 As we continue to talk about encouraging environmental action, we want to take a look at government policies that could be making it hard for climate change companies to thrive and critical impact on the Nigerian economy on the breakfast this morning. Also as a follow-up to that, we'll be looking at the change through this climate, how it is going to have an impact on our economy and the people and what action needs to be taken to make sure that the adverse effects of this climate change doesn't get to us and cripple us. We'll also be taking a look at headlines on some national dailies with an analyst who will join us on the press. Good morning and welcome to the breakfast I am Maureen. And I am Yamgoul. So glad to have you join us this Thursday morning. It is good to have you join us. How are you doing? How is the fuel situation? It seems to be settling down a bit. Is it not? There is fuel as it is right now. The money to buy the fuel is what is the challenge. I was coming this morning and it was just funny to me. I saw boldly written on the dashboard where they write their prices, 500 Naira a litre of fuel and I was just wondering to myself just a few weeks ago this would have been laughable. Unthinkable. I don't know. But maybe also that should have affected the traffic everywhere in Lagos but Lagos like we say nobody send you. Whether there is fuel or no fuel, people must go into the roads and they must go to work and that's the reality on ground. An interesting twist is coming up with regards to the removal of fuel subsidy. We have our neighbouring brothers and sisters now joining to protest. What a love. Cameroon is protesting, the Republic is protesting and so many other countries may not even protest openly but they are feeling the bite right now. And I'm asking myself, if there was no fuel subsidy and people were just pocketing the money, the one that was getting to these countries, how was it coming? Was it that they were pocketing the money and buying this fuel and taking it directly to these countries that are now protesting because it has affected them as well? Clearly we were subsidising them. Clearly Nigeria was subsidising them. You heard that statement by president and we can continue subsidising Cameroon and Niger and Cameroon and Nigeria was subsidising these countries. Suddenly the consumption has dropped from the humongous quantity we were hearing. For years we didn't know for certain the quantity of fuel Nigeria was consuming because of all the fraud going on in that sector. So now the figures are dropping drastically because subsidy is gone. So that means that it has placed us at par with countries like Cameroon, like Niger, all of the countries that they say were subsidising because if they are feeling the bite, we too are feeling the bite. Because there was fraud in a particular sector, you removed the kind of help that you were giving to your citizens. So now what makes Nigerians better than these countries that are crying that we were subsidising as the case was? So my quarrel is Nigerians, if Nigerians will be the same way as countries that do not produce fuel at all, then no good has come to us. Yeah, definitely you are talking about the palliative which the government has said and even the private sector is beginning to also offer help to the government. Innocent motos is offering alternative means of transportation, means of fueling vehicle. They are trying to stay away from fuel. I hope I am putting that rightly, but they are offering vehicles that will not run on fuel to the government. And I understand that a group of private organisations have actually offered some help to the government with regards to providing transportation to the people. So these things are ongoing as it were. Yes, we have agreed that these are things that the government should have considered before that announcement on inaugural day. But it has done, it did is done, which way forward? They say they are putting in place things that could cushion the effects of the subsidy removal. It's a good thing it's gone. The methodology has been what has been questioned and which way forward? Palliatives have been put in place. So let's see how all that is coming out. Labour has suspended the strike, neighbouring countries are striking on our behalf, which is essentially. But you see, good thing, or maybe bad, depending on where you stand, is some governors are saying, okay, because of this, let us reduce the number of days for workers. We remember that in Quara State it was done. I think Godwin Obaseki also did it in his state. So three days in a week instead of five days. And I was asking this question that, okay, what are the private sector that cannot have the luxury of telling their people to stay home? What this should have been is, okay, now more people should do the work of less. So if one person or three persons were supposed to do a particular thing, maybe you have to employ like six people so that the other three, when they are not at work, the other ones will be working. But if you cannot employ, then your work will suffer. In an economy already that you are suffering, there's no diesel for you, there's nothing for you to run your business and all that. So what will the government do? That will be universal enough so that whether you're private or you're government, you're going to enjoy. Provide electricity. They should make sure that there's electricity. It's crucial. In cushioning the effect of this, they must make sure there's electricity. And also some of these private companies that are offering help are talking about electric cars. Innocent has said that if the government wants electric cars, they'll make that available. So that's one of the things, in a bid to avoid dependence on fuel, now that fuel has become so expensive. So these are some of the measures that are being put in place. But will the government want it? Because I keep saying this once upon a time. This National Assembly said, or at least somebody in the National Assembly raised the motion that Nigeria should never talk about electric cars being a country that produces fuel. Now the government, everything fuel, they talk about dangoti refinery, which you and I know that a lot of them have shares in. And now dangoti is a person who is taking the name, yes, but a lot of them have shares in it. So will they encourage people like the one you've mentioned to do