 Nigeria launches E-Naira, the first digital currency in Africa. I pop insist on a seat-at-home order ahead of next month's governorship election in a number of states. And the Muslim Rights Concern says it's a Yoruba Muslim president or nobody. With that we say good morning and thanks for joining us on the breakfast this morning on PLOS TV Africa. It's a very wet, originally wet Tuesday morning. I am Osaugi Ogbon. Thanks for joining us. And I am Mesip O'Force. Good to have you join us once again. Still concerned about the rain, and why it's still raining this late in the year, but I think I totally loved it. If you live in an area where the light doesn't go off when it rains, you have to face the world. Well, it actually went up in my axis. Good morning anyway. So we have of course, as always, going to start with the top trending stories this morning and share with you some of the big discussions that have gone on in the last 24 hours. The first one, of course, here in Nigeria with President Mohammad Ubar yesterday launching the eNira. Of course, this is coming, you know, after a little bit of controversy when the CBN banned the trading of cryptocurrency and also suspended some platforms that were trading cryptocurrency in Nigeria. A few weeks later, of course, they spoke about the launching of the eNira, which is Nigeria's own cryptocurrency, which is of course going to be used for trading and for, you know, storing of some sort of value. It was launched yesterday. The CBN governor, of course, you can see on the screen the vice president also right there and with President Mohammad Ubar at the launch of the eNira. There's of course those who have their concerns and about, you know, how this is going to play out and how much value this really is going to bring for Nigerians. The president was also quoted saying that this would give Nigeria about $29 billion in the next 10 years and I've also got to see some reactions to that, you know, and those people asking, you know, why don't we just focus on what we currently have as challenges with our economy? Why don't we focus on, you know, fixing the value of the eNira and fixing the value of our currency, inflation figures, you know, and some of all of that instead of going into digital currency. But I feel that we can do both, you know, at the same time. You know, the world is moving into digital currency bit by bit and so it's not necessarily, you know, a bad idea that Nigeria also joins the bad world. Yeah, but like you rightly mentioned, not a bad idea, but the question also would be, you know, usage and adaptability. Let's not forget that it would take Nigerians a lot of time to, you know, want to accept it, okay, and also want to use it. And that's because if you look at the, like you also mentioned, if you look at the fact that, you know, the Nira falling against the dollar. So that's a lot of consent. Some persons are really not interested. But also the question is, is that what we really need? Does that really even solve any problem? That's also another thing we should ask. And for me, I'm asking myself, in the first instance, why did we even bother, you know, why didn't we bother finding out what the blockchain technology is about before, you know, jumping and saying, oh, we were banning it and stopping it, you know, from being used. And at the end of the day, we're also coming back and this guy says, okay, this is what it is. Now, if it works, because you know that with our own climb, I mean, things actually work differently. So if it eventually works, one of the merit would be that it would be easy for us to transfer, you know, funds easily without any, you know, itches, you know, from the banks and all of that. Hopefully it works. Hopefully it works. The emphasis, hopefully it works. Apart from that, like I also mentioned, we would have to, you know, the Nigerian government would have to do a lot of, you know, convincing and all of that to ensure that people accept it and begin to use it. Absolutely. The level of acceptance would have to improve, you know, and I think I saw, I'm not sure if it was the prime time yesterday that there's only, I think, about 5,000 downloads of the E-Nira Apple platform. I'm not sure what exactly it was. So it would take a while, but Nigerians, of course, would have to slowly get to accept it and get to also see the value in it, you know, and of course, you know, cryptocurrency, there's still Nigerians who are trading in Bitcoin, Ethereum, or whatever it's called, and some of all those. And so, you know, when you then add the E-Nira to it, UTI plays out. On Friday, we'll be having an extended discussion about this on Friday, you know, with, of course, financial analysts to share very, very, you know, important details concerning the E-Nira and why you should, you know, get on that platform or maybe buy some E-Nira. Moving away from talking E-Nira, let's talk sports now. It's one of the things that we brought up yesterday. Oleg Anasso shares in the news once again, but sadly, he has not been sacked. You know, the only positives to this is there are conversations about his replacement. His job is definitely on the line. And I saw a couple of people making comparisons yesterday as to the reasons, you know, previous Manchester United coaches were fired. David Moyes was fired for less. Jose Mourinho was fired for way less, even after winning trophies. And so no one's, you know, sure why Oleg Anasso is still having his job after losing five nil at home to Liverpool and winning absolutely nothing the time that he's been there. But of course, the contenders for the job as an incident from a Real Madrid coach and of course, one of the most famous French players in the world in history, actually, and also Antonio Conte, the former coach of a Chelsea football club and of course Juventus, I believe. Well, this would not be the first time, you know, my United have actually suffered a defeat in the Premier League. You also remember that in 1999. What do you mean by that? Okay, it would not be the first time, whether the Champions League or the Premier League, they have actually suffered a defeat. So I'd like to, you know, do, I'd like to, you know, have more like a recounts. There's some time in 1996, Newcastle, 5-0 at the time. You also remember in 2009, Liverpool 4-1, you know, they considered that defeat and all of that. So in the Premier