 Thank you for staying with us. Now it's time for Off the Purse. We're looking at what the National Dailies are saying this morning. Joining us to review the papers is Chris Kendi, one of the members of the Chattered Institutes of Abitrators in the UK, Lagos State. Good morning. Good morning, Mr. Chris. How are you doing? I'm fine. That other project is in the UK. Yes, joining us from Lagos State. Fantastic. All right. Thank you for joining us this morning. We're just going to review the papers and we're going to start with the Guardian. The major headline here says Kanu Sokoto Others Spend 53.2 Billion Naira on Scholarships Abroad. That's a lot of money for scholarships. But what do you think about this? The federal government or rather some states are spending 53.2 billion Naira on scholarships abroad when we have some universities here. What's your take? It's a paradox for me because I see no reason why we should be engaging in such activities due to the economic meltdown. And you can still, this money can be channeled into the various universities in those states. So, people state Kanu have their own universities. And Chris Kendi asked, how much are they using to fund their university? How much are they going to introduce the university to upgrading to a world-class university? So, I don't know the rationale behind what they are. That is very prevalent with most of our products in the North. There's not much of that happening in the South. And I don't know why they do that every time. There are so many universities in the North. A great university, we have a university of Meduguri, in the North class, you have ABU, you have other tertiary institutions in the North, where most of the people can go to. But the governments in this area always prefer doing that every now and then. It's 2 billion that is not going to put that into the state's university or federal universities in most of those states. Or even other tertiary institutions, what are the universities? Other institutions. If you go to Kanu and see the level of elderly children, moving the streets on a daily basis, you will be telling you the level of poverty in most parts of the North. So, if this money is coming to provide education for those children at the primary and secondary school level, it will go a whole long way. Why they engage in this? To me, it's condemning why I don't see selling. They have to come out to justify the reason why they are spending that so much on scholarship for students to study abroad. For what? Anybody who wants to study abroad should be able to afford it. And whoever is trying to sponsor the car should be able to afford it. I think that we should continue to go on this long journey of sending people on mobile phones abroad for scholarship is one thing I don't understand. I don't know what this mentality, the colonial mentality we had right from the 60s, why some people are still adhering to that. To me, it doesn't make any sense. Because you realize that on a daily basis, academic staff in use of this institution, in the Nigerian University, are crying out that they are not being paid salaries, that their wages are not being paid regularly. Use of the lecturers in use of these states, universities, colleges of educational and political techniques are not being paid well. This money can be used to enhance the infrastructure development in these schools and also pay the salaries of the lecturers. Well, I don't know why it should be. But as I said, I don't know the rationale behind it. Do you think there is a disconnect between the government now and the people? So maybe a warped reality. Because there's a writer here that says despite four million out-of-school children, I mean, they're still doing this. So is it that they don't understand the reality of the nation at the moment that children are out of schools and they cannot even afford education? But then they put this chunk of money, 53.2 billion, into scholarships abroad. Is there like a disconnect between the government and the people? It's obvious. I said it earlier that go to the north and save the number of Nigerian pupils. You'll be shocked. And to me, I've said it time and time again. This is a time bomb and waiting to explode. And these children are going to... I see a high level of insecurity in the north. Because Nigerians, as they say, it's always... There was a workshop. These children are Nigerian scholars. And by these terrorist bandits, kidnappers has not only command, but also children used for terrorist activities. I have been in the north. A few years ago, I went to Bajistat on the invitation of the village. And then I got to some part of Bajistat. And we stopped somewhere to get some things. If you see the way this children swim in the north like this, all of them have no hands, they are not from weeks and months, carrying plates in their hands, begging for food. So many, only 200,000. And it's sitting in all parts of the north. Zubatun, Rikannu, Kaduna, Olu, Nendem. You see these children on a daily basis, walking the streets, begging for arms. They are called Nigerians. And you come to, as you say, anybody that... If it's just 2,000 lira, giving these children, you can go to God to do a lot of things. That's another issue. But if they are kept in schools, then they remain in it that if they are educated, which is why the government of... if you remember doing this, had this program for imaginary children. I don't know what that system is. They are doing that for love. They had a special school. They can be taken off the streets and sent to school. These are the future leaders of tomorrow. If the government did not... I continue to insist on this because the focus is on the north here. If the government of the north continued to deny this and continue to bury their head in the sand at the post which that buried his head with the sand and left his whole body, then this is a time of that. In the next 10 years, these children will grow up to become serious problems for the government and for the society. So, which is why I'm also wondering once again, the government of