 You're welcome back to the breakfast on PLOS TV Africa, it's now time for Off The Press with Ms. Tatundi Kholawali. Good morning, thanks for joining us. Good morning my sister, how was your weekend? Fine, thank you. Fantastic, let's kick off this morning with stories from the Nigerian Tribune, so what we can quickly share with you, as many of them that make the headlines this morning is going to be on your screen in a few seconds. The big one, yeah, you can see it says provide and train soldiers with modern weapons, IBB tells federal government. Also Nigerians are starving and dying, PDP tells Buhari in APC. Why federal government isn't keen on new revenue formula, that's also on the Tribune. And we can also find, yeah, PDP governors converge only bad on today to discuss worst in insecurity and economy. Total blackout in Kaduna as labor unions begin strike. Gone men set police station ablaze in Delta, kill DPO and two others. Yesom Wiki announces arrest of killers of security agents and southern houses of assembly speakers back southern governors. Want governors to send bill to National Assembly for action. Also this morning, Attico to governors convene a national summit to save Nigeria. Don't wait for the federal government. Those are the big ones that we can share. Of course, there's the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Death toll surpasses 185 on the Tribune this morning. Yes, moving on from the Tribune newspaper to the Guardian, we see this one saying 120 billion Naira patrol subsidy to double a CBN adjust exchange rate. And the writer reads Nigeria losing 73.6 billion Naira monthly to high consumption claims despite work-from-home practice. Subsidely difficult to police possesses major corruption risk, says LCCI. The regulation a hot choice amid inflation, pandemic, electricity tariff hike and that's according to a report by Pro Share. World Hypertension Day 76.2 million Nigerians are hypotensive but only 23 million on treatment. And IBB 6 Nigerians support for FG to end insecurity. Rivers in total danger and Meiji cries out. Also in the Guardian newspaper, currency printing is finance ministry's responsibility, says all. Police arrest a suspected attacker of Correctional Service Centre in Oiri. Those are the stories on the Guardian newspaper. The nation newspaper up next, it says here, Jonathan Oke is governor's talks on national concerns. South speakers back us about declaration and dialogue and others. Also, North group kicks article calls for summit of governors, feed rather federal support likely for states to develop ranches. Also this morning, all your PDP group snobs are up at just peace move. And also let's back troops to end insecurity. IBB pleads. CBN plans rise pyramid for Iqiti. We can also find on donation this morning, NOC forces cut off power supply showdown in Kaduna and also bank customers file 11.7 billion-hour fraud complaints. Buhari in France for finance summit and PDP governor's converge on IBADON. One or two others, three policemen killed in gunman attack on station. And I think that's all we will be sharing on the nation this morning. On the punch newspaper, Asaba resolutions, solving governors to meet Buhari after France trip. Aisha Yousuf, Yasufu carpets governor's critics, nobody has monopoly of intolerance. We stand by governor's ban, Enugu aqua bomb. Killer herders don't move with cows and that's according to MBF. Mieti ala six ranching models begs southern governor's CNG slams resolutions. Above the headlines on the punch newspaper, 1.24 billion dollars spent on food imports despite forex ban. Petrol imports rose by 100 million litres in January. That's according to the NAPC. Envoy Poston's union alleges fraud as foreign ministry requests 8 billion naira. APC plants 70 member committee for national convention. Seems we'll be having that national convention after all. There's a picture here that was seen on the front page of the punch newspaper and it shows people carrying someone on a stretcher and many other people as well. And what the caption reads is to die 100 injured as Jerusalem synagogue grandstand seating collapse. Copter food dropping. ACF accuses FG of conspiracy for shunning probe. National assembly resumes division greets minority move against Buhari. Gumi meets Afaka 37 insists on negotiation with bandits. Robbers loot Ogun warehouse, kill guard, attack policemen. ILG Post members protest as Ogun APC adopts consensus, others. And lastly on the punch newspaper, Jennifer Ford's southern governor's southern and northern governor's separate meetings. Those are the stories we'll take a look at this morning. Thanks again for joining us, Mr. Colowally. Thanks for having me. It's almost a week after southern governor's met in Asaba, but there's still lots of buzzed, you know, about these conversations, especially with the response of Mi'ete ala categories association. The national secretary has been speaking from a president. Good luck in village and has been speaking as well. And southern governor's here on the punch newspaper, a built to meet the president after his trip to France. What do you think about this resolution by the southern governor's and all the buzz it's generating? Well, thank God the governors have finally had the courage to meet. The southern governor's finally had the courage to meet in Asaba. It is something that should have happened a long time ago. Unfortunately, because most of them have never developed the buzz to be able to stand toe-to-toe, eye-to-eye with the northern counterparts, they have avoided this meeting for a long time ago. But thank God it has finally come. It is better than in the least. Any reasonable Nigerian who is a king observer for what has happened in the last 20 years or thereabouts with regards to security in Nigeria, we definitely want to support the meeting of the governor and the