 I'll take you through the pages of the national dailies, we'll set off with the leadership newspaper this morning and all things being equal, we'll have a guest join the conversation as we proceed. I'd like to set off with the leadership like I mentioned earlier on and the focus would be on the top captioned or banner captioned this morning on the leadership. Growing insecurity, threatening 2023 general elections, that's what INEC is saying and all eyes are on Nigeria for credible polls, the United States is quoted on that. Free critical press essential for consolidation of democracy, INEC must be shielded from political interference. This is what civil society organizations are quoted to say. You also have a strike federal government as to renegotiate the 2009 agreement. It's interesting that the federal government will want to be with ASO, go back to the 2009 agreement to renegotiate how many years after. Why there is general blackout according to the minister saying that due to lack of water, the dry season, that's why Nigerians are facing blackout. I'm asking the generation issue, how much are we generating in terms of the generating company, the gents' calls and the discourse. Well, all prices hit $117 as buyers reject supply from Russia. Eggs attorney general of the Federation, Adokai writes Malami and denies alleged complicity in JP Morgan's case. Russian Ukraine war, airlift of Nigerians rescheduled for today. I thought Nigerians had already been airlifted. Federal government files criminal charges against Aba Kiari. That's what you find. The federal government files criminal charges against Aba Kiari and foreign education reps reject bill to regulate children out of public offices. Take that again. Reps reject bill to regulate children of public offices going to this foreign institution. That's the much we can take on the leadership this morning. Moving away from the leadership, our next up is the punch needs paper. The leads start with their governor's fume of a falling FAC fund's capital, NNPC. With some writers there, NNPC, not meeting FAC obligations but declaring profit, our sector opaque, that's according to the governor of the state, Kayo Defyemi. From zero remittance shows Nigeria's bankruptcy, according to the undosted governor, I carried a look. Now fuels scarcity, not abating. Those are the stories on the front page of the punch needs paper, but just above the must-have. Nigeria failed to increase export diversification over time, says IMF, NDLEA charges MACE tall Aba Kiari's extradition to U.S. You remember I mentioned that. Federal government can't extradite a meat pendant charges. Senior advocate of Nigerians are quoted on that one. Federal government has no funds to meet our system and according to the Minister of Employment, Chris Ngige, federal government airlines disagree over flight delays, cancellations right-of-waste tolls, 1,240 per project. All right, Nigerian fighters must provide $1,000 for ticket visa, Ukraine is saying, okay, public offices children free to attend schools abroad, that's according to reps, Ogun Kapo remanded for murder, sale of woman's head. Those hits aid state and see the sea elements non-vaccination. Just below the page there, democracy has declined on Dabuhari, that's according to Iyacha Ayu, a customer abates Lagos POS operator with hot soup over data. And the last story on the punch this morning on the front page, that is 2023, desperate politicians may attack polling units, INEC won't. Those are the stories making headlines on the punch newspaper this Friday. Away from the punch, let's take a look at the nation newspaper, the Banne Caption reads our concerns about 2023 general elections by INEC. You also have there is security threats as PDP and political spending pushes up demand for dollar, that is a rider's underneath the board caption. Banking contributed 168.4 trillion arrow to GDP in four years, he cobs delay evacuation of Nigerians from Ukraine. Federal government asked you to renegotiate 2019 agreement, I mean some quarters are saying 2009, Tunibu takes consultation to Iqiti Monarchs. That's also another head there and petrol, how there's to be sanctioned says NNPC, these are the headers on the nation newspaper this morning. All right, those are the papers that we have this morning that we will be looking at. We have G.D. Johnson, chief lecturer of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism joining us. Good morning to you, G.D. Johnson. Good morning, Justin and good morning message, a pleasure to be with you. All right, thanks for joining us this morning. Fine, I'm sure you have checked out the bellies this morning, there are lots of stories making headlines. But let's talk about INEC concerns and the leadership on Friday. Growing into security, threatening 2023 general elections, that's according to INEC. What do you make of that, G.D.? That shouldn't be any, it shouldn't surprise INEC. In 2019, we are security challenges. That's why the security challenges come from the Northeast part of the country. We got wonderful results, unimaginable results from the IDP camps, from local governments that are under control of ISWA and Boko Haram. So we got results from all of these places. And one thing that is absolutely certain, when it's time for election, the worrying fraction will sheet their sword. There's no way that you can disconnect whatever is happening in Nigeria from the political class. You could see the news and cries and the Ula-Baloo, Kansani and Nanambra's election. Everybody felt the government election in Nanambra would not take place. Good last year. But we saw how the election came and how peaceful, and how all the concerns that were raised concerning the elections were led soon. As far as thumb concerns, there will be elections in 2023. No doubt about that. You will see it to be like there has never been any major crisis in Nigeria with respect to ISWA making in Road 3, with Banditry making in Road in the Northwest, and ISWA gaining ground in the Northeast, and then the issue of kidnapping, and the rest of it down south. So as far as thumb concerns, there will be elections because the political class are involved in this. They have a stake in it, and they will tell those that are involved, all of these chemists to sheet their story so that we can have the election. I've never seen, since 1999 to date, any time that elections are coming, we have some relative peace. All right, Birgitte, although