 Thank you for staying with us. You're still on to the breakfast on plus TV Africa It's time to see what the national dailies are saying this morning in after-press and joining us to review the papers is G.D. Jensen his a chief lecturer at Nigerian Institute of Genalism and is joining us here from Lagos State. Good morning, Mr. Jensen. Thank you for joining us Good morning. It's a pleasure to be with you. Good morning. Thank you for having me. Thank you so much. Good morning All right, let's start with nature news And there's a small headline at the bottom which says federal governments reaffirms commitment to achieving food security I'm sure because we all live in Nigeria. We know what the food prices are saying the inflation has skyrocketed, but they're saying They are committed to achieving that food security and I want to believe it's not just The access to food It's also the pricing as well that people can afford this food and we're talking about but I want to get your thoughts on this one It's easier said than done. If you look at the major of the board immediate line of the nature Nature news you see that in Benwick state government has set up a panel to deal with farmer-eid ask purchase Yeah, I think in one of the in one of the sidebar stories you have farmers farmers protesting in a pair and them so basically How does government want to achieve that policy statement of? Revision the cost of living by dealing with that culture center. I think it's larger than just making policy statement It's about What they see in wolf face about putting the boot on the ground and how do we put the boot on the ground? we ensure that a safety and security of Farmers across the land and bread of Nigeria where is the Where is the agricultural corridor of Nigeria? We look at that cultural corridor of Nigeria not even only limited to their culture called if you interact and interface with people that are Involved in our culture that have been invested in our culture. You tell you the challenges. They are female. They are facing so government needs to ensure that the prior enough problem of farmer-eid ask classes is dealt with the issue of bandits Disturbing farmers from going to yeah, they are their farmlands is Is that is that with the issue of unknown gunmen coming to chase? Traditional farmers away from the ancestral home because we want to have access to to the natural resources in their farmlands should be addressed beyond just making those statement or recent press statements or Granting press conferences and making policy statement on the page of newspaper part those errors are gone We just want action less soft talk Fully grow this economy is where we become Self-sufficient when it when it comes to food security if the nation cannot feed itself That nation cannot develop and that's the basis because if you look at musculoserachia of need in terms of the basic need of man Once you take care of it, and there's a particular scene in my local dialect They are once you take hunger out of it poverty is over what you take on guard of poverty poverty is dead with completely and You said it because of living is very very high. We have Close to about 30 the money we spend on on sustaining ourselves in terms of subsistence level is tied to food water and And government is to be to be serious about this Yeah I'm happy that you even touched on the whole bandit banditry thing because you hear of people going to their farms and Terrorists would just attack them steal their lands tell them they can't farm And then there's even so much more when you talk about the agricultural sector. They need them They need mechanization. They need equipments. So Obviously same they're committed to food achieving food security is one thing But having those things in place having the policies and you know, all of the mechanisms needed is another But I'm going to now go to this. It says federal government seeks verifiable list of farmers in Nigeria Now my question is why is why like what exactly do they want to achieve with this? Are they going to be maybe some form of palliative or support to these farmers if they're trying to verify? So if you are verifying these farmers, what is the need for this and what do they even get in return? It doesn't mean that you know food production is going to be surplus right now and all of the price it would you know, just have a dip I Think in the area food security what government should what the federal government should be much more concerned is providing Security of lives and property and access to the farmland to the farmers. That should be their major concern Every other thing with respect to enumeration of farmers getting the list of the farmers distribution of fertilizers to the farmers Interfacing or interacting with farmers should be done by the local government and the state government Those are somebody cannot be in a budget and want to enumerate the farmers in Dhammatu or enumerate the farmers demand the farmers the farmers in Makodi or Zack Zack Zack again So those those in a through you know, but it's so as far as I'm concerned We have over centralizing a lot of things and you have decentralization because people don't want Others to have access to the front. We should decentralize this process. That's my take and that's why it has not it has not really worked Could someone in the history of a Greek in Abuja Have an understanding or have where ways the resources they are going to even they are going to spend much more resources on Logistics Rather than spend more money in distributing to the farmers in order for them to have as palliative in order to To sustain and and and increase their productivity So sometimes you wonder what