resolutions that they have come out with. I also learned my voice that I supported. I think it's one of the pathways to providing or making other get security in this country. Anybody, any group, whoever has ideas to contribute that is going to lead to the stability of this country that is going to give us peace and security so that our people can go about their normal lives as they used to do before we did, I mean, before this democratic dispensation. It's a welcome development. But unfortunately, I have read the resolution. The most charming, the most important that the governors should have put on the agenda of that they are meeting, of their demands. They have not done it. And what are these charming issues? One of it is the secularity of the Nigerian state. Nigeria, when you look at our constitution, it's supposed to be a secular state. But the section of the country, especially the far north, the northeast, the northwest, and then the state border in Nigeria and charge, San Juan, Igawa and all of that. Then all those who have adopted the sharia system of law have not subscribed to the secularity of the Nigerian state. They are practicing sharia. They are resting, trying people, and convicting them and sentencing them to death. Or blasphemy for our country are no manners of offense. They still have in their sharia tattoo books the law that allows criminals or especially thieves for the hands of thieves to be amputated. Those have seen the scattered books of some of these states that have mentioned. We cannot have a peaceful Nigeria until the northern Nigerian elite are subscribed to the secularity of the Nigerian state. It is at the bottom of the crisis that we are in today. If every section of the country succumbs to the secularity of the Nigerian state, we won't be speaking with one voice. We will all be fighting on the same line. We will all be confronting the Bokorami insurgency and the other Islamic fundamentalists with single mind, with determined purpose. I would have been able to defeat that jihadist movement a long time ago. But because a section of the country has not subscribed to the secularity of the Nigerian state, we are not confronting that war the way it should be confronted. The other one is this. When a man is pointing an accuser's finger at somebody else, four of the five fingers in his hands are probably pointing at him. The governors themselves are part and parcel of the insecurity challenges that we have in the country. What? Like I said earlier on, before they return to this civil rule, we didn't have this high level of insecurity in Nigeria. Yes, there were Amroblis, there were Morgans, there were Bokleris and Lora, but not at the level at which we do have it today. What has happened between the transition from military rule to this civil rule that we now have this high level of insecurity? The truth of the matter is there is exactly any governor in this country today, there is exactly any politician in this country today that does not have the private army, that does not have the military group behind them. In fact, their belief is that without the private army and military government, you cannot win any election in this country. We call it one of the southern governments. It is the butcher in Akusu, the head of the sardines in Akusu who butcher people and throw their hands of bodies into the rivers and all that. That was the chief security officer of this governor. You can also cast your mind back to what happened during the NSA. Also look at what I carried on you and me, and I carried on you the governor on those days, was doing to Hittite or Jaggede during the last cafe. Look at what happened during the last PDP congress in the position of state and other. Also look at what is happening with the PDP congress in Kathmandu city. So the governors are also at the bottom of the insecurity that we have. All right. Mr. Kalaoli. Yeah. Yeah. Well, moving on, I want you to also react to Matiko Abubaka's views. He's saying that he wants all Nigerian governments to convene a national summit to save Nigeria and not wait for the federal government. According to him, you can't clap with one hand or when you clap with one hand, it doesn't have that much effect, but if you have two hands clapping, then of course you would make a louder noise. So do you agree with his views and should all Nigerian governments, not just northern or southern governments now, to all Nigerian governors convene by themselves and have a resolution? Yeah. Honestly speaking, just like I earlier on said, whatever is going to bring us security in this country, I don't care who is saying it or from what quarter it's coming from, whether it be Atikoo or any other person. It is a welcome development for me. But you know my position on my view on Atikoo, that we cannot go and hang out or stay in Dubai and then make a prognosis of providing solutions to Nigeria problems. We should come back home and be part and parcel of the peace building process. But with that as it may, I doubt it whether both the northern governors and the southern governors will ever speak with the same voice. If you have been listening and hearing the communiques that have been coming from the northern governors and the position that has not been taken by the southern governors, you will see or you will find that they are dramatically opposed. The northern governors still believe that the full and near that the capital era should be allowed to roam around the way they have always done. They also still will not subscribe to the circularity of the Nigerian state. They also have this mentality that the northern people are superior to the southern people and that they are probably born to rule Nigeria and that the Nigerian nation is their patrimony, which they can do whatever they wish with an order. So it's a group of people who have