you are saying all of that, but the punch seems to have a bit of a differential, per se, when the caption during this way. They said that 2023 desperate politicians may attack polling units. The issue of that happened, I am exactly wondering, the issue of that happened next year. That's attacking of polling units. I'll give you an example, because we should not be talking of it. On the face value we should be providing evidence to back up our reportage. That's what makes it to be precise. It's called precision journalism, what they call data journalism now. You recall in 2019, around Ocota, we saw it live on TV, where elections were held and the polling... You know the president said in 2019 that whoever smashes polling boxes should be shot outside. Yeah, he did. And who are arrested for election infractions. We saw how ballot boxes were destroyed in Ocota, around that axis because it was believed that people in that particular area would vote for a particular candidate that is not the candidate of the establishment in Lagos. And what was the outcome of those that were arrested? Nothing. And it was not only Lagos that you had cases like that. I have raised this issue over time. Have you, has anybody ever been prosecuted for election infractions? There were major election infractions in 2019. In actual sense, a governor, a former governor, a sitting governor then, and now a senator-elect, the returning officer said he was made to declare the result under duress with guns pointed on his head. Now, the electoral rule says that the result can be declared. You can't do anything to it. You go and investigate that at the tribunal. However, the criminal aspect, which was not for close investigation, was not done with respect to that. Who are those behind putting gun on the returning officer? So when they come, when they come and they tell us, you know what desperate politicians, who are the politicians? The politicians that were desperate in 2019, what did you do to them? Those that were desperate in 2014, 15, what did you do to them? So they shouldn't be heightening detention. High-necked should not be heightening detention because they themselves are not not in needful with respect to providing evidences and requiring the police to ensure that all those that are involved with electoral violence are prosecuted. If, besides there's not disturbing high-necked, even from releasing the names of those that are alleged to have committed election infractions, you can prosecute them, you can semify them. Just publish the names that, okay, these are the people who have provided the police. You call a press conference and you send it, you have got the police. You throw the body on the police to do all this, what is required and what is needful. All right. Well, let's also take a look at the leadership newspaper. It says federal government to an ASU to renegotiate their 2009 agreement. That's how the leadership captions it. Do you think that the federal government and ASU will ever get to that point where they agree? Are they even making progress that they have to go back to renegotiate? I mean, the leadership says 2009. You also have the nation saying 2019. But the point here is going back to renegotiate an agreement that you had entered. Are we progressive? You know the solution to that problem was the bill that was shot down in the National Assembly. That the children of public officials, elected officials, should not go to school abroad. You know, if we have that, if we have that bill, the issue concerning our educational sector will be resolved to a larger extent, not once and for all, but to a larger extent. Now, as far as I'm concerned, the issue of the agreement between federal government and ASU will soon pass over from this administration to the incumbent administration last year. Last year, how many years? How many years? This present administration has less than one year to do whatever it wants to do with respect to policy. Implementation and education. For me, some of the ASU's problem is for us to deregulate education. One, to decentralize education. Three, allow each of the states and each of the university governing council to determine what obtains in those institutions. I have said it. You can expect the same principle that applies to the University of Lagos to apply to Federal University of Ohio or to apply to a university in the North East or in the North West. They are different environment, different standard of living, different cost of living. They are their own comparative advantages and the rest of it. Now, if people cannot see the problem. Let's get to that conversation. It's a good thing that you have mentioned that bill that was rejected. Now, you also, in the course of this conversation, have mentioned that if that bill was passed, it would actually help improving the educational sector. How is the question? Well, you recall during this week that Nancy visited the minister of education. The minister of education on his own is his position, not just the reflection of his position as a person and the way he has treated issues relating to education. You saw that an issue was raised by the now, unprecedented then. We seem to have lost connection with GD Johnson. As soon as we're able to have that connection, we will continue with the thoughts right here. I mean, we're looking at the how because in the course of looking at the pages this morning, it was part of our top trending. Yes, it was. At this particular point, again, where a lot of people would think that this bill, if they had actually gone ahead with this bill, it would just make us sit back and analyze, I mean, sit back and have a handle of the situation in Nigeria. But he's also mentioned that this bill, if he probably couldn't see that, would help us fix the educational sector. And I wanted to have the how he was gonna do that or how that's going to work. I think we do have GD Johnson. GD Johnson, the question now is, you say that the bill would actually go a long way in resolving the problems and improving the educational sector if he was actually conceived that. And the question that we're asking is how will this work? How? How can you be serving? How can you be a public servant? And you say your children can go to public schools. It is not only schools in Nigeria. It's not only schools abroad. You should change your children to primary school, public primary school, public secondary school, and