the north will cut the children off. These children are out of school. If you look at the percentage rates between the south and north, it is just too high. That is almost like. It doesn't go to the IDP camps. If you say there are so many IDP camps in the north now because of insecurity. Some camps have as much as 100,000 people. So we have about 100 people in the police station, for example. The government has been trying its best doing palliatives and trying to make sure that some of them go back to their home. Next. I used to call this thing as well. I used to one or two IDP camps. And what I saw at this IDP camp was nothing to right from my back. It is the very new situation. If these so-called leaders in this part of the country don't have their obligations to the people and continue to remain disconnected between their people and the they, then they have a serious problem on our hands that in the future we might not be able to go. I think security now won't be a face to move by just being a child compared to what you are facing now. Well, I remember the time of Jonathan that you referred to. I know some people from the north, the same north that he was trying to salvage were against him. And the argument was that it is a tradition. This al-Majiri and pushing children to the street to beg is a tradition and is part of the religion. And I was wondering at that time you would just give birth to children and push them to the streets and ask them to go and beg. But the worrisome thing is even the sadhanas that are trying to go to school, some of the schools that are government owned, even federal government owned are now so expensive. I know people say that education is not for the poor. Education is for someone who is ready. But how much ready can you be in this kind of an economy? We are in here protesting unical over 100% hike in fees and levies. When you ask them, they will tell you is the running cost in the institution is because of XYZ that they have to move these fees high. We had that problem in Lagos as well. Now it's unical. They are protesting. And we do not know what it will degenerate into. What is happening to our educational system? You have seen the budget what was budgeted for education. Why will this institution still be I don't know what your thoughts are. Yeah, it was it was not unical. What is coming out this month is that that fee has been suspended by the investors of Canapa. Yes, they have suspended it after that protest by the students. They are still authority streamers which they noticed last night suspended that and I hope that suspended for good it's suspension. It's not removal, it's suspension and it seems well, let me not blame to the new VC that came to the school but for a long time now we have been seeing almost every session every semester there is increment in one way or the other and you can't even budget you know if you have to If you are not in Italy how can you not care how can you not care so just wait until you see actually the people in use fair and you have this Federal investors as well as well as the universities Yes, personally we should know that education it cannot be totally free because government cannot for education but that doesn't change the rest this is a requirement to make sure that every Nigerian so-called leaders now attended and had free education during their time. Some of them didn't have what they are today. If not for the fact that the government was able to subsidize education in those periods and they went to school three, most of their children, parents, were poor and couldn't afford education to send them to school. But because it was highly subsidized, especially in the western region of Nigeria, the European, the Asian group and the Udess, most of these are leaders now. But let me shock you, my brother. We are even talking about federal, state, and private investment. Most of the schools that were established by churches, you see most of these churches establishing universities. Most of their main parts cannot afford to send their children to those churches. I ask yourself, what is the place of religion in our lives? I remember in those days, in the past, we had so many of these missionaries establishing schools, secondary schools, that is why you did not observe this grammar school, even my own school in Google College, leaders which attended, there was a fusion of methods and the same as. And so many of these missionary schools, the essence then was to be able to get the best out of the students, even though that their parents are not so able to attend. But they did this by making sure that they set as a nation for a new entrance and to think the best of you, whether your parents were rich or not. But I ask you, go and check the school fees of most of these, I don't want to start many schools and churches. These are supposed to be missionary or churches that are supposed to help, even though we are not helping the society, we are able to help. Oh, they say, oh, we give certain percentage to them, we give certain percentage of scholarship to our members and rest of them. Is that enough? Is that enough? So, and you now look at, secondly, you also look at the budget. What is our budget, federal budget, state budget for education? There is a threshold, UNICEF has a threshold for budgets for education across the globe. Are we able to meet ours? So, it's so saddening. Even adults, we come just to realize that on a daily basis in public universities, federal and state universities, later on as a nation. Now, there was a news making the rants a few days ago that the number of universities having their literates moving abroad, leaving the classrooms is running in 2000s and 2000s. But only in the education set, in the health sector as well, three units of the route have been closed, three units have been closed because all the doctors and nurses have left and jabbed by as it were. And we continue to talk about the issue of funding and immigration and rest of them. But what are we seeing? As we have seen in the past few days, probably we'll get to that on one of the