that kind of a mindset and the southern governor also has this flesh mentality. It will be difficult for them to have a middle ground for them to be able to arrive at the consensus that is going to move the Nigerian forward. But be that as it may. Don't let all these cantinal words that you are suggesting. Let's give it a try and see what comes out of it. All right. On the Nigerian Tribune and other newspapers, we saw the story recurring and it's IBB telling the federal government to train soldiers and provide them with modern weapons. On the nation it reads, let's back troops to end in security. Obviously we know that security has been one of the burning issues in Nigeria today and from different quarters has been different suggestions. But what do you think of IBBs here to back troops and of course to train them, give them more weapons? It is good to note that the IBB, the Maradona and also sometimes the Skyverse, the Evugenius is still alive and kicking. He is an elder statesman. He's been there before at the military aid of state for about 80 years. So when he speaks, we shouldn't discontent what he has said. His suggestions are also a malumbulu, you know, a welcome development. But I have my reservations with that suggestion. For the essence that I am one of those who believe just like Pastor Igudano and just like Ogundami see the former secretary of the OPC have always said that our security people are the compact and parcel of the problems. And I will give you three examples. Not too long ago, a trainer carrying arms and ammunition handed to the northern parts of the country fell somewhere. And what was discovered inside that trainer they were cargoes of death, bullets, arms and ammunition. And that trainer has proceeded from one state to the other before it finally had an accident. As he did get passed by, the truth of the matter is that when you do your investigation critically, you find out when people are very, you know, carrying the cargoes of death from one point to the other. What they will usually do is to hire either a soldier, hire a policeman, hire a custom man and then use them as escorts to take those weapons or cargoes of death from one point to the other. They will also prepare fake papers to deceive the security men who may be who may have the mountain roads blow that these cargoes of death are probably meant for some police formation and war of death. And because of that regrouping without reorganizing the Nigerian army is never going to give us peace if it's going to become productive. Furthermore, when I do recognize the sacrifices of the Nigerian soldiers, of the Nigerian police, of the Nigerian Air Force, of the Nigerian customs and migration, the patriotic ones among them, you and I will still remember there are a lot of patriots among them not too long ago a thousand military men were arrested in one of the motor parks in the north with boxes full of bullets which he was carrying from one place to the other. He also prepared very fake papers to be able to transport these cargoes of death to wherever he was taking them to. Thank God the motor, the national road transport workers was vigilant. They saw or discovered what he was carrying and then they alerted the security men and he was arrested. I have also talked about this other one before, there is a discipline in the Nigerian army. A lot of discipline in the Nigerian army and that the Nigerian army has been infiltrated by the Islamic fundamentalists, by the Fouquara, by the Iswab and also by the Nigerian politicians who have been using them for the furthest activities. If you harm such persons the way a man IPP is recommended the possibilities that as soon as you provide them brand new modern hardware they will donate such hardware to the Islamic fundamentalists that we have seen in the past and then those hardware will become weapons that is going to be used against the Nigerian army and against the Nigerian people. In fact, what some of these soldiers have been doing is donating their weapons to the Islamic fundamentalists which at the end of the day are used against against their own brothers and sisters. To me, this is eye-treason and it is something that we have to look at before we begin to arm, provide and give further training to the Nigerian army. The discipline in the Nigerian army the faster, the more the withered out it must be improved it must be organized in the Nigerian army to become a patriotic army and an army that has the balls to really confront the Islamic fundamentalists, other security men, other security men, and all manners of a much higher of death who are traversing the Nigerian nation. Alright, well, those are of course I think we'll just have to quickly know that those are still allegations there's not been 100% proof of the army. Absolutely, but in the public domain which has not been denied. We'll leave it as allegations and conspiracy theories. There's also something on security that I'd like you to quickly also speak on and get another day in the news where we're seeing reports of gunmen attacking police stations. This one happened in Delta led to the death of a DPO and I think the nation also carries something similar about three policemen killed in attacks on police stations once again. Your reaction to that and what do you think is going on in southern Nigeria with attacks on police officers and of course the INEC officers also being burnt? Honestly speaking when a policeman is killed when a soldier is killed when a custom man is killed when a civil defense man is killed I feel for them they are human beings who are entitled to their life they are human beings who have chain, who have relations are not that dependent who survive would be a geopolitist when they are killed in the manner in which they are being killed and so it is very unfortunate for certain people like suspects