 President Mohammad Bahari pleads for Nigerians' understanding while commenting on insecurity. And fears over the 2023 election takes precedence as fire got 19 offices of INIC. Well, this is Plus Politics and I am Mary-Anna Kong. Welcome back to Plus Politics. President Mohammad Bahari has spoken on the issues of insecurity, urging Nigerians to show more understanding in reaction to this plea. The Arawakas Ortesi Forum, the People's Democratic Party PDP, and the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, Pandev, have asked the president to desist from giving excuses, saying they expect him to secure the country. And still on the southern state governors, the president of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, has faulted their calls for restructuring, saying they are wrong to make such calls, and are to instead restructure their states. Well, joining us to have this conversation is open about INCODE Tara, political analyst, and Mr Chris Feinborn, who is also political analyst. Thank you very much, gentlemen, for joining us. Thank you, Mary-Anna. Good evening. Thank you. All right, great. So, Pandev and social political organization Arawakas Ortesi Forum, and even the PDP have been speaking up about Mr President's response to the issue of banditry and the insecurity that we're facing in the country. Yesterday, we did put out that video while he was speaking to state house correspondents as he was celebrating Eid. But then the PDP and Pandev, including Arawakas, are saying that Mr President is making excuses as opposed to what he should be doing to deal with the situation. But in the midst of all of these things, and this question goes to you, Mr Feinborn, APC has said that the country has done better, fared better now than it did in 2015. Can you explain to us what the APC meant by that? Well, I believe it depends from where you look at it. But generally, yes, APC has done better. But you can also look at it from other sides and say no. There's a few things that seem to have gone out of hand. And you will quickly point out some of the dimensions of insecurity that have stepped up. We probably had banditry all along, but it has wasn't. That's the truth of the matter. We had Boko Haram all along. He's still there. Whether it has come down a little bit or he's still operating at the level it was, it's a matter for argument. But we have the terrorism thing going on in the Northeast. We have banditry now in the North Central and the Northwest. Then you now have this one, the iPod thing growing in leaps and bounds in the Southeast now. And so it depends on where you look at it. But I think the general thinking is that things have gone out of hand. And a number of persons I know are very honest with themselves by agreeing that things have really gone out of control. But what we should be talking about now, whether it was worse before, whether it is worse now or better now, what we should be talking about now should be on how solutions should be preferred on the best way out of the morass we are into now. Definitely we are not in a good place. I'm just going to ask you again, because you obviously are a member of the APC. Has the APC done well in dealing with the issues that we're facing as a country, especially the fact that the APC-led government is in power? Well, the APC has done well. But again, there are dimensions that we are not there before. And so you can't quickly do this comparison, you know, and think you are well. I think I want to ask that question again. No, there were dimensions that were not there before. And therefore you cannot put, you know, the past and this one to get and say, which has done better. Yes, there are dimensions that have been improved upon. But with the new windows to other crimes that are coming up, it's very difficult to really say in all honesty that we've moved far away from where we were. But then efforts are being made. But we all agree. Everyone agrees. It's not a matter of party now. Everyone agrees that things have gone out of hand and there is need. There is indeed every need to stem what is happening now. We shouldn't be stagnated on the idea of who has done better than the other, which party has done. No, no, no, no. What we need now we're in an emergency situation. And this emergency does not call for any sort of look back reflection. What we need now is action, action and action. But I know that you're just a member of the APC and you're not, you know, the APC. But because you're the one who's here, I'm going to give you all of these questions. Nobody has been playing the bulk passing or measurement game but the APC. It's the APC that's been bringing up the statements like, oh, we've done, we've fed better than we did in 2015. It's the APC that's saying, oh, we've done this, that and that. And it's not necessarily anybody else. So I'm guessing that you're preaching to the choir because the APC in itself should not be the ones coming up with these kinds of sensitive conversation when we know that we're dealing with an emergency to choose your words. Well, definitely I don't think APC just sat down and decided to begin to raise such narratives. Questions must have been asked. Oftentimes people are confronted with very politicized questions. And of course, you have to give a highly political answer. But then if we walk away from all of that and want to really be very frank and honest with the situation, we can say that this is not a time to do those comparisons who has done better and who hasn't. Definitely that response must be to a highly political question. And the answer also was delivered in such highly political, you know, but tackling what is happening now should not call for all those kind of comparison and all that. All right. Let me go to you, Apunabha. Like I said at the beginning, PANDAF, the PDP, the party that you belong to, and of course other social cultural organizations are calling out Mr. President in the midst of all that's been happening. And they have outrightly said that the President is making a lot of excuses instead of dealing with the issue. Why do you think the President is making excuses? The President is making excuses because it has failed. I mean, it's like how would you do it with it in our local parlance? A man, a woman that cannot do that, that is not better, will always blame the second wife. The President is making excuses because he has suddenly realized that groups have been dashed. You know, groups shatter, and