 The Nigerian Immigration Service wants of possible attacks in the federal capital territory after intelligence reports and some arrests. We get set to celebrate Christmas in the pandemic. The Nigerian government places restrictions on gathering to cocktail the spread. And as always, we will also be looking through the papers this morning to break down the biggest stories making headlines across Nigeria. With that, we say good morning and thanks for joining us on the breakfast on Plus TV Africa. I am Osauge Ogbama. And I am Saibogbo. It's actually the eve of Christmas and it's very well to say Merry Christmas officially. Yeah, so besides the hats for me and I'm guessing it's pretty much the same thing for a lot of other Nigerians. This feels like it's July. It doesn't in any way feel like it's Christmas personally. What are the reasons? Any specific? I think I've said it before that the Christmas feel that we used to have when we were kids is completely gone. And pretty much the same thing with every other thing that comes with Christmas. The feeling, the joy in the air. There was just something about Christmas back then in the early 2000s and the 90s. I think that we're evolving and the times are changing and then we have to catch up with all of that now. Things are quite different now. New development and all of that. So apparently that's why it doesn't really feel like Christmas. Yeah, well, anyway, welcome and thanks for joining us once again. We always cook off with top trending stories. The biggest stories creating conversations across Nigeria today. And so we're starting with, of course, you know, the things related to Christmas. The Nigerian government and Secretary of the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustafa has announced restrictions with gatherings as we get closer and closer to the end of the year. There always are church services that happen on the 24th and I think on the 31st crossover night every year. And the Nigerian government has, of course, placed a 50 people maximum religious gathering law as we get closer and closer to those days. Which, of course, I think happened also last year. This also created some controversy last year where people, you know, I remember that we did a report in some parts of Lagos and a lot of people said they weren't going to adhere to those rules simply because it's crossover service and they will like to gather and pray into the new year. You know, this, of course, is happening because of the fourth wave of COVID-19 that has, Nigeria has eventually gotten into. And I understand the federal government's perspective and the need to restrict people from, you know, being together in the same space to curtail the spread of COVID-19. No, so the same argument, you know, just said it when we had the outbreak would always, you know, still come forward. The arguments are already on right now. And people would say what happens when you have political gatherings? I mean, how come we're not very, we're not putting all of those injunction and restrictions? So like we always say, we're big on religion, we're big in, you know, tradition and all what. So it's still going to be the same. So it feels like the same to be some double standard. If government's having an event, then you don't have any restriction. If there's going to be a campaign, then you're going to have everyone, you know, trip out. And you know how this can actually be? We've also witnessed, you know, several gatherings and what have you just of recent. And so for those who are very, very religious, and some persons would think that this is, you know, an anti-religion, you know, policy, government, it's more like an anti-Christ. That's what they would definitely be thinking. But I totally, I mean, the truth is the virus is here, whether or not we want to believe it. There are protocols that we need to observe. And because we have the country governed in, you know, in components, in parts, in bits and pieces. So the, I mean, religious organization, part of governance in Nigeria, they have huge following and followership. And like we've always said, we need to decentralize information as regards, you know, vaccination, creating the awareness. People need to understand that that's, you know, COVID. So it wouldn't really be a bad one to have, you know, people respect the protocol. But the thing is, you know, when they had these restrictions sometime last year, you know, we were still in a supposed lockdown. You know, there was more awareness as to what exactly was going on with regards COVID. Right now, Lagos has very frightening figures, you know, with, you know, testing, you know, and people who have been tested positive. And it doesn't even seem like it's public information. A lot of people don't even know. A lot of people have even stopped following up with the NCDC's daily updates on COVID-19 testing. And so, you know, you look around Lagos, you know, which is supposedly still in, you know, some lockdown from midnight to 4 a.m. And it doesn't even seem like it, you know, there's cars on the road, there's people on the road at night, you know. And so it doesn't feel like we're even in a pandemic anymore across Lagos and across Nigeria. And also, I'll quickly mention that you might want to place restrictions on churches and religious bodies, you know, for crossover service. But it makes no sense and it seems hypocritical because currently the clubs are full. The nine clubs are filled up. Currently, there's December concerts, you know, by the biggest music stars in Nigeria. And recently the government also had, you know, like, I mean, there's a festive calendar which, you know, you want to say that the Lagos state government is involved in different activities. All of that is going on, you know, and if there is, like you mentioned, a political gathering today, people will come out. The Lagos state government has also had one or two events in the last couple of, you know, weeks or months that, you know, saw, you know, some type of crowd. So it doesn't make any sense to wait until, you know, you know, 31st night and say, oh, you know, we're going to place restrictions on churches. It would make, you know, more sense it would be easier to accept by the people if there were already laid down guidelines and those restrictions and they build up to that day. And so it doesn't seem different. But look around you, you know, just look around the country. The land clubs are filled up. Weddings are happening every Saturday. There are concerts going on everywhere and there is zero restrictions in any of these places. So, you know, you might as well just let the churches and Christians gather. You know, with all of it, it's not even about even putting the restriction. You also have the issue of compliance