papers, where our leaders are moving in 1000s to COP28 in Dubai. Are you actually set to do what? The government has promised that they are going to be cutting down on costs as Nigerians to tighten their best. While we are tightening their own, they are using their own and they are using their choices and legal to be able to accommodate them. And that is the problem. A country where you have seen abject poverty, Nigerians have seen abject poverty. Our leaders in the National Assembly will be buying 100 and 16 SUVs for the roads that we sport in their countries. They are buying the SUVs because the roads that we have were bad. So for that we should be able to provide them with SUVs to be able to work. It isn't for other countries. What people are saying, the greatest thing that we have seen any government can do because it is making sure that the citizens are doing it. That is why China is doing so well. That is why United States is doing so well. That is why United Kingdom is doing it. And so did Canada is doing so well. Even India agrees so well because they are making sure that people are well educated. If you don't educate your people, then you will be 50 years, 100 years let down when issues relating to that comes to the National Assembly. So that is the problem and I hope that our government is going to do something about it. But it's quite unfortunate that we just pay the service to education in this country. All right, there's another smaller headline here which says NBS. Only 1.5% of household affected by 2022 floods received government support. What do you think about that? 1.5%. Our fears in the last government are, let's say, how much was spent by that ministry. And I continue to say that any past ministry that needs to be proved by this government is the Ministry of Ministerial Affairs. Where so much money was projected and spent in that ministry and spent in those with that government. I said nothing happened. The ministry that was feeding our children during the COVID period when they were two meters and they said they were feeding our children and nobody could account for that. The ministry that was saying that it was giving us money without a well-registered and dashing money and figure. So if that is what the NBS came out with, then I'm not surprised at all. I'm not surprised. Every period when it comes to the emergency, they say, oh, people within this asset area should move up land and because the fuel is coming and the rest of them, most of them become investors, some of them find themselves in 90p camps, money will be projected and want to be come out of it. And you continue, as you said, what is the price of government when I meet government children and state government? What is the price of government in all this? But I'm not surprised, as I said, if you think now it's even more than what they've just reviewed and that is it. But shouldn't there be reports of how these monies are being spent? For instance, you can't just give money out and you don't know how it's being spent. You don't have the names of the people that have been taking part in this. You don't have anything. You just give out the money and there's nothing coming back to you because I think 1.5% is very low. So if we're saying maybe there's 100%, that means only a few households, you know, got this relief. We are going to make the application the same thing that I've compromised already. The only thing I can do that normally will be the National Assembly or State Assembly because they're supposed to oversight activities of the executive. They're not going to compromise in the states. They're in the pockets of the governments, international assemblies, pockets of the president. So what are they going to do? What kind of investigation are they? They themselves don't need to investigate it. So that is the problem we have because if we are practicing, as we said, separation of power, executive, judiciary and legislative, then legislations should be able to do their work because part of their basic portion is oversighting activities of the executive. And some of these things, we need to prove it of executive. But that is one leg to read. The second leg to read is that even after investigation, what happened to their reports? Having to see so many of them that they also investigated in the past and passed on to the executive and the other. Have you forgotten the investigation that happened with the NDDCJ? Off your mic and not off your mic scenario. Some of them are even writing to the point that the president has become the national assembly. If you understand what happened, what happened to the power sector investigation that was initiated and someone like him was put in charge along the line, we saw what happened. Trillions and trillions of men were projected, were put in place and released for that, for example. There are so many other proves along the line in the country to actually say which time of the people are we. Let me give you a classical example. There was a guy from New York, a member of the House of Representatives, Congress as you say in the United States. Just before this, the Congress voted to remove him from their assembly. Why? That the guy was fine to have, because of his election, to have to pay some certain money and money meant for his campaign and so that he lied to his consultancies. He was elected very, very popular guy in the city of New York. He was not elected into the House of, their own House of Representatives, which we call the Congress. Just a few, about three days ago, they investigated that guy. We did it ourselves. The members of the Congress took a decision, voted and sent him back in from the House. Can't do that yet. Okay, let me give you another newspaper, a very disheartening one, if you ask me. The headline that we're going to read now, Army Drone, that is Daily Trust now. Army Drone kills dozens of Mollute celebrants in Kaduna State. One paper said it's up to more than 80 of them. The riders are second bomb killed more people during rescue according to survivors. That means there was a second bomb. We buried 