they've not been able to deliver on the promises, on the promises. So he comes up with all kinds of excuses, always blaming the past. The Mayor's side of the President is always blaming the past. The Mayor's side of the President is always concerning the President administration with that of good luck. I will tell you that the man is still floundering the morage. He doesn't appreciate the situation, and it's like a drowning man looking for his stuff to hold on to. So he keeps complaining and keeps making excuses. Nigerians are sick and tired of excuses. Just like my brother said, the situation is worse. And on daily basis, the kind of negation of those excuses is intriguing. As we speak right now, there is so much poverty in the land. We are talking about insecurity. We are talking about poverty that is possible in the community. So there is no hope for Nigeria. Nobody is interested in Mr. President's promises. We are interested in delivery. We are sick and tired of the high blood pressure, disservice, rhetoric, and anemia of positive performance. Deliver your promises. And let Nigerians get out of this power situation we found ourselves. There is no food. There is hunger. The security situation is getting worse by today. It's faster by the day. So we don't want promises anymore. Please, deliver. And look, action speaks louder than words. If you deliver, the people will realize that you have delivered. You are there, Mary Ann. Nobody can convince you that you're a man. It's not possible. No matter what they say, no matter the rationality, no matter the rationality, you know that you're a woman. So we are sick and tired of excuses. Deliver all the promises. And unfortunately, it's not short. We have just two more years. They can hardly make any impressive impact between now and then. But there could be a difference. And that is what Nigeria has won. Well, but the president is also asking for understanding. I did watch that video. In fact, we played it yesterday on our show. And he was asking for understanding from Nigerians. I'd like to read, you know, a little bit of what he said. Just hold on. He says, I expect Nigerians to be more understanding on the issues involved, looking at the available time and resources. So I'm trying to understand what the president means by looking at the available time and resources. Being that the president, I like to say this because this is one of the reasons why the president won and became president of Nigeria because he did promise he was going to deal with insecurity, fight Boko Haram, give us employment and was going to fight corruption. So what does the president mean by giving him understanding, bearing in mind the limited time and resources that are available? Do you have an idea what the president means by that? We can only ask the police. But if we do, right, it too, because like, you know, meaning is not in the message, but in the message user. Therefore, my own understanding is he's only trying to buy time. It's as simple as that. When he said give you more time, you told the world you understood the problems confronting this nation. And give the world expression that you have the antidote. You can resolve all issues. You have the answer to the emerging problem. And six years into your administration, you're still begging for time. When you know that constitutionally you cannot spend more than eight years in office. So what other time? You have just two more years. Are you going to achieve what you could not achieve in six years? So what time are you going to? What time are you going to? This is just, the man just has just admitted his failure. And all he's asking for is just waiting for his tenure to expire. Otherwise, what do you buy time? For in the last six years, you could not deliver on your promises. And you believe that it is within two years you're going to deliver on those promises. As the president, there are 13 words I cannot give. But it's incredible. Let me just put it that way. It is just incredible. And Mr. President will ask for more time on this time. Mr. Finebone, I'm coming to you with this question. Many Nigerians have asked the president to come out and address us and make us feel like he understands the plight of Nigerians. Many have called on him to resign. Many have even asked for his impeachment. Like the SAA and Fermi Faluna has said that we have every right to impeach him. Civil Society organizations, 200 of them have come out to push for Mr. President's impeachment on the floor of the National Assembly. But I want to ask you as an, again, as an APC member and someone who supports Mr. President, is the president ignorant of the plight of Nigerians? Does he not have an idea of what Nigerians are passing through? I mean, because he always reacts to stories or breaking news of banditry or Boko Haram or kidnappings by saying that he's shocked and surprised. Does he really understand what we're going through as a country right now? Because there have also been cases where presidential aides have said that we are blowing the issues out of proportion. No, no, no. I don't think anybody will be right to assume that the president is not aware of what is happening. He's not the talking type, and we must excuse him that. He has his type. I'm sorry, did you say he's not a talking type? I remember this president, before he became president. He was a very vocal, very vocal man when he was a candidate. There are quite some persons that are gifted with such luxurious gifts. He's not an orator at all. He's none of those. And he's not loud too. And so that is his style. It doesn't mean he's removed from the reality of the, you know, in the nation today. No, he's just a matter of style. He prefers his spokespeople, spokesmen speak for him. He believes that it makes, it doesn't make much difference. Well, Nigerians have a right to say, no, we want to hear from you yourself. And I believe that with time, he will also act in line with the request of Nigerians. I'm sorry, Mr. Feinborn, how long will we wait for the president to make up his mind and begin to think if he's going to address us? Because I'm sorry, do you need to be an orator to, as a president, a leader of the most populated African country to speak to your people, people who have been killed, people whose farmlands have been destroyed, people whose family members have been kidnapped. Do you necessarily have to be an orator or be given the best gift of the gap to be able to speak to your people? You could, you could choose to speak to your people directly. You could also choose to speak to your people through your aids. