 We're glad to know you're still there and it's time now to go to the press and see what made it to the front pages of National daily some of the national dailies we have today a punch the Guardian and The nation and we're going to be we'll try to be as snappy as possible on these headlines And today we have professor Camilo joining us to discuss some of these headlines. Good morning and welcome to the program professor Good morning. Thank you. Okay. There's screaming headlines here on the front pages of newspapers chief among them is that we have Ministerial list now all of them have portfolios and would just like you to talk about the The portfolios that have been assigned to the various ministers. Let's begin with that Okay Yeah, you see the portfolio sofa give them. I think some of them Clearly going to be productive But some are not likely to bring any Change from what we have seen before now. Let's take for example the petroleum Ministry Which from all indication the head of state is also going to be the minister of petroleum So I think that one is not likely to change much Because given the overwhelming work for the head of state as an agenda ministry will not change anything like the way we saw it In the previous Administration and then the other one like FCT. I think we are likely to see You know account up around post shows Many the minister I give him his pedigree the way he Handle you know the state and the way he handled the ministry of education one is he was junior Minister, so I think that is likely going to be that Officially giving his top position on the opposition party So I I think these are some of the same thing then if you take like a ministry of defense the passing may not have a background in defense but He is given that ministry and given the centrality of that ministry One hope so that Have the ministry the ministry had been you know a person who is one groom in the issue of defense But since that is what it is so I think generally If you look at it, it is more of political consideration in terms of the assignment of portfolio not much On you know competence and other things, but I'm not discarding. I mean discrediting Anybody but I think it's for ministry. This is what is likely going time for their performance Okay. Well, at least we know that the minister for finance is Is somebody who has been there before and he's been with the the president when he was governor Well, I don't I'm talking about him, but we expected that at this time When we know that we have a competent person in finance We have a competent person that in defense another competent person in education So that we don't have the case of after four years or eight years somebody coming to confess that I had no idea About the ministry that I headed We were expecting that we will have this kind of persons that will not go and learn on the job Are you saying you're comfortable and you're giving them a timeline that maybe they will use this time to learn And they can still perform. Well, are you confident in that with that? Yeah, I am confident they provided the Head of state Decide to a kind of Periodically change check the performance because allow on somebody like what we had in the previous government Somebody will run whether he or she performs well run for eight years in a ministry You know that one will not augur well for the performance But if you put people and Maybe after a year or two you see something that is need for a sharply meant then you carry shuffle And that way you can inject new blood into the system and you can put a kind of checks and balances whereby people will be up and doing because if they know that Their performance is what will determine their stay in office. I think that will Do it after all if the the ministers surround themselves with experts, there's every likelihood that They will perform so they should open have an open dog policy where they will access Experience people and utilize the input in order to work for the country Okay, don't you think don't I not worried that The trend that was set by the last administration the the last president former president Muhammad Buhari to become the Minister for Petroleum is is not really good for our country or you are comfortable with that as well No, I'm not comfortable then in fact that was what I passed to say that one of our problem is you know we overload You know the people you see the president has much too much in his hand He is the head of government. He is the head of state. He is the commander in chief He is whatever you give you a lot of some by the constitution now if you now add ministry of And and a ministry to him. I think that ministry is going to supper Yes, we have seen before and this is one of the mentality of African leaders we tend to the leaders tend to have a kind of father a peeling that They are like fathers. Everybody is that child's apple. They know everything and at the end of it Do you see you don't see any change? Okay, so I don't think By taking the ministry of petroleum we are going to see any change especially given the fact that now we have Virtually if we can call it a crisis in that area, so I think And I there should have been there is no need for the head of state to delegate that Minister it a very competent person so that he can You know Be able to stare it but the way he put it. I think Things will not change Mmm. Okay. Let me take yet another headline from the punch federal government tackles forex crisis with 3 billion dollar loan and a tiku nox tinu book that headline is there at the top left corner of The front page of the punch newspaper. So they're taking a 3 billion dollar loan to tackle Forex crisis. What are your thoughts on that? One I think I the issue of loan is one of the problem. Well, once in that plunge at in to the Problems we are having now is secondly so long as you do regulate the market Even if you borrow the money that will end up, you know in the hands of very few But the system will not Improve, okay, so putting that amount of money. I think we'll just where we'll be dancing in the in the same place It may not likely change anything except perhaps that it will Abudden as we say by budding a burden of debt and then what you pump into eat Since you say you are not going to, you know, regulate the currency Then the it will end up in the pocket of very few people Okay In the Guardian newspaper, there's another worrisome headline The the one that is boldest of all is saying resurgence of killings threaten not central states and food production There are so many bodies world bodies that are talking about the possibility of us suffering Food scarcity the food insecurity