I require rocket science for people to understand that it is easier for For for the head to perform his function and for the federal government is the head But whereas we are the head. Let me use the illustration of the human body We are the head is trying to do the function of the ant and the lake It's it's the head will be misplaced. So as far as I'm concerned this particular Responsibility should be left alone for the state government and the local government. That's why you have three tiers of government These are the closest government to the people. So one One ministry of a Greek official cannot be in Abuja and I will tell the stunning, you know How many how many hours it will take them to even get to to the right as where you have where you have some of these Farmers even in some state it might take you six to seven hours to get to some parts of some states To talk of you are coming from Abuja Well, we have what you have in minstrel. That's why you have what you have in minstrel material Affairs and poverty elevation where people took flight to cookie where there's no airport from Abuja Let's let's move to punch newspaper There are small headlines there on the punch newspaper Legos and be a protest Because I truly punch you want to give me a punch Oh That's a good one. Oh, okay. That is a very good one. I want me to take you to the minister of humanitarian affairs There's a headline there. No, let's go. Yeah, so anyway, just just down there We have Legos MBA protesters storm police headquarters over brutality against lawyers I've been taking two protests at the same time Widows of soldiers killed in 1992 plane crash demand compensation That is 22 years after their husbands were killed I don't know if they are legal frameworks that need to be surmounted before these people can be looked at and given if they need to be given compensation or something Because these people were not going on a private visit when this thing happened and till now 22 years later They are only protesting before the government can see them This is the fact it's in fact 32 years younger is 32 years. Sorry, 32 years. Sorry 32 years down the line They've not had access to any kind of compensation from the government and you wonder where the level of Autotism of others that come after them would be and we begin to question the patriotism of Nigerian armed forces and then you are you will have seen people In this in in the various welfare bodies of of the army of the Navy of the Air Force We're fleecing from what has been required for these people and to take care of them is unfortunately that To serve our fatherland and it becomes becomes Becomes becomes worrisome when we begin to see what you are seeing on the pages of newspaper The years and years and years and years decades after the kids each other is born After that that incident is already 31 years old today and it's unfortunate And that that one what what the family has gone to the lost their loved ones and yet the nation is not able to take care of them It's it's rather unfortunate. We hope those that are in authority now We we are seed to to to their request and they will meet up With your needs because it's important for those that have service country to be properly appreciated They don't even need to protect to get all of this tinder If you go if you do it through investigation You might be chalked that some of the resources might resources might have been allocated to this over and over time And these resources might have gone into private pocket It's unfortunate but I think that government needs to act promptly and this particular issue needs to be dealt with appropriately with respect to the protest by lawyers and over the brutalization of lawyers by by by by police it's it's that's another Unfortunate thing. I read this story. This is particular one with the lawyer That went to to bail his client was was detained brutalized by the police And what really happened was that police commissioner said well he has recalled the TPU and he has changed the TPU of that particular Police station. He should not be only record issue be prosecuted That's the fact that your law enforcement officer does not give you the right to break the law if you engage in in battery if you engage if you engage in assault just by the fact that you are You are you are a security person and you will be prosecuted because the basis of the law is nobody's above What is actually above the law and I think that that's why those that have advocated before some reforms Judicial reforms a police community relation reforms. It is very very important That's on the part of those that aren't we need a holistic approach. How often do we send police to training? That's another question you ask how often do they go to training to have an interface on how to relate to people To have an interface on how to relate with lawyers to have an interface on how to even relate with With with with with that with people that have been allegedly accused for one crime or the other So it's important. It's important for us to to do constant training and retraining remodeling and remodeling of People in security in security agencies. You saw you saw the Salivarian behavior of some of some military officers with respect to insulting the governor the governor of Lagos state over Over the arrest of of of one of one of them and them That's that's some people just felt that they are above the law Not only those that are in police even people that you have elected into public into public offices They believe that they are untouchable and they can take the lunch into the hand But the way to deal with that is you have an equal justice system Not a two-tier or three-tier