and enforcing people to actually respect that. So will we be able to check if churches are gathering and then you have like 50,000, right? Or 50 persons in terms of seating capacity. Is there any form to check all of that? So at the end of the day, it's just probably another chunking out. If you've not been checking, you know, all this while, walking to any supermarkets across Lagos, you know, any of, like, most buildings across Lagos today would have those no face masks, no entry sign at the door. But look inside. A lot of times nobody even wears a face mask. No, but you know, to some extent, I know that you can actually have like 100%. Compliance? Yes, in terms of compliance. I agree. But I still get to see, you know, some persons and to those who still respect and constantly understand that they have to wear the mask. The point I'm trying to make. I see a couple of them. I mean, even when you're going to work, you just still find a group of persons who still wear the nose mask. When I'm trying to make. There are those laws still in place. Compliance is very low. And I'm sure we would all accept that compliance is very low. But it's really about the attitude of the Nigerian government in able to get people to understand this seriousness of, you know, the health crisis that we're currently dealing with. And because they have not done well enough with public information and being able to let people understand that, then you cannot just simply, you know, place restrictions. I understand the seriousness of it and the severity of it. Everybody needs to be extra careful. I am really scared of COVID-19. I've never been positive, but I'm really, really scared. And I wish everybody felt the same way. But it's really the Nigerian government's responsibility to get people to carry people along and let them know. So that's why, you know, because we have actually spoken about this, especially when we have, you know, the break, the Omicron variant and the fact that we're expecting different variants to come through. We had had a phase of the Delta variant. Now, some experts are saying that we need to decentralize information. And like I stated earlier, we're governed in bits and pieces. So you have the religious body. You have, you know, different parts and all of that. It's time for us to not just try to decentralize information, use all of those different components that we have to send the information. But like as always, I ask, what is the Ministry of Information and Orientation doing? I mean, how much, you know, because you also have, we also have that in different states. So in every state you have a Ministry of Information and Orientation and what have you. What is the level of orientation agency? So my question is, what information are we putting? How much have we driven? Because we need to hear this campaign. We need to see it. But I think that, you know, we as a government, we always think that force would solve everything. And that's why you'd say, oh, if you don't have the nose, if you've not taken the vaccine, you can't come to work and then we're going to arrest. I'm thinking that if that approach is not working, why don't we try to disabuse? Because there's a belief system, people do not, a lot of persons do not believe that the virus actually exists. And so how do you, of government, so how do you even get out of that? It's just to constantly put out the information to create that consciousness in the mind. This conversation we're having is at least a year old. I mean, I'm sure I said these things December last year. I'm sure I said these things October last year. We always say these things every other time. If we've been saying this same calling on government to pass out information and national orientation agencies to wake up, information to wake up health agencies to wake up them, I mean, we're, would accept that we're somehow lucky that, you know, the death toll has not been so bad in Nigeria. But it doesn't mean that we should be lazy about it. Anyway, moving away from talking COVID-19, we very likely would get back to it. There has been breakfast served at the palace. The Oni of Ife and, of course, the wife of the Oni of Ife. Queen Naomi Ogunusi, as she is called. Yesterday they put out a statement announcing a divorce from the Oni of Ife. This apparently is a third marriage to the Oni of Ife that has failed or crashed. She put out a very, very interesting statement on social media, which was a very calm statement. Basically thanking God for the time that they've been together for the three years that they've shared together for their child, her son that she, you know, she, you know, bore for him. And of course, you know, also dispelling the rumors saying that it has nothing to do with the emergence of a new queen or, you know, the prophetess, you know, that they also mentioned that it wasn't an arranged marriage and some of all of that. I'm going to quickly share, so I hope I can quickly share from her statements that she put out yesterday if I can quickly find it anyway. But yeah, she says, yes, God's way of saying, I know all about it. In situations like this, there will be a grieve person. And she says, I at this moment appeal to all parties involved to allow the peace of God with the consciousness that there is in, with the consciousness that there is a lovely little boy between us. I'm not sure what that is. I thank all for prayers, all my prayer partners and loved ones. I remain committed to all my projects, charity, work and ministry. And in this news, I shall be focusing on God only and also announce that she would focus more attention on her child. Okay. So that has actually generated a lot of conversation. And some persons would say that, oh, marriage is actually supposed to be nobody's business. Whatever happens, you know, in the private should always be there. And for me, we've seen several reaction. The fact that we've not gotten any response from the king himself, it's another one. And some people would say it's because it's highly pleased. I mean, that's a king. You don't expect him to come out and talk about this in public. But I've also seen, you know, the fact that elders are saying they are trying to reconcile. So how do you even reconcile if there was not a problem? And all the courtes are also saying from, you know, the palace, the report saying that they are not in the know of the separation. As a matter of fact, that the king was actually putting out some special gift. This is Christmas. And so he's putting out special gifts. They are not in the know of the separation. Now you have other quarters also saying she had already moved out of the house. And those who are trying to reconcile what happened when she was going through a lot. I mean, the point now is some people