 Very good morning to you and thanks for joining us on the breakfast this morning. My name is Nyam Gul Agkaji. Today is Wednesday, the 17th day of April 2024. I'm glad that we were able to make it this far. The first quarter was really testing, but the second quarter is looking up. Dollar is crashing, Naira is going up. We're just waiting for the time when commodities will come down and we will now begin to enjoy our lives as Nigerians as well. But be that as it may, no matter how biting the economy could be, Nigeria is our country and it takes all of us to make it work. It's like a baby and there's an old saying that says that a baby belongs to the community. It's a community that raises a child, not an individual. So our Nigeria is our baby. Let us raise it as a community by contributing our own little quota wherever we stand. We don't have to be the president before we do that. Well, it's another very important day in our lives, the day you will never see and you have never seen before. So let's make the best use of it, also believing in a higher power that will give us that grace to do what we need to do this morning. To set the tone for whatever we're going to do, remember that today we're going to have hot topics as well and also we're going to be having trending topics, things that caught our attention in the course of the last 24 hours. And also we will be looking at the papers and seeing the headlines that made it to the front pages of our national dailies. In the meantime, let's just take the quote for the day to set the tone, as I said earlier. Your energy level, the more efficient your body, the more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results. That's by Tony Robbins. I'll take that again. The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body, the more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results. Tony Robbins. Very, very, very, very wise words there. The question is what is your energy level right now? The energy level is not by drinking energy drinks. I hope you know that. Energy level goes beyond that. But it also shows you how intricate, how complex our makeup is as humans. A lot of things depend on another thing. So if your energy level is high, the end result is you have better productivity. So what is that thing that gives you the highest energy level? Sometimes it comes with the people who surround you. Sometimes it comes with the lifestyle that you live. Sometimes it comes with a lot of other things. So identify this thing that gives you the best energy level because it is through that that you're going to get the best results of whatever you want to achieve in this life. So that is our quote for today. We do hope that you remember that this Wednesday morning. It's a midweek. A lot of people will go to church. A lot of people will have things that they are going to do. A lot of people will do reappraisal for how the week has been so far. Monday, Tuesday, and this is Wednesday. Two days from the weekend and two days to the weekend. That's how Wednesday is and always will be. So we'll go straight to our top trending issues before we look at the weather this morning. Top trending issues begin with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment said it has begun disbursement of the presidential palliative. Has begun the disbursement of presidential conditional grants. I beg your pardon there. The conditional grants scheme is going to be given to the verified applicants after an exhaustive selection process. The government through the Bank of Industry had said it would be disbursing three categories of funding, totaling 200 billion Naira to support manufacturers and businesses across the country. In a progress report posted on Ex Handel on Tuesday, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Agnete stated that an unspecified number of beneficiaries had received the grants, adding that by Friday, April 19, another significant disbursement will be made to a substantial number of verified applicants. This is coming more than eight months after President Bola to announce the grant for manufacturers and small businesses. Two weeks after applicants were directed to submit their national identification numbers as part of the requirements to obtain the grant earmark to cushion the effect of the recent economic reforms that have had on business in the country. We are also going to spend, according to their words, they were also going to spend 75 billion between July 2023 and March 2024. And the objective is to find 75 enterprises with great potential to kick-start sustainable economic growth, accelerate structural transformation and improve productivity. Each of the 75 manufacturing enterprises will be able to access one billion Naira credit and 9% per annum with a maximum of 60 months repayment for long-term loans and 12 months for working capital. Those were the words of President Bola Tinabu. And then Doris Agnete added that the President Bola Tinabu Administration understands the importance of this grant in supporting the livelihoods and businesses of our citizens. And this is why we are committed to ensuring a smooth and transparent process. In collaboration with telecommunications providers, we have successfully resolved the initial delays in sending out short codes for NIN verification and application continuation. We ask for your patience as we continue to process the applications with the utmost diligence and fairness. The FACE Displacement Plan has been designed to ensure that each application is given the consideration it deserves. Those were the words of Agnete. And I'm getting confused a little bit. Sometimes it's being called grant and then it is being called... We're hearing about the repayment period. I thought a grant was supposed to be something that doesn't come with repayment. Maybe I don't know much about that. But a grant and a loan, on the other hand, the same thing having two names that seem to be conflicting. I do hope that is a grant. But if it's a loan, as has been said, well, I do hope it's flexible enough. My question is how were these enterprises chosen? Was there a criteria that other Nigerians will not complain tomorrow that I was not given a chance? Because if there's a clear-cut description of who can benefit or who cannot benefit from this, then we know that somebody has failed or has not failed just by looking at their qualifications, so to speak. So let it be transparent enough. Now that we're hearing, unspecified number has been given the grant already and another unspecified but substantial number of people will be given. I don't know how that works for the people who are looking critically at this scheme. A lot of people