justice system the justice system that each everybody call it if you put on the uniform And you break the law you face the consequences of your action simple Well, I agree more you have to face the consequences of your action. Okay, let's move over to the Guardian and There's a small headline at the bottom Well middle he says danglety refinery to reach full capacity in June as crude demand up by two million barrels per day Now we know that a fresh a fresh crude a fresh supply of crude was Supply to danglety up to about one million barrel And right now we're seeing the demand go up by two million barrel per day What is your take on this and the impact that we could purpose possibly see with this? well, um with respect to the refinery and Danglety refinery. I have my fingers crossed you can see my finger is crossed on that particular on that particular matter I'm neither here nor there until we begin to see the actual production Otherwise most of the things we have seen are just promises and they are just PR being done Let's see what impact it will have But like he said sit down and look and let me approve Let me adopt the sit down and look and see what because if you do if you track the number of stories that have come With respect to and danglety refinery when it you start operation when it will do this when it will do that You wonder I see and that has actually taken it its effect Let's we don't see what I do even affect the pump prices of petroleum products We are just on the on the on the 13th and on the 12th of of of January I know I might have spent in buying for Even I just are not even talking about that particular hardship It's an untold hardship when you look at what you spend on on on energy energy to power your home Energy to power your business and energy to power yourself to your viewers to your various places of work So let's wait and see and see the impact of the danglety refiner fingers across and that out of all this Publicity stunt and all this PR that have been done for for in order to take away our attention From the real challenges that people are facing Even when you are even buying the formula 620 you stick you you stick you you stick you too You know that's it's it's it's it's it's true Good early a pin your money you are paying money for those services And these services are really blue and they are gonna send in it as exorbitant prices that they still want to Do itself nine months ago that is the price you are going to be see that's not possible People will do these people to die Yet you are paying those prices and then you still kill you kill for 30 10 2030 three minutes before you can have access to it and they'll be selling from one from from from one or two of their of their dispensing dispensing dispensing machine and you wonder are all of that dispensing machine not working and you also wonder are there no regulatory body regulating this it's a free fall it's unfortunate but let's wait and see with with the issue of this petroleum sector and dangote story address of with my fingers across like I said let's let's see more of it is more pure than the reality of what we are facing on the ground that's the impact if you have yeah okay I think there's been a lot of story about this old dangote thing so I can agree with you on that I think one thing we're looking at is the accessibility to this product accessibility is one thing that most times you're driving past you know the expressway you're seeing a lot of failing stations being closed some of them some of them are not working and like you said some of them maybe just two dispensers are working but what is the impact that you would want to see on this and the reality of it is very simple you see our energy powers the economy that's the reality energy powers the economy and if you wouldn't have access to energy how do you power the economy the is energy that look if you walk in the farm lands your tractor that you are going to use um to to the the the various machinery you are going to use are going to be powered by either by either PMS or diesel even for those that are involved in in in subsistence farming and majority of them even in traditional families majority of our farmers are traditional farmers they still use the old implement but if you go to the rural area how do they get to their farms they go to their farms by driving by driving motorcycles to so if they drive they drive motorcycles to their farm and they are isn't going to use PMS to drive their motorcycle to their farm so if we don't get the energy sector there's no way this economy can go it's it's the basic truth when people talk about the glorious part that we are in the 60s in the 70s in the 50s you know energy the energy sector was functional the power sector was functional and then because once you you can produce your agricultural produce you produce raw materials that your industrial your manufacturing sector can use your manufacturing sector will produce goods goods that will be used by your citizen and the the surplus will be exported and then you earn foreign exchange and you grow the economy the industry the manufacturing sector are crying because they do they can't even afford they can't even be the overhead cost for running their business very very high because they don't they can't even afford one there's no power there's no electricity from the generating or transmission or distribution company to the alternative energy source they have which is diesel and petrol they are exorbitant they are even as exorbitant as they are they are not easily as successful and then how do you grow the economy and somebody one official of government will come around and we'll say in six months we'll