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. So sorry, once again, just one more time. Who did Nigerians vote for in 2015? You never voted, you voted for President, I mean, General Buhari, since he was there. But you never voted for him that he would be jack of all trades. You voted for him because you believe that he can hire those who will work for him and work with him. So if he chooses a few things that will have to be done by those around him, we should oblige him that. We should oblige him that. If he decides that he is to speak for him, let's oblige him that. Okay. Open up. I heard you trying to interject. No, no, I didn't try to. I didn't try to interject. No, I just laughed. I realized that my brother is still struggling in order not to offend anybody. But he knows the truth. The fact remains that, like Redley said, we voted for Mr. President. And we are not saying Mr. President should be garrulous. Come out and speak on every issue. That is not the position. But on very sensitive matters, especially in matters that bother on security, that bother on lives. It is incumbent on Mr. President to come and assuage the feelings of Nigeria, not by proxies, but personally. This is done worldwide. And ours should not be different. People will tell you everybody has a style. Even the ambrober half is fine. But in the ambrober style, is it accessible? That is the question. You are not the president of your home. You are not the president of Wari's home. You are the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And it is incumbent on you to ensure that you cannot please everybody, that at least you satisfy the majority of Nigeria. And if Nigerians are there, we want to hear from you. What is wrong with that? What is wrong with that? At least you believe you are not a Noriko. You can express yourself in English. So why is Nigeria so difficult to come and address Nigeria? What is wrong with that? All right. In closing, gentlemen, because we're almost out of time, I'm going to pose this question to Mr. Feinbun. And then Mr. Inkutara, you would round up. On restructuring, the Senate president has smacked governors of the south and said with the issue of restructuring, he's saying that the governors of the south should not be in the forefront of calling for restructuring because in their states, they've been unable to show that, you know, that United Front for restructuring that they're not restructuring in their states. He's talked about the issues of local government autonomy and of course judicial autonomy. And so why should governors be pushing for federal restructuring? Should we jettison the idea of restructuring entirely because states are not doing it? No, no, no. I don't think we should. Even the AGC, as a party, has a, you know, has a document already put together on restructuring. And I think it was being driven by Governor El Rufa and all that. But it shouldn't be. No, no, no, no. I do not agree that it should be jettisoned. No. For the Senate president to hammer on the issue of restructuring, I don't think that was the only item that the governors dealt with. So it was not proper for him to think that he could just use restructuring to cancel out all of the other issues that the governors raised. For example, this matter of open grazing, even all the governors in the past have had reason to agree that open grazing was, obsolete was antiquated and should no more be patronized. And if the South South governors raised that as a key issue that has always caused conflict, I think they were, I mean, their thought was in depth enough to try to uproot the causal factor of conflict in most of our communities by saying, stop this decaying style of moving cattle from Sokoto to Potacot. And, you know, patronize, you know, spatial areas where you can graze these things, transport them by either train or by trailers to locations where the meat is required and you sell them. And I don't think that is too bad a thing. When I look at pictures of our cattle here that have trekked over a very long distance, we now finally look at them and they look much shatter than all that. Because if actually the governors have touched on the issue of open grazing, it should be accepted, it should be a lot of things. For me, I'm even calling that the states should make laws. Alright, Mr. O'Connor, please come in quickly, we need to wrap this up now. Well, I think the ombres, taking in the comments of all the resolutions of the governors is simply because they are now, because the speaker and the team members believe that the governors are suffering from what are the entire syndrome and the entire complex. These governors are guilty, if not worse, than the people they are accusing, in other words, the federal government. Look at the local government, the local government are not functioning because the governors have made them so. They have legislated the enslavement, they have judicial desecration, just because of executive rascality. So I don't think they are really talking of the issues, but rather, but unfortunately, they would not distinguish the message from the messenger. The resolutions are in sync with the hearings of Nigerians. Every Nigerian is in agreement with the resolution of the government. Every Nigerian. But sadly, what they are saying is that you are not the right kind of people to do this. But unfortunately, as elected representatives of the people, they have the right to speak, they ought to speak. But what they are actually saying is that you are as guilty as those you are accusing. Because the governors are megalomanians. Look at what they do to the local government. Look at what they do to the judiciary. Look at what they do to the legislative act. So that is just the truth about it. But the policies are still there. And those are points that can address some of the burning issues in the country. All right. I want to say thank you to you, Apunaboy and Kotara, former special advisor to a river state governor. And of course, Mr. Chris Feinborn used to be the former APC spokesperson in river state. Thank you gentlemen for being part of the conversation. Thank you. Thank you, Maria. Thank you. Well, thank you all for staying with us. We'll take a short break now. And when we return, what is the fate of 2023's election and missed all of this insecurity in the country? Is INEC the new target? Stay with us.