in those police stations other people may have come to those police stations to transact some business and all that and also sometimes casualty of some of these attacks and to that they say there should be something that we should not encourage that we should condemn but then we must look at the roots of all these attacks in the south it would appear to me that certain organization that certain forces are trying to weaken the coercive apparatus of the state and you and I do know that the police is one or the first and foremost coercive apparatus of the state so that they want to weaken it they want to deplete it they want to cripple it before maybe embarking on something that is bigger than what we are seeing with regards to the police stations now it is for us as a nation to identify these people know what their grievances are and negotiate with them if we have been paying ransom to bandits and kidnappers if we have been paying ransom to book warrants and giving them a messy there is nothing wrong with that if we are able to identify those who are attacking police stations in the south south and the south east and we bring them to the negotiation table and they may find an amicable solution to this anywhere you have had in war whether civil or external at the end of the day you always have to sit at the ram table to find solutions to some of this problem I sympathize with the people of the south east I sympathize with the Nigerian police I sympathize with all those who are receiving an ask of this mayhem that is taking place in the south east but with that as it may let's get to the root of it and find a solution to it that will be peaceful and amicable to both sides of the divide certain policies are agreed and it is for us to look at find out what their grievances are and address those grievances alright so what we look at the newspapers this morning many of the stories that we see you know away from the issue of security is politics really and we know that here on the nation is talking about the Oya PDP groups the Arakpajas peace move and the party chief saying he'll push on also we know there's the conference that's almost held in Oya state over the weekend with Sunday and all the other issues that occurred with that and we know also that from what we've seen there's been a move for the Odoa people's congress you know in Nigeria what are your thoughts regarding that all these political issues and what are some of the election in Nigeria with several states clamouring for self independence when you look at the United Nations a charter you also look very deeply at the African charter and you even also look at the Nigerian position and now you could see that there is no law that says that people when they agree to Oya PDP treated or if they are never feeling comfortable again within a particular nation or geographical boundary they could not ask for self determination so that extent we should give it to the self determination group that it is their right to agitate for self determination what the Nigerian nation require to do like Avonle said is for the nation like civilized people or a civilized group of people to conduct a referendum and see whether majority of people within that particular region want self determination if through a referendum they win then you let them go and if they are defeated they will keep their mouth short but with that as it may with regards to 2003 elections even without a Sunday vote or anybody feigning it is going to be difficult for us to organize the 2003 elections with the high level of insecurity that we have all over the place we must address this security first before we can be talking about the 2003 elections with regards to Sunday vote let me raise this alarm and question the Nigerian people anybody who have studied the history of self determination all over the world that the people like Sunday vote don't make good freedom fighters they don't people have easiest path people have criminal tendencies and all that they don't make good soldiers they don't make good freedom fighters most times they enlist into the freedom struggle or into the self determination army to be able to cover up the easiest path and as soon as they absorb into the freedom struggle or who are not out they use it to punish the the 30 men that they have had in the past and as soon as they settle in they will continue their nefarious activities their criminal tendencies are not out if it is for that reason that all over the world people with criminal tendencies are never allowed to leave the self determination group or are now or ever conscripted into self determination army they will pollute the freedom struggle pollute the freedom army and they will mess up the whole entire struggle and this is the second time the Yoruba people will be making these mistakes you will remember that during the struggle for the Yoruba people the refanification of Yoruba is a mandate so we also saw it it was the 70-year-old men the 80-year-old men Abrahma Desire and all the rest of them that's why leaving the struggle for the refanification of Yoruba is a mandate 70-80 years also January has done this revolution it is only in Yoruba land that I saw that for the first time the brightest of our people unfortunately people like Inka Uthumaki is dead now it is people like that who should be leaving the kind of who said that Sunday Goh is leaving today and not a man like Sunday Goh who has a notice path to answer any questions for some of the activities and the things we have done in the past alright thank you so much for starting our week with us and of course for your thoughts this morning thank you, have a great day thanks for having me alright so we can't wait to go back to the year 20 in 1953 in 1954 to bring you two major events that shaped the history of Nigeria and the United States do stay with us