public universities. We should have that. If you are offering yourself, if indeed you really love this country, if you love to serve this country and you love the people of Nigeria, your own children too must partake of what you are providing for an average Nigerian. So I was disappointed because if we do that, critical investment will be made. Now, look at what they do to their private office. Look at the amount of money they vote to renovate the national. All right, we'll reconnect again with GD Johnson who seems to be having some connectivity issue. I couldn't agree more with GD Johnson because the truth is that if there was a law, an extant law that says that all children of public office holders should school in Nigeria, there will be a turnaround in education system because they would know that they don't have any alternative. Indeed, they just have to fall back to fix in the collapse, the debt that they breed that we have in the left of our educational system. Yes, and that's what a lot of Nigerians are saying. And that's the reality if you look at it logically. But you also have the issue of implementation of our laws with how several laws that have not been respected. And so even if we have that particular law, will we be able to have our law makers abiding or leaving by this laws? I mean, so it would be also another issue, implementation and having enforcement. Would there be a penalty as well? So if you say children, if you're a public office holder, then your kids would have to school in the Nigerian system. But beyond that, it's just a cause for a lot of concern. It's just quite worrisome that we have constantly not taught about the fact that for every time we leave our country and for every time you pay school fees, because if you leave this country and stay outside of this country, all of the money should be spent. You're paying school fees in that country. You're going to be paying rent, everything you're funding the system and you're constantly and reaching that particular system. I'm also thinking that beyond making it compulsory, we could probably just look at it as another way. What are they doing that we cannot do? If we look at the, is it the environment? Then let's create the environment for ourselves. Gideh Johnson, we have you, but let's go ahead with your thoughts on this one. Yeah, some nationalism is for you to be torturing and love your nation and make your nation first. Now, if you really love the country, you can't send your children to school abroad. You send your children to school, in your own country, not private school, but public school. You recall in the 60s, in the 70s, and in the 80s, until the 90s, our public school system. In a natural sense, if you go to a private university, there's a way people look at you. When private university came into existence, at the, in the late 90s, however, today, it's more fashionable for people to send their children to private universities, in Nigerian and public universities, and schools abroad. While we were young, if you go to school abroad, in the 70s, you are regarded as someone that is not intelligent enough, that's not brilliant enough. The universities abroad are meant for students that are not brilliant enough. You can ask people in their 60s, and people in their early 60s, late 50s, and early 70s, ask them, that's the general perception of anyone that goes to school abroad in the 70s, in Nigeria. That goes to school abroad, you don't have, because how many universities do we have? Their admission process was rigorous, for people to get admitted, and then we had people coming all over the world to attend schools in Nigeria. Then we have a multi-diverse, we have a diverse faculty. We have what is called a universe, a university. The university, the word for, the word university means a university, a city that you can connect the word with. That's why you get a university, that's a university. Now, do we have a universe in our educational system now? So, Jideh Johnson, yes, I'm sorry, but it's still, you know, part of this. So, what is making our political office holders, I mean, why did they have to send their kids outside of this country to study? Why that exodus? Because the law foreign teams, the law foreign teams, the dry foreign cast, when they seek the travel to abroad, to seek medical help, you know how many times, is it not insulting? Every now and then, the president will tell us that he's going to London for two weeks, medical trip and what have you for medical consultation. I think if you do a count, the president must have gone to like 10 or 12 times that he has gone abroad for medical what have you. Have you seen the prime minister of Great Britain going to United States or America or going to Germany or going to neighboring France for medical and what are those that are treating our president? How did they brief or they construct? Who do they even know? What intelligence? Are these people in my 15, are they CIE, are they CIE parity themselves as medical doctors? They are critical decisions that you need to, so if these people travel abroad to go, they are foreign test, that's just it. They love anything foreign, they love it. They wine, they drink, they rise, they eat. Because they drive, they dress, they wear. They are not locally made. Is it just for the love of foreign, products or services? Or the fact that what we have here cannot be compared to what they have over there. I mean, like I and Justin had that banter this morning on top trending one of our segments on the show. We were asking why, because we haven't seen just like you have mentioned. If you look at, if you go back to some of our universities, let's talk about the universities now. The infrastructure, there's nothing to write home about. They are very archaic. I mean, you still find people being crowded in the 21st century and some students do not even have a dex to seat one. So, I mean, logically, would it be okay that as a minister or as a senator and you have the resources that you want to send your kids to the school? Especially where they are not, I mean, because you have different ministers. I mean, you are not the minister of education. You probably would be the minister of foreign affairs and then you can afford it. Then why send your child to those kind of universities where the learning environment is not conducive? You see the way the lecturers are. I mean, the place is not lit. You don't have internet