94, some mutilated, conveyed 66 to hospital according to residents. JNI Feetianu, community leader, seek compensation and then incident unfortunate military Kaduna government. That's the headline, very heart-wrenching headline. Army Drone kills dozens of Mollute celebrants in Karnu. I don't know how you felt when you saw that headline. Yes, you know when that news was broke, it was said that it was a major Air Force jet that bombed that village in Kaduna and killed the rabbi. I had to reach out, don't forget my primary constituency in journalism, with journalist, drama and a traitor as well. My primary responsibility was an immediate journalism. So what I did was to also to reach out to spokesperson or spokesman of the Niger Air Force on the whole side of the story. And he told me category by that, again, it was in the Air Force. I said, who did it? He said, well, more information will come out later and we get to him. It was in category, I have to say, that it was by the way. But for the investigation, I realized that that incident was not by the Air Force, but it was by the Nigerian a drone. It was a drone, you know that? And he said that if you look at the statement that Niger Air Force released, really after that story, they said that we are not the only ones operating within this area when it comes to the show. So meaning also that the other security agencies like Niger Air Force are also involved in the later on, I was meeting the commissioner of internal security in the Cabinet meeting with security agencies in the state, and the Army owned up that, yes, it was a mistake that there was some kind of level of insurgency that they probably thought that those were part of those that were part of the insurgents and I think that they deployed the drone, which now creates a ramp. And the question I ask is that, what is the essence of intelligence? What is the essence of intelligence gathering? Do you just see people asking me and we just assume that there have been some kind of meeting and the rest of them there for that? We just deploy drones. This is not the first time. This is not the first time. I'm sure you've heard of human history. It's a tense, accidental bombing in two years. This is not the first time. And you cannot see this happening in other civilized countries. If you are not sure, you don't deploy. It's just like journalism. If you are not sure of your source, you don't publish. That is what we are taught in journalism. So even in law that I read, we are told that when you are not to speak, it will be better for you. So 1999, what are the criminals to go scot free than one innocent person to be put in jail. So if you are not sure of your source, then you don't deploy. So when we deploy bombs to bomb people, we just become for the male father to just have the suspicion that, oh, they are there. And that this brings me to the father. To our people also, most of this so-called bombs, social people, some of these people that our military must have been bomb-billed, must have been innocent people. And that is the fact. And what I hope in the last time, this is where the office of the National Secretary of State comes into being. This incident was investigated and those behind it was reported. But it's just those bombs. And these are Nigerians for testing. 28, at the point they said it was 122, just like that. We are just having some kind of big, big, big, big, big place. And you know there are deploy bombs. And one, one job bomb. Other places, you don't do, you can go to court, you don't have to place, send the secretary, send armed men, send to the border but they will do this. I get these people impossible arrested. So at the end of it all, you bomb them and that is it. And as I said, this is not the first time we have been having this consistent. And I hope I believe and I'm saying that this must stop. This bombing of civilians must stop. We cannot continue like this, what we're going to see. Those are the problems by creating another problem. That's quite sad. Okay. Well, let's see. Nigeria records 1.8 trillion Naira surplus for foreign trade jumps by 60.7%. Are these the gains that we've been promised that we'll start seeing in this government? Do you have anything? Do you see this as a positive beginning to a better future for us in Nigeria? Yeah, it's a positive beginning even to believe. But most often than not, some of us don't believe on this. Most of the statistics that's read out by the government. The government that will tell you that prices of goods and services are great and you go to the market to realize that. Think of that and you go to the market to realize that. A couple of times I've moved from 300 Naira to 5. My sister there will understand when I talk about the market. I know Paul. I know Paul. I know Paul. I know Paul. I can attest to that. Why won't I know? I might know. My God, I also understand. You're bringing the money. We are all in debt. So when the prices of goods go to the market, it's not just a few books, come out of your street and just go to the nearest apotheos apotheos. I'd better give you one street a day. We think that the prices of street goods, they are still from what it was today and that is the source. Where is the good one? And we've said this term a time ago that we should be able to diversify our economy. We should be able to export more. That is the only way that we can be able to improve the current situation we find ourselves where the Naira are bringing to over 1,150 to 200 Naira to the dollar. We can only improve this by making sure that we find other avenues apart from OE, to be able to export more so that we can be able to earn more. That is the only solution. All this one that we are going to source for the last to be able to push in the effect of Naira, it doesn't work. This one as an assessment, how will that improve the life of Naira? How will we reduce the prices of bread? We do bread. The number of bread that I used to be 590 Naira was going to 800. Now, some bread, bread is about 1100. In my area, it's 1100. Not that long wife. That's 580 Naira. This is now it is