was of course stood on the sidelines preventing the bystanders from the interfering while of course he was handcuffed and running out of breath till data i still haven't been able to watch that video because i've chosen to not let that get into my mental space but it was a very very sad eight you know plus minutes of you know of you know that went across the world seeing him die um right there on the floor chauvin was later convicted of second degree unintentional murder third degree murder and of course second degree manslaughter the other two keung and lane and thou rather three were charged with aiding and a betton second degree murder floyd's murder at that time led to worldwide protests against police brutality police racism and lack of police accountability and since then a few other cases that you know are pretty similar but have become you know i think there's been more a light shown on police brutality in the united states since then it also created a bigger space to speak about racism and speak about racial injustice and segregation in the united states that has gone on for decades and decades and decades and police brutality yes and funny enough same time you know nandry also sometime later in the year got into its own conversation on police brutality in a different you know direction or different well different direction but still on police brutality but on this day uh george floyd lost his life yes in a very very pathetic and and sickening way and i remember that i can't remember her name now but the lady who captured on her phone the moment when george floyd died the moment when the police officer was harassing george floyd she captured it put it online and spread like wildfire she was given an award basically for you know we call it citizen journalism right she was able to observe what was happening bring out her phone even though people argue that you know you could have done something but that's the police i mean what can you do against the police right but it was that video that she shot on her mobile phone that basically set the world on fire ignites in you know the world's attention regarding this very important issue in the united states so yes it's you know that also goes goes on to show the role of you know social media in creating advocacy because if that lady had never captured that video george floyd would have just become one of the many thousands of black americans that are queued on a daily basis by police officers or that are abused let me not say queued that might be a fallacy that are abused and harassed by police officers globally not just in the us in nigeria it happens every day you know so i appreciate the power of social media how you can rally people together remember social media was one of the you know rallying points of the n-task protests as well so it just shows that we can we can all contribute our quota one one we all know that don't don't also get you know more involved in the social media aspect and forget to actually act you know when it's time to act you know when people have opportunities to save the life they came out to protest no no no i'm saying i'm saying i'm saying i'm saying you know yes we appreciate social media and we appreciate you know being on the you know understands and citizen journalism and all of that you know but it shouldn't you know become the more exciting part of the whole process if you see a life that needs to be saved oh yes definitely why not let your phone or video in it why not more important than saving that life yes that that should be the priority that should be the priority absolutely you know but then people ask you for evidence like this hands-on process you have the police and the government even saying we are the bodies so there's a place for everything but saving that life is paramount you know i witnessed an accident um on friday and i remember calling calling 112 that's the latest emergency number they put me on hold for a long time i remember crying basically that day seeing someone who her baby had you know been flung to the side she had been knocked off the off the tricycle she was faith i mean she was basically bleeding calling the emergency number no response but we saw nigerians of course there will be people who brought out their phones to record but you know we saw nigerians who you know tried to get to her aid carry her put her in the vehicle try to get her to the hospital so yes it's important to respond when you can save your life when you can help when you can but it's also the place for citizen journalism because that exactly was the beginning point of judge floyd's case gaining worldwide attention and to see that you know justice was served we talked about how you know the courts eventually dispatched justice in this case for the police hooting out on just floyd's neck you know his burial you know happened in in in june 2020 it was a worldwide you know an event just something so so sad and judge floyd's case will forever be a you know an important event when you're talking about police brutality and even when you want to show the effectiveness of the american justice system because we're still talking about the entrance panel these are people who died you know we saw evidence but you're still seeing one or two issues of the panel what justice have been dispensed what recommendations of the panel made but it took time in judge foyd's case but justice was eventually served so a system that works works you know it does have its own flaws you know but there are certain you know parts of the system that are still very effective you know when they should work you know the nigerian system has more flaws than effectiveness sadly you know and there's too many loopholes you know there's too many you know places where the system just drags its its feet you know and they say justice denied is uh justice delays justice denied and some of all of that um but yeah continued conversation we'll get into that another time that's all for today in history 2011 and 2020 opera winfrey and george floyd stay with us women in politics as we're getting into next how important is it you know that we involve and create a space where there's more women in politics and of course but before that we are going to be speaking about uh a crisis you know concerning uh net walk of course uh who is being accused of land grabbing and the arrest of certain indigens of ebumeji community we'll get a right into that uh after the short break