League, they've also, I mean, I'm talking about the Premier League now, they've suffered several defeats, so it's not the first time. Yes, they have. They have suffered several embarrassing defeats at the time. I mean, the list is almost endless. But the truth is, looking at the fact that Man United is also a B club, I mean, it's a B club in terms of, you know, talking about football, it's quite embarrassing. And so far, how many matches have they played again? Nine. They have actually won about four of those matches and lost how many of them, maybe three or three or about. Really, really, really sad. But usually, when the players don't get it correctly, when they don't get it right, who do you blame? Do you blame the coach? Are you blame the players? You blame the coach. Maybe he should be given a second chance. No, absolutely not. I've seen, you know, analysts, you know, Gary Neville and who I think was post-codes, you know, who have been, I think mostly Gary Neville who has been dragged left and right across social media because he has failed to criticise only on social. And I know why, you know, of course, they played together. I mean, the 90s, they've had a long history of playing together for Manchester United. They've won, you know, countless trophies for Manchester United. So it might be difficult for him to call out, you know, Oligona. You know, and of course, the argument between is it the players or is it the coach? Does Oligona's social currently have what it takes to, you know, to be a tied-to content inside? You know, does he have what it takes? But you remember the time Liverpool, that was last season. Liverpool actually had a terrible outing and that could be blaming them, the fact that, you know, they were really exhausted. I'm thinking that, you know, he could be given an opportunity, you know, to go back to the ground. So I think footballers moved away from that era where, you know, you give... When Sir Alex came in, he did have it rough a little bit. You know, he took a couple of years before Manchester United became what it was on the Sir Alex. But that's a different era of football. These days, fans don't have that level of patience, especially when players are earning £300,000 a week or, you know, £350,000 a week, £200,000 a week. Nobody has the level of patience. And if you're paying players that much, you know, then you should be able to get the best out of them. The question really is, does Ole Gunnar Socia have what it takes to put Manchester United where it should be? And you mentioned it's one of the most popular teams in the whole world. Does he have what it takes? And I don't think anybody would say yes. I don't think anybody would be also willing to give him time. Are you speaking from a point of... Are you speaking from, you know, the point that you are a fan? No, absolutely. I'm speaking from, you know, I'm a Manchester United fan, and I think everybody knows that. So he doesn't have what it takes, and there's no beating around the bush concern in this. When Young and Club joined Liverpool, yes, he was given some time. They didn't have it brilliant in their first one or two seasons, but he was given some time, mostly because of what he has achieved at Borussia Dortmund, and everyone knew that he is a very, very good coach. And look at where they've got, how far they've come, you know, in the time that he's been there. But where's Socia coming from? There's really nothing, you know, in his past when he's been there, yes, we can trust him because he did it with this club, but we did it with that club. So I think really the conversation should be right now. Who is going to replace him? Exactly, it's anything is it then. Who has won the Champions League, who has won countless trophies at Real Madrid? Is it Antoine Conte, who's done it exceptional at Chelsea, and done pretty much the same thing at Juventus? These are the top two contenders. I was seeing this morning that Conte is very likely, you know, he's open and is willing to take the job, but there hasn't been an actual offer yet. I don't know why they're wasting time. I don't know why they want to wait until Manchester United details 9-0, you know, in our next game. I just see that you haven't really recovered, you know, from that particular thing. Well, let's see how things actually factor. I said yesterday I'm completely normal at this point to Manchester United. If we play our next game and we concede 11 goals in the first half, I wouldn't feel like nothing. I really just sit down there and drink my, you know... Water. My water. And, you know, wait until he's finally sacked. But it's really because the fans would always demand the best from, you know, a coach and from a team. And any of those players, it's not... These views aren't just for the coach. Any of the players that the fans have also seen that may not be, you know, making up standards, Harry Maguire is the most expensive defender in the world, is... I would like to not call him the names that I have in my head, but he's not living in any way up to expectations. Same thing with Fred, who I don't even know if Fred is really a Brazilian or not. But you also know that, you know, we're playing this game. You find that... I mean, I'm really surprised. Let's talk about Chelsea. Because Chelsea feels like a miracle right now looking at their performance, you know, previous season up until this time. The coach, okay? So yes, that's what I'm saying. The improvement is the coach. What happened? They changed the coach. And then you have a different result. So let's see how all of that actually pans out. I mean, they have the best in that. But you just need people who would... Because if you're playing, if you have a defender, you have to be very strategic. Everybody gets into a game and they want to win. So both sides, you have this other team coming to play, you have this other team coming to play. Nobody's expecting to lose at the end of the day. You have to understand the players, you have to understand their strength, you have to understand, you know, the dynamics. So you constantly... I kept hearing a lot of my new fans complaining about, you know, the lineup and the start-up which was used in the previous game that they had complained and, you know, the performance was really poor. And one would expect that, you know, the coach should not repeat that, you know, exact