now one thousand one hundred in my area and so this is it's more than that. Acara. I'm going to go to Acara that I used to buy I used to buy fifty Naira because I love Acara a lot and this is the I went to buy Acara. They say Acara is now seventy Naira but just one single one. That is that and it's called rice. How much is the rice is the Naira? As you said, there is in fact some people are not able to buy one to buy any longer and you're talking of families. These are also people that don't have jobs. Most of the father most of them are not. We're having a total reverse in our society in society. Most women are not the ones feeding their families because the men are using their jobs so this is a fact. So you can do it as yourself. What is the place of government? Now government said that we're going to be palliated due to the increase in men. How many Nigerians have benefited from those palliatives? All the promises that were never spread by government. The only state in Nigeria that we say that has been since some level of palliative distribution is Bono State. Go and see what that government is doing in Bono State despite the challenges that that state have. That is a government with a human face. I don't know what your does. They say palliatives are doing it to my states, a human state. Nobody might do it as a part. You saw some women states in the south west where some people committed to say we are giving a bag of rice to distribute among 3,000 people. How do you distribute one bag of rice among 3,000 people? Who is fully who? Let's just go to the punch. We're almost out of time but I want to take this. This says cash shortage, heat banks, customers rush for BVN, NIN, revalidation. I was at the bank on Friday and yesterday and they said they have no cash. So this is my reality and even if you have to get some money, there's no money in the ATMs. If you have to get some money, you cannot get more than 10,000 Naira. This is not the bank I went to yesterday. So this is real. Are we going back to how it was when there was cash shortage some few months ago and this is the Christmas period. Should this be happening at this time? When we know that people need cash more than ever before? This is why most of them have been saying that the problem probably wasn't about endophilia. The problem is within the system. There is something fundamentally wrong. Yes, we knew that they mainly went overboard. In some of the policies implemented, the new Naira would be designed. Therefore the first time in the history of Nigeria we were using Naira to find Naira. Never happened in Nigeria before. They happened on that. But there is all that there must be some fundamental problem within our monetary policies and especially the central bank. Initially we were saying that because December 31st deadline is still in place for the replacement of old nodes. And that is why we are having shortage in currency. We need the system that people are piling up money so that they won't be caught on our wares just like it happened last year or at the beginning of the year. But the central bank have come out to say that no, all old nodes remain bigger tender. And the central bank has opened, sorry, the Supreme Court has come out to also give that end back that was initially placed there by 31st of December and that's the old Naira nodes. The old Naira nodes will not be bigger tender. If there is that end back. So that is the reason why Naira should say, why is this that this money is not that big? Where did they keep them? Initially at the beginning of the year, so what we are having today is because politicians wanted to use it for politics. Are we still in politics? Are we having politics? Are we having an election? We've had our election since March or there about. So what are we talking about? So there is a problem within the monetary system. We are, which I feel that the central bank, the Ministry of Finance should be able to address, I think that the Nigerians are going into the Christmas period and that we need for Nigerians to use it. And they tell you, oh, everybody should go electronic. Oh, is it the same one that I made transfer, I made some transfers yesterday to pay? It has made it the account of those I sent it to. The one that was transferred to it has made it my account. Most of the apps of the banks when you cannot be able to access it. Now the particular bank for almost three days you will not access their app. You have to go to their bank physically to be able to withdraw. So what are we talking about? Yes the best way to do is returning bank. But when the system is not in the ocean then becomes a problem. Why should I go to an ATM to be able to try to withdraw? And there is something I have noticed. Let me say this. There is something I have noticed. I think most of this bank and the ATM, I just couldn't do certain something I do realize that if you go to the bank now and go to the ATM, you may not be able to get the money. That's why I am giving that ATM. You will see somebody with POS, POS method. And say, oh god, you want to use POS, we are calm. You will give the person, you give him, and the person will give you cash and call it. So probably there is something that I cannot do. Probably they think I am not making too much money from what we do and this is our 50 day couple or whatever. And if we go together, I want the POS are having the cash. The cash, right? And the rooms and ATMs and the banks are not having. They should know that something is wrong somewhere. Well, we hope everything is resolved as soon as possible and people can be able to access their monies. Thank you so much Chris for joining us this morning. Thank you for your insights and valuable contributions. Thank you. Thank you very much for having me. I have a wonderful day. Thank you too. Alright, we've been speaking with Chris Kendi Wando. He's a member of the Chattered Institutes of Abitrators in the UK and he was joining us here from Lagos State. We'll take the weather now and a short break and when we return, we'll be looking at our first and only hot topic. Stay with us.