as it is And now we are having farmers not able to go to the to the farms and so many other things Militating against the production of food now What what does this pretend to us as a nation the resurgence of killing now? We're talking about even going to Niger as well to fight Talk to us. Yes. You see it will compound our problem. No central is literally the bread basket of Nigeria and If there is high insecurity, you know, they the food production will go down especially in this time when you know scarcity and Implementation in this sector is It's a very serious a problem. So added to that insecurity. I think we are going to a food insecurity and that will Compound the the problem that we're having which I think the government needs to you and Decisively otherwise, we are going to have a very very serious problem if Given the situation now and then there is also additional thing in terms of food security Okay Nigeria needs sustainable solution to resident doctor strike. That is the editorial on the Guardian newspaper Every day we hear about strikes. Sometimes the strike Because of insecurity because we've seen cases where they go on strike because one of them has been Kidnapped by bandits because that is a security issue. They go on strike we've heard them go on strike because of their monuments because of their allowances because of The conditions of service that they are facing in Nigeria Do you think we can arrive at a solution and in your own opinion? What can be the solution to these incessant strikes by? Not even let me not even limited to doctors but by workers in Nigeria because everybody seems to be living especially the professionals like Doctors in this case Yes, you see yes it is possible and Possible that we can arrest this It's usual what incessant strike What the government needs to do is to create a conducive environment for workers to you know exists a Situation whereby you see one that is that high level of insecurity and we just finished with that of food Protection so if the government doesn't take care of that that it will affect virtually all the Sector of other Nigerian economy and secondly the one you are talking of a monument and other things You see when you create two walls in Nigeria The wall of let's say the politicians and the wall of the rest of us where you see the government will be Complaining that there is no money to be workers and other things, but you at the same time see how politicians, you know squander The national resources so you create that the dichotomy and that is why people will Keep on demanding for their rights and the other thing is when I say conducive environment is that You make living easy Affordable to people no matter what you get when they say inflation there is this and you it will not You know meet the demands of the workers after all they see competitive Addison in other places Why buy a resident doctor here in Nigeria all like us in in Asu know where you you walk Literally you sweat your self to death and yet you see you are pillow People in other places, you know making it so there is this tendency to compare Nigeria with other things that's also the tendency for people to you know be running to green up Oster and all these things so depends on how the government tackle the issue Well, how do you think the government should tackle this issue? That is what I'm saying that they should create a very conducive Environment one, you know this issue of Monument make it a portable. I'm not saying you increase salary to this thing But look at the issue of like inflation when you arrest it I think even if you give my walk as me mega amount if they can and leave comfortably Within their own minimum wage. I think that is easy The second thing is we create also the conducive environment Address this issue of insecurity and other things which will hamper performance Ostrating performance in in in by walkers, okay, and the the other thing is now you have a very portable wage system and Lastly, not to the least is that when you raise the the Dignity and humanity I mean of labor, but when you make it in such a way that It is like a slavery. I think that's when you create This kind of tension between the labor and the employers Okay, we've talked extensively about security and another worry something is security on our waterways We just heard a story about a rig that collapsed and some people were missing one life at least was lost in that Accident but now we are hearing from the master that they capsized oil rig operating was operating illegally on Nigerian waters since 2016 that is nearly 10 years just is seven years already that has been operating since 2016 on our waters, it's been operating illegally and one would just ask What were the security agencies doing? What was Nimasat doing? What was the Navy doing? What were every what were the people that was responsible to arrest them or to make sure that they are not on our waters? Doing that it stayed there until this incident of collapse is the one that has brought it to our our Knowledge What do you how do you describe this kind of a situation? Yeah, this is quite unfortunate if Such illegalities are going for many years and nobody is Punished then you are likely to go into have this kind of situation So this show the level of corruption that this shows the level of Insecurity that we have and to now if not because it has capsized it Maybe it will be for another 10 years or 20 years ahead and nothing will happen so I think unless we take the standard measures and not only delegate responsibilities But also make people accountable for their own action like now that we have seen it Even if it is over this thing you can go back look at who are the people involved there and they'll charge them Investigate and find out who are culpable and then you punish them by the time you take that measures You are going to preventive Solution to similar Occurrence because one of the basic Seem of a law is one to restore You know, there's I mean three basic thing of the law one is to restore What has been damaged? Restitution then secondly to punish people who are guilty of the of pains and Sadly to deter others from doing it and you cannot deter people if You know those who are guilty are left scotch-free though in some cases They are even rewarded or they are on their problem because if you allow somebody, you know to Basel money through you know that kind of thing and now you don't do anything to see it Maybe perhaps the next time you give him political appointment and other things. So you are encouraging these things to happen So I think The problem is deep is deep rooted in the issue of corruption in Nigeria