connection. There are no facilities in the lab and what have you. It's nothing really, it looks like, I don't know what to describe. It feels like when it's torn age. Merci. Yes. They are used in like as an example. Just look at Unilag Senate building and look at faculty of arts building in Unilag and charter arts in Unilag and the faculty of engineering in Unilag. And then you just look at those monumental buildings. I'm showing you monumental buildings that were built in the past. Now, how many monumental buildings you have in Unilag, for example? How many hostels, if we sustain the level of investment we made in the university system. In the seventies, in the seventies, this which I will call the golden age of our educational sector. Go, you can actually put that to go to all of these institutions and look at the monuments they have. They are all of residence. When were they constructed? When was the last time in the lecture theater was constructed? You will be shocked at what investment we have made into university. I agree with you. We have not made the needed investment. We have not made the needed investment that we need to put into our educational sector across the world. In terms of hostel facilities, in terms of lecture theaters, in terms of office facilities for lecturers. But it's a product of years of neglect and that's how we started for, was that the government and also are going back to 2009. 2009 in 2022, agreement, agreement in 2009 that was not implemented. Can I just imagine if those issues that were agreed on in 2009 have been implemented over the years? How do you think we'll have we'll have incessant strike again? Not of course, but it pays government to increase the emolument of the National Assembly members, to increase the emolument of public officials, to increase the emolument of other people that are involved in the political process, but to make investment because education is the future of any nation. Whatever investment you made in education will determine your innovation and your creativity and your productivity in the future. Now, we are not, can our students, can our students operate under the innovative economy that we have found ourselves? What is the level in actual sense beyond those infrastructure? Let's talk about the curriculum that we use. What type of curriculum do we use to train the students? Are we training our students to compete in the 21st century? Are we training them to let them understand that they operate in a global landscape with the advent of technology and internet that any job that is available, they can apply. If you have the skill, if you have the requisite skill, knowledge that you can apply for any job anywhere in the world. You don't have to be in the United States of America to get a job in the United States of America. If you have the skill in Nigeria, you get it. And for us, I usually tell my students that the jobs you are applying for in Nigeria, Nigerians in the Ashwara can apply for the same job if you don't equip yourself, if you limit yourself to what we teach you alone in the class. If you are not creative and innovative, you cannot operate in the present economy. Now, how many of those lecturers that we have can use internet? How many can use smart phone? How many of them can even use? How many lecturers project their lecturers? Do we even have just projectors in our lecture theatres across the schools in Nigeria? Not to even talk of smart board. Are the classrooms accessible to internet? These are issues that we need to ask ourselves and see whether indeed we are running a mission or we are running a jungle. All right, thank you. The GD Johnson, we've actually spent so much time on the education system, although which is actually very fundamental because if we don't fix it, our children's future will be completely undermined. But let's quickly just take one more story so we'll wrap up because of time. The front page of the punch, a governor's fume over falling fact phones, carpet, NNPC, I want to get your very thoughts concerning that quickly as we wrap up. I don't know what they are forming about. NNPC is a government within the government. If it is a government that is higher above the federal government, it's an institution within it. So even the national assembly that has power over the control of budget does not have control over NNPC. The, not to talk of governors that operate at the state level. And that's why people have called for, when they need for us to restructure. Restructure, we don't even know how many a pump of good oil are we exporting? How many finished pollock are we importing to Nigeria? And that's why you see nobody has a clue with respect to a world we pay on subsidy. Not to even talk about what you get on revenue above some NNPC. So governors will cry because one, most of the governors are not innovative. They rely on foreign. If you want to become a governor, you are hired to be a chief executive. You must be able to take in what you have to improve your internet-generated revenue. It is because we have had a lot of dependent states and that's why some of us are free. And it usually up on the oil we drive. The oil we drive on the. And when the oil drives, we use our internet. Nations that do have oil, they are thriving. They are innovative and they are creative. But because we are dependent on the oil, it has limited our capacity to think outside of the box and to think on how we can get revenue. All what governors do is to get elected, borrow money, use whatever means to get elected. And once they are elected, they don't do anything creative. They don't do anything creative except to wait for the jack at the end of federal allocation at the end of the month. And once that allocation comes, they pay salaries and they display two amount of money on infrastructure and then they use the rest, fighting, saying that they are security boot and they are not. They are not. They are not innovative and creative. Even though they are innovative and creative, they don't have anything to stifle it. Thank you very much, Justin and Messi. Have a wonderful weekend. Thank you, Julie Johnson. And we also wish you a wonderful weekend as well. And I will trust that you're going to make the most of it. But that's as much as we can take off the press or go back in time and see what happened this day in history and then go to the topic of the day. The first one is obesity in the moment. Stay with us.