turn around this economy in seven months we'll turn around this economy in nine months we'll turn around this economy or we'll come and say oh this government is working we already tried it just the idea should just give us time look no matter how you travel on the wrong track you will not get your destination the best thing for you to do is to turn backward and go back to where you are coming from that's making progress progress sometimes is not going forward progress sometimes may mean just staying in one spot or progress sometimes might just be you turning back and going back to the basics again as far as i'm concerned the route we are going through we will not get to a dorado because until i've said it over time the first major transformation transformational change that was done by god according to the first documented evidence of creation was light yes it was power and god said let there be light and if you don't go back that's the law first mentioned if you don't go back to that this economy cannot grow if government does not see it as a matter of power that we have to make serious investment in the energy sector this economy will not grow we don't complain to the government well things are really difficult the headline here the major headline which is the big story on page four and five of the guardian says renewed hope agenda after honeymoon tales of war frustration trail tinnitus policies a case study is also a small headline down there saying female banker commits suicide in a koradoo blames economic hardship so we're just let's get your assessment since you're not showing card to wait for one year let's get your assessment of the tinnitus policies so far what you think about them and this is on the guardian the guardian newspaper not the punch now you know um conception and delivery of babies is nine month and i've said that we wait after nine months to begin to evaluate this is this is the eighth month of this particular administration by time we get favorite to be nine months and we begin to see and from all indications you go see that the even point of administration is the devil with a lot of corruption scandal just a small focus on on humanitarian a minister of humanitarian poverty and vision they do you know through the satellite of other sector other sectors you will have seen we don't know what what is really what is really going on because nothing has really changed in government what has really changed is the personnel of government is still the same party in power for the past eight getting to nine years that are still being power what has changed is the leadership at the top and some of the leadership at the top is the same personnel they are still using so it's the same template is still the same program is still the same the same mindset and i've said it over time what the president and his team needs to do and to understand is very simple one Nigeria is not legal state the template that was used to run Lagos cannot be used to run Nigeria Nigeria is a complex complex is in fact a multiethnic more complex than Lagos even though we see Lagos as a meaning is a meaning Nigeria the dynamics of Nigeria is much more than that of that of Lagos and so the ideas that were used in 1999 to 2007 in Lagos cannot work in Nigeria in fact in natural sense for you you know it's exactly as I said for you to do the same to the same manner and expect to get the different result is the beginning of his sanity even once you think that the template of 1999 to 2007 Lagos will work in Nigeria in 2023 moving forward the president is wasting his time that's one then two the president needs to understand because if you look at I've asked this question I um I'm a critical stakeholder it's my country it's my country look at those that have been given responsibility and I want to do a brief analysis of them what did the president do after I left government what did the president do after I left office in Nigeria in 2007 he didn't want to he didn't want to additional school he did took any program on leadership what as they did to other than getting too much more involved in politics what is what types of level of training or retraining or exposure um a question of new skills and new ideas that the president acquired after after I left office in 2007 other than politically that's that's that's on the president okay you talk about the minister of what the coordinating minister for economy and the rest of it now you ask yourself after I left as the commissioner of finance in 2007 serving with the president what has he did to so for me I think that the need there's an indeed there's the need for injection of fresh people new people younger people would fresh ideas for for me am I be wrong that's my own interpretation and I'm entitled to it the template they are using is the template you've used in Lagos in the past and there's a saying in Maluku Dalai it is the hunting dog of today that knows how to go about the hunting expedition of today not the hunting dog of the past so I think that they need to sit down and understand that that's the second one the third aspect that is very the the need to understand that woman elections have ended now it's time for governors you don't need a knee jack approach even to take us two three months to plan a policy before we begin to publicize the policy and implement proceed they need to put that in perspective and understand that elections have ended you don't run public administration by propaganda a lot of things they want to be in the good side of of of people they want to manage public perception and public opinion so they keep releasing statements different types of statement policy statement that you think that