and that is why we are going to have this So I think the best thing for the government to do is not to allow this to go to investigate is and find out Capable culpable in each and then punish them accordingly Okay, let's take like two red lines before we wrap it up We've seen in the nation newspaper and other newspapers also About the fact that some chieftains of the PDP are complaining that they Opposition party right now PDP may become extinct especially with the kind of Game that they the party in power is playing for instance Now we have a minister for the federal capital territory who is a PDP members as we speak now He's still a PDP member. We've not heard that he has left PDP for a PC. So It's it's it seems like a PC is trying to Draw the PDP into its fold so that the PDP might become extinct So we see Chiroka one of the PDP chieftains saying PDP will collapse if not Reformed and the kind of game that APC is playing Do you think this is the beginning to the end of a formidable opposition in Nigeria? Yes, it is and that this is one of the dangerous thing that our politicians don't take into Consideration you see have an opposition is is good for a democratic system One it provides alternative to the electorate. It's secondly it checks the Government at the party in power by providing alternative policy options and And you know these are some of the goodies of having An opposition party a very credible opposition party or parties But in Nigeria, we don't seem to learn a lesson. We try to muzzle the opposition either through brute force or through you know Corruption and bribery like like this trying to woo them by giving them position and so on That's also Threatened they they even survival of democracy because it will end up having dictatorial System whereby instead of responding to the people will be every small be responding to those in power So I think yes, there is the Need and it is an essential part that we should have Credible opposition whether it is PGP or any other thing Leaders should learn a lesson because that was what caused the failure The collapse of the past republic and the collapse of the second republic then it's literally Disable the Aborted side the republic because at the end of it if you don't allow credible opposition and democratic You know discussions and so on you are now opening Way to violence And the crisis so I think that our leaders should learn a lesson from what Happened in Nigeria in the past about the way they handle opposition parties Okay, let's take a final question now. Um, let's go to what is happening in the jail Of course is standing there ground and saying that they might be military intervention. In fact They are so vehement about it that it seems as if there will be The that military intervention, but we go to Niger Nigerians First first of all, we heard a few days ago that there are a lot of of them who are volunteering to become Army to become part of the military so that they can fight the impending war because they're seeing it as a war against the Echoers or whoever else is opposing them They are forming alliances with new world powers like russia like china and others And now the nigerian government even is calling for war volunteers So which means these people who are volunteering will now be taken and then there are others that might join them So that they will fight the war now Now sahel alliance is seeking the release of bazoom that one is understandable But my concern is what would you say about the democracy that we're seeing in africa? Do we really stand the test of time when we talk about democracy? Is it really? Uh, a truism. Is it really something a fact That people say the best form of military government Is worse than the worst Uh, civilian government in the wake of all this that are all these things that are happening in africa Do you still believe in that statement? Do you think what is happening? Especially in the west african sub region because we've seen mali We've seen other countries now forming an alliance even with niger and all that and they are giving the same Kind of reasons for attacking the civilian government Let me hear your thoughts about the democracy we have in nigeria and how that is different in any way From even the military takeover that we are experiencing now You see one, uh, the option over the position taken by Echoers will not solve that Problem because military solution. I mean military approach will only compound the problem We've just talked about insecurity in nigeria and in sahel So it will compound that given the fact that they are already You know powers behind so I think that is not an option now the other thing when you talk about The threat of democracy or that democracy is better than the military regime Yes, the why it is better democracy is better But the reason why it is better because it is one of the ways or the best way to have a good governor's Responsible and responsive kind of government So unless the democracy translates into good governance You cannot rule out the issue of military intervention Whether you have a constitution, you know, like here in nigeria. We have constitutional prohibition which makes it illegal To have any form of government other than democratically elected form of government And if that is to work the leaders and the government should provide a good governor's a very A Responsible kind of leadership But if you don't do that, you know, the the military you are inviting the military You are giving them an excuse to come and if you say you have the constitutional prohibition Which is much which makes it illegal once they come what they do is to set aside the constitution To set us aside the legislature and now enact a new decrease and which by new decrease They now become a legitimate government because one of the basic thing of The law is that a new law supersedes the pre-existing one. So the the military are aware of that and So if we have to have To ensure the survival of democracy, I think our leaders should try to translate democracy Into good governance in reality. We have to see the improvement of the living condition of The citizenry. We have to see an accountable leadership. We have to be see a responsive leadership Then we have to see rule of law. Okay, if all these things are trampled by the civilian They are just inviting the military Okay, well, this is where we'll have to draw the curtain and it's a good way to stop the segment of this show We'd like to thank you so much professor for coming on the show this morning Thank you very much Okay, we'll take a short break now when we return. We'll be looking at the second hot topic. Stay with us