are saying it has to be some form of agreement. So if we have to break up, we have to agree that another party can not just wake up and say they are breaking up without the other party agreeing to the breakup. That's where it calls for a little consent. One thing that I know is true is that we on the outside do not know exactly what's going on. That's exactly what I was going to say. And I hope that there might be some clarity. But at the same time, it's really not our business. Totally. It's left for them to deal with their own personal issues. He's the only of the fair. And I'm sure that he can also get married again. You know, I also like the fact that from the letter that she put out, it seems like she was able to or she decided to take her own mental space and her own happiness as priority. And she wasn't finding happiness according to that letter. She probably wasn't finding happiness in that marriage and decided that she wanted out. And that's one point that I thought was interesting. The fact that we are no longer in that age where women will decide that they would hold onto a marriage regardless of how they feel. But that's actually not going down with a lot of people. I mean, just like I have mentioned that the elders, I don't know how true that is. Like you have mentioned, we have no idea what's really going on, whether or not they are separated, especially when we have not heard from the oba himself. And so the fact that you want to have to reconcile an individual who says, you know what, I'm taking a work because I think I can't continue. And for whatever reason, I'm okay being on my own and finding my own happiness in space. I really don't think it's a big deal. I know that we're big on religion and tradition. Some people would say, oh, that's your endorsing tradition. But hey, should it be at the detriment of your own happiness and your own health? Well, once again, we don't know exactly what's happening in Palestine. So this is just sharing some of the major conversations that I've gone on in the last 24 hours. I remember when the marriage before hers also fell apart. There was also these same conversations. A lot of people made their own insinuations and stuff like that. But we wish Queen Naomi and, of course, the On Yovie Fair the very best breakfast has been served. But we're not sure about that. Moving away from that, we're going to go back to talking just a little bit about health now. And that is because it seems like we didn't learn a very big lesson from what happened in China. Late 2019, that caused the emergence of the COVID-19 virus. A scientist have announced that they have discovered a 66 million year embryo of a dinosaur that was just about hatching. They put this out yesterday saying that they found it in some place in China. I'm not sure what they were looking for. If someone's ball rolled into a hole and they decided to go get the ball and then they looked at that little egg and said, oh, this is a dinosaur egg. But my take is I would just ask that they leave such things alone. In the current world that we live in, leave. So I think the reaction, I mean, I've seen the conversations surrounding that particular discovery and just like you have said, leave it there. Don't touch it. No one even asks you to look for it in the first place. I mean, China, we're talking about China. I mean, archaeologists and the likes will, you know, they've continued to work over time, you know, and every now and then. No, but maybe we need to take a break. We're dealing with a lot. Especially in China. We need to just take a break about, because sometimes I think that too much information can also be, you know, a huge problem, can cost a serious problem. And so like you are saying and every other person, can we please leave it alone and just take a break? Let's just deal with, you know, the COVID-19, the Delta variant and the Omicron that we have. And maybe, you know, another variant might just pop up in 2022. Yeah, and that's the fear. You know, if you look at, like you said, look at the response from every single person, almost every single person who saw this story. They said pretty much the same thing. I'm not sure what archaeologists are looking for. I'm not sure what you guys have been digging through, but at this point in the world's history, leave these things alone, all right? Don't bring up any embryos. Nobody cares if they were about to hatch. Let's just take a break. Just walk away. You know, take a break for a couple of years. You know, nobody wants to know what happened to that dinosaur's parents or how long its tail is. Nobody wants to know what dinosaurs eat anymore. For now, anything coming out of China that is not electronics and cheap electronics, please. Let's not even go back. Leave it alone, okay? It's scary. It really is scary because eventually this might, you know, become another disaster. And of course, I would give kudos to those who have continued to do research because that's how the world has been able to develop over time, you know, and we've been able to also cover a lot of things. You know, we're still grappling. I mean, if we still talk about COVID-19 now, we're still going to say it's a novel virus. We're still yet to understand it. That's because we don't understand. We're still following how it works. We're still trying to understand the dynamics and that's why you're having different variants. Up until now, we're still trying to understand if the Omicron variant is, you know, the same as COVID-19 or the Delta variant. So I think we need to pay attention to what we have right now on the table, and that's that, okay? So this is, you know, just a subtle appeal to the scientists and all of you. Most of this is all really just on the light, you know, because they aren't necessarily, you know, but it's really because... We're just saying that anything is possible. Yes, you know, because we only heard about dinosaurs from history books. Nobody got to actually see dinosaurs. And so... And then we get to watch it in cartoons and stuff. Yeah. So 2021 has been... 2020 and 2021 have been tough years with the pandemic. The WHO says, you know, it's very likely we'll end in 2022. And so this is the reason everyone is reacting that way. If it's going to end in 2022, let it end. Don't go do any further research or find any dinosaurs and bring up some Ococo-Michael variant or Oc-Maliki variant of something. Nobody wants to see it in 2022. So leave dinosaurs alone. We need to move away now. So that we don't start flying, you know, because you inhaled something, you take off. Anyway, those are our top trending stories. We'll take a short break when we come back. We're going through the major stories, making headlines across Nigeria this morning on The Breakfast. We'll be back.