what they are saying they're going to do? Produce electric cars when their investment is just about to start. There's also a young man we knew about in Medugri that was converting mini-buses and other cars to electric cars. That was like a year ago or two years ago. And nothing has been heard about him. Paytending, whatever he was doing has not been done. Just this week we also played a video of a young man also who is converting keke and other small vehicles to electric. And you will find out there will be no investor, a major investor like the government or anybody that will come in to say, okay, let me encourage this guy to do what he needs to do. Well, whether the Nigerian government likes it or not, the world is moving from fossil to renewable energy, which is why that Nigeria should have made good use of oil that we have. We had the oil boom era. What did we do with all that we got from that? These are some of the questions that we keep asking ourselves. So whether we like it or not, the world is moving to renewable energy. And I think at this point in time, now that we are in this situation, the fear crisis situation, and the fact that he's staring us in the face that things have got to change, in fact things are changing by themselves, I imagine that that young man in the East that's converting those electric keke and buses, that now that people will begin to take him more seriously. I don't know if it's the same video that we're talking about. He said they already have investors. Yeah, investors, yes. We already have investors. So people are beginning to take it seriously. Something they didn't consider last year with the guy in the north he mentioned. This year, sharp investors are going to be looking in that direction. How do we know? Because I mean, the thing for today is, what is our theme again? Every crisis offers an economic opportunity. So that's what it is. Investors are going to jump in on this and then see what they can make out of it. Yeah, my hope is that the investors that he's calling, investors that will come with a big amount of money, because he's still doing some manual things. We're not seeing anything that looks like there's going to be a big company with all the tools that he needs and employ a lot of people, but he's just seeing investors. That could be that, okay, I have come to give my car to you to turn it to electric and you call me an investor. I just hope it's a major investor, big companies that will want to invest, big private individuals that have that money, the capacity to turn him from that manual little person to a big company that will be competing with other companies around the world. Well, it's working progress. It started, I mean, we're moving from a situation where great inventors in the country have never been taken seriously, from Balakar to all the others. And now we have one who says that investors are keen in. I think, yeah, it's something positive, something to share. And I think it would also encourage more innovative-minded people to come on board. If you encourage them to come on board. Another thing I just look at and I wonder why it is happening is that the government is spending so much looking for oil in the chat basin, looking for oil that in the next 10 to 15 years may not be that relevant in our economy because everybody's moving away. In Nigeria, there is no way you find out that there's a possibility you drive your car without fuel that you will not want to explore. Even though electricity is still not a problem to check these cars and you may need generators, you may need other things that will depend on fuel, still it will be something that a lot of people would want to consider. Yeah, which is why I said that to cushion the effect, one of the things that the government and state governments, now that everything has been opened up and states can now generate their own power, one thing that they must consider if they are serious about the masses, they are serious about cushioning the effects of this is to ensure that there's electricity. They must situate because there's no other way out. Affordable electricity. Of course, affordable electricity. Because now, if you're having a prepaid meter, what you used to subscribe and use for, let's say, a month, you're not using it for up to a week now. And it cuts across. Even your phone, you subscribe, you load your phone, the way you used to use it, the data on your phone that could have lasted you for one month now is like three days if you're lucky. So everything is connected to this fuel and now there's no more fuel. And we're in for it. We hope that something good will come out of it. Definitely. Let's not lose our topic of the day. Every crisis offers an economic opportunity. And it is true, isn't it? Depending on how you look at a problem and a challenge, something good may just come out of it. And, you know... Yeah, just because of what you've said, let me just bring this thing I used to say, that if you look at people who are very rich, their life is not so different from the people who are in prison, except that maybe they have some choices. Because you're going, if you're moving on the streets, you are in your car that is tinted, most likely. You're just on your own. It's like you're inside a black maria if you're a prisoner. You go to your house, your gate is higher than even that of a prison because you're a big man, you're there. So it depends on how you're looking at it. Some people are behind bars, but look at it as solitary, as a place that has given them the quietness to think better. Seriously? Yeah, I'll go, seriously. Yeah. Shoei Inka, for instance, wrote a book while behind bars. Some people will spend all that time crying. But he wrote a book and the man died behind bars. So it depends on, like you said, it depends on how you see it. Some people struggle to go to jail. That's in the U.S. Not here, not here. It depends on your mindset. So if your mindset is that, oh, I'm dead, sometimes the confinements that we find, the coughs that we put on our hands are not really physical. It's mental, it's psychological. So whatever situation you find yourself, it depends on your mindset. You can make the best use of it or you die. Well, history, economic history in the U.S. has it that the Great Depression created the exchange securities and exchange commission. So it's one of the things that came out of the Great