criticized this scheme when it came out, when it was being talked about and when the delays were being perceived. And now that the disbursement has started, we don't even know the number of people who have been given. How many people applied? How many people passed the mark? How many people qualified to get this grant? And how many people have been given? How many are remaining? So when they are asking for patients from the people who applied, do the people even know whether they are qualified but they need to just wait for a little bit more or they're just going to be hoping on God and saying that maybe I did qualify or maybe I didn't qualify? So let's know these things. These are very, very common things, very simple things that if you do, people will trust you and trust is everything in governance. If you cannot get trust of the people that you govern, then it's going to be a very, very difficult time for you. Nobody trusts you, nobody takes seriously what you say. For all, a lot of people will care is that this thing has gone to their cronies, it has gone to the people who are loyal to them so much more people who belong to a particular political party or something like that. So let's know something transparent about this. Let's know who applied, how many people applied, how many people qualified because of the criteria that was set for qualification, how many people have been paid, how many people are waiting, who did not qualify for this so that they don't wait forever. They may have to go and improve on their businesses or whatever they're doing that should qualify them so that next time they can qualify for this loan scheme that has been graciously brought by the government. I'm using graciously, very, very graciously as well because these are things that government ordinarily should do. It is in Nigeria that we see when a road is completed and then we go and launch the road, we cut tape on the road. These are things you should do. We have electricity, we launch it and we applaud it. We have one or two things that government should ordinarily do who begin to count them as dividends of democracy. Those are not dividends of democracy. Dividends of democracy is when the people have a voice in whatever is happening to them. You want to give me a road, ask me first, is it a road I want or I just need inputs for a farm or I just need something else, I need a school. You don't just come and impose something on me because you think it is good enough and maybe it's going to give you some kickbacks and all that. Let me have a seat on who sits on that seat to govern me. What he says should be part of my suggestion as well. Let us have town hall meetings where people actually from the town contribute to the policies that will be made at the centre. That's democracy, not making of roads because military government do the same. Not even building schools, infrastructure or a structure because military governments, dictators also do the same. Everything we're calling in Nigeria as dividends of democracy, there are things that any kind of government, whether a Hitler kind of government, a dictatorial kind of government, can still do. But the level of representation, the level of voice that the people have in whatever is happening in government is what makes democracy. And democracy, that's why it's described as a movement of the people, for the people and by the people. So how many instances do we have when people are the ones that are taking the reins of this leadership? They are the ones that decide what happens to them and what does not happen to them? If we're not doing that, then it is not democracy. Like some people would say, at best it's just a civilian rule which doesn't always translate to democracy. Anyway, the second top trending issue for us is food inflation. They are saying food inflation eases. Government revenue rises, economy improving, that is according to the Minister of Finance, Edun said himself, and the CBN governor, Olaemi Kadoso, also said it. They are in Washington, D.C. to showcase the progress made so far in the Nigerian economy, and that's where they said those things. The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, says the Nigerian economy is moving in the right direction as policies of the new administration have started showing, slowing down food inflation. The Finance Minister said, and I quote, the economic team of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is here to showcase the progress so far of his bold, courageous and strategic reforms of Nigerian economy in order to get it stabilized and get investment in, to get it growing again. And we've all seen what has happened in terms of stabilizing the exchange rate on inflation, which is headed in the right direction. However, on Monday the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, Consumer Price Index CPI report showed that food inflation rate in March 2024 stood at 3.62%, showing a decline of 0.17% from February 2024 when it was 3.79%. The report showed that for year-on-year food inflation reached 40.01% in March 2024, marking an increase of 15.56 percentage points from 24.45% in March 2023. The inflation for March 2024 was likely driven by increase in food such as gari, millet, yam, bread coupled with energy and housing costs. The Naira has appreciated against the dollar in recent weeks, gaining over 40% from about 1,900 Naira to a dollar to about 1,100 Naira to a dollar now. As the Naira rebounds Nigerians expect significant reduction in the prices of food and basic commodities, but this hasn't been the case with cost of living still high. I like it when our people go out there and then just paint a very good picture of what is happening in Nigeria. Inflation is slowing down. The Naira is improving and all that. I don't know where the inflation is slowing down. Maybe economists are seeing it with other things. As we speak right now, in a very high agrarian community like mine, where I come from, here in Bagofgari is 45,000 Naira. 