don't keep with bring the people on their side no you see for you to solve a talk for you to solve a problem tough situation require top people and top people request in in in in solving top problem you don't talk and talk and talk you keep quiet silence is is a critical factor in in a dark street so that you can have access to having to getting feedback from everybody that you need to get feedback from and also to to have the needed concentration in dealing with the particular problem but I think that this government is too quick to respond to issue to respond to public opinion rather than focusing on what they want to do and in this particular thing they need they need they just need focus clear court focus and clear court silence in in quietness there is strength in quietness but not in releasing statement making public statement left right and center thinking that we are still in electionary cap for getting that electionary cabinets ended we are now in public governance and a serious business of government all right let's just take this last one from the daily independent and it says eight hundred million dollars blocked funds we may stop operating into Nigeria foreign airlines one and they say the 61 million dollars 61 million dollar payment is a drop in the ocean and that is from the daily independent what do you think about this the foreign airlines are threatening to leave Nigeria we've seen people we've seen other companies leave the manufacturing sector we're seeing them leave Nigeria our precedent is moving around looking for foreign investors but the ones that we have here we're not even able to you know cater for them and ensure that you have a sustainable environment to thrive so what do you think about this foreign airlines because they're being owed about eight hundred million dollars and what they've paid is just about 61 which is quite minute compared to to the tune of eight hundred million dollars so what is your take on this in this one we have an obligation we have an obligation to fill all terms of credit if you want people to have confidence in investing in your country what are the different approaches with investment because i believe charges start at home or the money they are going they should pay back the money but if they want to go how do money they should go and it will give opportunities to local investors to invest and our local operating airlines we going to die out and probably we grow we grow our our aviation sector from the local point of view but the money they are going they should go around and i see no reason why Nigeria could unplug it into whatever services these people are providing in Nigeria's even prefer flying foreign airlines than than than local airlines and instead of government and calling local airlines to just imagine this amount of money being owed to local investors now this is the paration of funds this fund is leaving Nigeria to put to other country that's perspective i'm nationalistic i've had a more transnationalistic when it comes to the issue of my nation you can't blame me for that that's the highest level of patriotism Nigeria is the best country Nigeria should have the best of everything that's that's my thinking Nigerian first so if they want to go they can go i don't mind about that but pay them their money but provide opportunities for local investors local investors in the aviation sector whatever give wages you are giving these foreign operators if it is not lucrative they won't come here they must they must have been something which they are seeing so why can't our local operators i don't want to mention their name because they didn't pay any advisory so why can't we give such opportunities to our local operators to to invest in this sector give them give them relief packages give them palliatives give them some versions so that they can tap into it and this is 800 million dollars would be would be retained in Nigeria would not be repatriated to foreign countries that's my take i'm sorry if it offends some people but that's that's that's my thinking and the president going abroad looking for foreign investors the best investors to grow your economy are Nigerians because when they invest in this economy the money will stay in Nigeria it will stabilize your it will stabilize your naira once you have stability for naira the exchange rate of naira and very good to other currency we grow that's the best way nobody can help you to go to your economy look of us and just travel that broad you don't have to travel uh uh uh you have to travel um body traveled uh didn't give traveling i didn't have to travel then they have to concentrate on their on the job at home and encourage local investors there are so many people they encourage local investors all the money they are using for the travel let them invest that money the president said for the next one year i'm not traveling abroad i want to deal with Nigerians are you a businessman are you an entrepreneur are you interested in investment whatever regulatory measures that are put in place to stop you from from operating we are going to let me take advice and get input from you people what can we do to throw this economy around to make Nigeria to invest in Nigeria believe in Nigeria and meet Nigeria first all right that's why we have to wrap it up on this segment thank you so much for joining us and reviewing the people the pleasure to be with you thank you all right thank you so much we've been sticking to G.D Jensen who's a chief lecturer at Nigerian Institute of Journalism and he was joining us here in legal state we'll go on a quick break and when we return we'll be talking about mapping your success in 2024 please stay with us