Depression in the U.S. a long time ago. So, yes. Someone said Tinubu just one week has solved the traffic situation in Nigeria. And that was because at that time when it just was just announced vehicles were really not on the road because everybody was trying to get the fuel. But the vehicles are back though. The vehicles are back. So that thing that you said- Yeah, mama's work. The vehicles are back. Those Uber, those who ride Uber now are going on strike because they want some sort of renegotiation. They buy this fuel now at a more expensive rate. The commissions taken from them according to them should be reduced by 50 percent so that they can also take home something for themselves. And so all the sectors of different people who are using fuel would have to ship the burden to the consumers. I mean that's just a natural law. So life must continue. Yeah, life must continue. So if you have to make a life, you know, you have to go to work and you have to open your shop and all that, it's good to have some information from the traffic management agency in Lagos. Just nine minutes ago it was posted that Crown Estate down to Ogidon is slow due to flash flood. It was really, really torrential, the rain of last night. And it was windy. We do hope that there's not going to be such bad news that we are going to hear maybe a loss of life or something because the wind around the area I stay was so strong that I know that a lot of roofs will go off. And I do hope it didn't carry anybody. It didn't wounded anybody or killed anybody. And we'll hear, we will definitely hear some bad news but it shouldn't include or involve a life. So that's what I'm hoping. So flash floods, because of flash floods, there's been a slow movement around Crown Estate down to Ogidon. But all other locations are good from a quay, tea junction to a beju, a leko, baba, adisa, a butu, a woyaya, and a green spring school. Ogidon to a lokona is fine but a bit slow to Petrocam. Petrocam to Ibrahim Adesonya is fine to Ajah Jubilee Bridge. A doh badore to Ajah and Underbridge is good as well. The return trip is fine. And most of the posts that we've seen here show that the traffic is not that bad. Sensors to Adela Bu connecting Masha on-road stadium inward and outward is good. Masha to Kilo connecting Agboye, Nepa, and Olatunde, or Nimole is good, likewise, a return journey. And every other place that we're seeing here is good. And the information that we're giving you is less than 20 minutes. I do hope that nothing has changed for the wars because in Lagos five minutes is enough for a lot of things to happen. So get up now, get to work and do what you need to do and put food on your table and for your family as well. All right, so moving from there we go to our top trending. Top trending, civil servants in Edo to work three days a week. We just talked about that briefly. This Edo state governor has decided to cut down the days of work for the civil servants there so that we have cushioned the effect of this increase in the price of fuel which has led to an increase in the cost of transportation. How much does it cost them to go to work now? I do hope that the private sector, some people, some employers that may not be able to do what the government can do just saying three days out of five you go to work. I do hope that they can make arrangements so that some of the staff who might want to stay back because I've seen that a lot now people go to work and they come back on Friday. Some of them just have no option than to just sleep on their chairs, on their desk and the next morning they're open about. It will tell a lot on their mental health, their physical health and all that just going to rest your head on your desk till the next morning you continue working just because you know that if you go five days to work your salary, you have to borrow and add before you can complete the one you need for transportation. So they should consider this as well so that people who can't stay back will have a place to stay. Even if it's one big room that a lot of people can go and sleep there those who chose to do that could do that and somewhere they can ease their self, they can bathe and all that because transportation is really, really bad. If you're working on the island for instance how many people will pay you such a salary that you can afford accommodation on the island because coming to the island to rent a house is another ball game entirely. If on the mainland we're seeing rents going up 300% and even more and then on the island what will it be? So you're trying and struggling and saying okay let me just sacrifice and be waking up very early in the morning to come to work since I can still afford accommodation there and transportation is not too bad coming here. And then now transportation is so terrible that if you had the option you would want to live on the island but that option is not there. So employers of labor should look at that rather than just saying for two days off you work three days maybe that's another option that they can also explore. That's an option for those who have the world without because you must also take into account the different levels of companies. There are companies that are large enough to create alternative means of transportation probably create some sort of quarters staff quarters but there are companies that are not strong enough to do that so different companies will have to find different ways to mitigate this and solve the problem for their workers because life really has to go on and also this government early days yes they made the mistake of announcing the way they've done without due consultations and adequate preparations but let's still give them time this is one week plus if I'm not mistaken and so let's see how these dialogues will evolve and what they will arrive at. I am happy that Labor and the TUC have taken it upon themselves to push this conversation to a logical conclusion where Nigerians should be able to say okay yes we are now happy yes that even though subsidy has been removed we are happy that we can see what the subsidy is being diverted into and it's benefiting us we are happy that we are not suffering as a result of the removal of the subsidy because at the end of the day it's for our good it's for our common good but it's also annoying that what Labor is saying no matter how true it is I see that as blackmail where