45,000 Naira used to be 8,000 Naira and then it has risen to 45,000 Naira. Here in town in Lagos, some people are saying that it's up to 60,000 Naira and we don't know where it is going. It's not coming down anytime soon. So we're looking for that time when the crash of the dollar and the rise of the Naira will also show in the food that we eat, because that's the basic thing you have food in your stomach, then you have a roof over your head and then you're thinking about what you're going to wear and every other thing that you might want in life. We need these things to reflect how the economy is moving. Now, a lot of people will say, you need to clap for the government. The economics team is working. Yes, I believe they're working and they're trying their best to do what they're doing. Some of us clapping for the economic team and whoever is responsible will take a little bit longer than for other people, because if the Naira rose to 1,900 and now it is 1,000, even if it becomes 900, it is until it gets to at least 700 that it was before the administration came on board that some people will begin to clap. I'll tell you why. For instance, if you have a child who's always in the first five people in school, you know, the result comes out and he's number one to five. It's inside that bracket and this child of yours begins to get number 50 out of 51 people in a class and then after a while you're putting some things in place and he becomes number 30 and then number 40. Will you clap? You will not. Respect that child to come back to the first five people and even improve and become, you know, always getting the first to the third position and all that. That would be your prayer. That's when you will start to clap. You won't say, because my child dropped to first position and now he is third tiered or the fourth tiered position. You stand up in PTA meeting and beat your chest and said, my child is the most improved, even if the school is saying that you won't clap. You won't say it in PTA, would you? So that's what is happening to a lot of us. You know, we're looking for that time when our child, the Naira, will come back to as low, as high as 700 Naira per dollar or even still higher than that, maybe 500 or below and then we'll see that the policies this government is putting in place are better than the ones that previous administrations have put in place because if that does not happen, well, I reserve my clap for another thing. That might happen. So in Washington it's been said that our economy is improving and all that and all that. Back home we need to see this because if we don't, then it's just for the cameras. But for now, we'd like to say you're doing a wonderful job but it is not time to really say we have arrived or we got it right or something. And then we're hearing of subsidies still being paid and we're wondering why the humility to just say this is what is happening in Nigeria is not there. We asked some questions yesterday. Where is the money coming from that? The federal allocation to states is still high and then they're paying subsidy higher than what they were paying before the present administration, according to El Rufi, former governor of Kaduna State and so many other things. So these questions are begging answers. If we can get these answers, then Nigerians will be happy because we will be part of the process of governance and that's what democracy is, I said it earlier. Until that is done, transparency is there for people to see that this is what my tax that I'm paying is doing for me and this is what I need. Maybe I need to make the tax higher or reduce it or something. Let me just be in the know how my government is working because it's the government, it's my government. I've directed the people that are in positions of authority. I don't know how you see it but that's how I see it. It is my government as a citizen and this is also calling on the citizens to be up and doing and make sure those who are in power get in line and do what they're supposed to do. Don't always just clap and say you're doing well. Sometimes they really don't know that these things they're doing are not going down well with us but when we are psychophones and we always say ah Baba you too try, then there's a problem. So sometimes it's us. We are the ones that make the leaders do what they do and so we should change. According to one of our guests, a regular guest who used to be a regular guest, architect Nyaito, they said the office of the citizen is the most important office and I agree with him. So if you are a citizen of Nigeria, do your best to hold the leaders in check but also not only holding them in check, do your bit to make sure Nigeria improves and becomes better. If you are selling at the roadside or something, don't exploit people just because you've heard the Naira has gone up. So even if that is the thing that is not related to the Naira in any way, you want it to remain as high as you can make the best profit and I always say that whenever the profit is more than 100% of the capital you used to buy, a particular thing, then for me it doesn't translate into profit. It is theft, it is wickedness, it is whatever name you want to call it. So anyway, that's by the way, maybe because I'm not a businessman, I don't know how their mind works. But we'll move to the other one, 148 local governments fall within high-flood risk areas federal government wants, that is our next story. The federal government has warned that 148 local government areas in 31 states of the Federation fall within the high-flood risk areas. This was disclosed in Abuja by Minister of Water Resources, Professor Joseph Utsev, while presenting the general highlights of the 2024 annual flood outlook prepared by the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency on Tuesday. Utsev listed the high-flood risk areas as a number. The floods are expected between April and November 2024. I don't know, maybe I don't remember, was there Lagos there? There are so many, there are some states that are not there, but the bulk of the states are in there. So basic thing is, bottom line is that there is a risk of flood. So do everything that you can to make sure that when the flood comes it does not take you unawares. Whether your place or your area was mentioned or not, you have to be proactive and see how you can avoid this. For instance, if you're planting rice in a place where if it is flooded, your rice will just go. You have to do it earlier because you know that it is in November, that's the peak, it starts from April and all that, but we know that if you plant it a bit earlier or if you plant the upland rice in a place that you know will not be flooded, then you will not be affected by this. So it is planning however it is. So we are grateful to the agency that brought this information to us. It's left to us now to use it well. Whatever is going to be the case, do not be taken unawares. There will be flooding this year in some areas. Your area may not be mentioned, but general areas have been mentioned. And to be forewarned is to be forearmed, or like Zebrudaya will say, to be forewarned is to be forearmy. So you prepare yourself to fight this battle of the natural occurrence that may occur in your area. We'll take a short break, look at the weather for the day and then when we return we'll be looking at the papers. Stay with us.