mistake. I think if you thought, oh, since this one worked, let's keep using the same players. The coach should bring out the best in every player. When Sir Alex was coach of Manchester United, those players weren't necessarily world best. But he was able to bring out the best out of the team and, you know, out of his strategy and out of the players. And he gave them the spirit and the mentality of champions. And that's what, you know, Socha doesn't have. And he has not been able to give to these current Manchester United players. Anyway, moving away from sports, Wally Scott, of course, will be able to talk a little bit more about that when he comes in at 9.30. Let's now talk, you know, a little bit more politics. And this is moving to Iran. We'd like you to watch this and we'll talk about it when we come back. And, of course, that happened in Iran where governor was slapped by, you know, a citizen. News reports say that he is a former member of the Iranian Defence Forces or something like that. And, of course, still trying to find clarity as to what exactly prompted that slap. I read it online, you know, that he very from what the story says is upset that a man vaccinated his wife instead of a woman. Instead of a woman. Very sad. It can be. But I'm thinking because this do you remember the time where, you know, the French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped some time ago when he went to a particular city for a meeting? Yes. And then he was really slapped very hard. So when I saw the video to me, I thought it could be some dissatisfied citizen who is not very pleased with the administration. I mean, if you talk about Iran, a lot has happened in 2021. There were protests that have had about, you know, blockage and electricity and all sought. And at the time that they were using security forces, you know, to harass protesters. So I was just thinking what could make him. Because when he was apprehended, I know that he's going to be punished accordingly. But when he was apprehended, you could just come up with any story. You could just probably come up with a story that you were angry that does it look like the guy who vaccinated your wife? Why would you? Absolutely not. Like the guy who vaccinated your wife? So why would you hit him that hard? But I would say that, you know, I know that in every climate, in every country, you have citizens who are very displeased, you know, with leadership style and policies, government policies and what have you. But I don't think that that's the best approach, you know, to handle it. Usually if it's a democratic dispensation, just like during the elections, you just go express your frustration by voting them out. That's the way out rather than being, you know, because I will say that that's really wrong and I mean, if that story is true, of course, that's a totally different country, totally different crime, you know, and they very likely take those type of things more seriously than we do over here. They very likely don't have, you know, male gynecologists, you know, touching anyone's wife or anyone's daughters and stuff like that. So it's a totally different space. What I'm really particular about is how those things can happen. Like you mentioned, Emmanuel Macron was assaulted also. Whoever, the guy who did it, very likely would get, you know, a couple of days in jail, maybe one or two months maximum, you know, for physical assault, because they wouldn't go more than that. I think Putin has also, I don't know whether it's Putin or one of the UK's prime ministers, you know, of old, has also been assaulted, you know, and I've seen eggs thrown at politicians. I've seen random things happen like that. But it never goes beyond, you know, the punishment that the law, you know, dictates for that person. I do not in the next one thousand years see anybody slapping a governor in Nigeria. I do not see that, not even a local government chairman and walking out of that place, you know, as a complete human being. You would be brutalized so badly and migrants would defend it. And that's the difference between those clients and ours. It is not going to happen, not to any governor, not to any local government chairman, not to even a senator, not even a permanent here in Nigeria because we have a very, very different reaction to some of all these things. And that's not necessarily because you know, you're slapping a governor, it's because they come from a perspective where you're slapping a governor. That's the point. They're not even coming from the angle that you assaulted a human being. That's the point because that's the difference. So the people come from a point that it's beyond you being you know, political office holder. It's the fact that you're a human being and that's what it is. So I could imagine the frustration. I could imagine anyone trying to hit a governor or you know, not to even talk about the president. But I don't think that can even happen, the bridge of security because if you look at that, it was also a bridge of security. Where were the security or where were they at the time? How come either the guy just broke protocol and just went straight up? I'm not sure what country that was. I'm not sure. I can't. I don't want to make a mistake. But I remember there's a video on YouTube a couple of years ago maybe about 10 years ago where someone walked up to on stage to a politician and put out a gun and fired or fortunately for the politician, the gun was fired. So he wasn't shot. But he did get that close. Broke all the security protocols that were placed, got on stage with him, pulled out his gun and fired. If you check in YouTube, I'm sure you'll find that clip someplace. But that's of course it happens every now and then where security might have a few lapses here and there and these things might happen. I'm just saying what would the reaction be if it was here in Nigeria? There are people who have been accused of terrorism for less. There are people who have accused governors or politicians of some random thing on Facebook and they've been charged with terrorism here in Nigeria. Talk less of assault and of fiscal assault on the politician here in Nigeria. It's a totally different space that we live in. We're afraid that doesn't happen though. We'll take a short break when we come back. Of course, Off The Press starts with Mr. Chris, one here in Boston, Africa.