they just say Labor is partisan after all they have Labor Party and because of that that's why they are talking are they telling lies are Nigerians not suffering are Nigerians not hoping for something better did Nigerians not all support this subsidy but are only crying because of the way it was removed without like you said so they are now saying Labor should never talk because they are buyers they are partisan they are all these and that which has stood in the past I wonder hasn't Labor protested in the past so it's really not good but I like the fact that apart from all that which is some people say it's a strategy that APC always uses they use one thing to blackmail you and make you to shut up and they do what they want to do but I like the fact that within this one week that the present administration has come on board with so many groups and tried to address the issues that they have grievances over we didn't find that in the last administration the president will wait until when he has the opportunity to travel he goes to maybe London and talks to us from London and people were complaining but the president has engaged almost everybody Joe Hesso has called up their strike they gave 21 days for the government to do the needful anyway and they still called up their strike because the president talked with them Labor also had the president's delegation talk with them every other group that has been protesting has been addressed by the president so no matter what I still give this administration that I still give the president especially that he's been proactive enough he's engaging enough and that is what we want in the president a leader that would listen not a ruler he's not going to be a ruler but a leader so we want to see more of that and I'd like to be optimistic cautiously though but I'd like to be optimistic that at the end of the day we'll see some good light at the end at the tunnel because as some people would say those who are proponents for the remain of if that's the way to put it those who do not want subsidy to go they believe that no matter what that subsidy should remain for the people in all sectors of life in a nation people like Zaka Bala for instance so but let's see how all this dialogue and discussions will go definitely it's all for Nigeria, Nigerians and our economy almost everything is subsidized not only in Nigeria but in every country in the world you subsidize the essential things that people need but just going ahead to say because of corruption you're removing it without placing alternatives the people who are for the removal of subsidy are more a lot more than the people who are saying it should stay the number is like maybe 3% of the entire population they say subsidy must go but how is it going and what is replacing it and how will the lives of Nigerians become better because if you're telling me that I'm saving up your money by removing subsidy and now I'm wasting or I'm spending more I'm suffering more then I will not see the importance of removing it in the long run because even the people who were crying that it should be removed because we have been told people are enjoying it enjoying all that our money and I was saying well maybe we were even wrong so the government needs to sit up and do another way that in addition to Krishna in the effects by this administration to show sincerity and honesty in this fight is the persecution of those who have been fingered or who in the course of investigation have been found guilty of diverting funds subsidy funds of stealing oil all those who have been involved in corruption in the oil and gas sector the persecution of those people bringing them to justice is key to giving Nigerians a closure on this because this is a huge a huge thing going on on the psyche of Nigerians oil is an integral part of Nigerians it is one thing that has affected Nigerians to the point that you can't even strongly say that Nigeria is still the giant of Africa because since we discovered oil the states have become redundant to an extent back then when we had regions that was when Nigeria was seen as the giant of Africa you had the different regions playing their games well and coming up with all sorts of things you had the cocoa, you had oil you had granites you had rice, you had rubber we had things going on in the regions and they were as viable as they could be and they left legacies for their people they left free education for their people so you had regions that were viable but since oil came on board what we found was the states became redundant going to a Bujakap in hand for money burying left, right and center because even as we talk about the debt by the federal government we must not forget the debts owed by the state governors we must see those who have caused these colossal damages brought to justice it will help Nigerians find closure as we exit oil subsidy well I hope that will be the case these people are almost faceless even though they cannot be faceless those who are supposed to know them but we had a case of bad fuel being imported into Nigeria till date I don't think that anybody has heard anything about the people who did that whether they've been prosecuted or they've been brought to justice I haven't heard if you've heard even though it was investigated by the 9th assembly we know the people who are responsible for buying so people who are responsible for shipping people out and all these people you cannot investigate you already know them but we have not heard anything and then this funny one of Nigeria I haven't heard the managing director saying that Nigeria when the national assembly raised alarm that it was a fraud the plane that was brought was chartered from Ethiopian air so that the people who are investors can see how it is like what it will look like and if I charter a Uber or a bolt ride just because I want people to see that I've chartered it you chartered it from Ethiopian airlines and painted it and wrote Nigeria air and the next day it returned to Ethiopia and they repainted it and wrote Ethiopia air billions have been spent on this project billions have been spent and if this government is going to be seen to be serious this is time for justice to be served you deserve it no more talk talk is so cheap in this part of the world we need to see change so if this administration is really going to get Nigerians to trust it to love it, to hail it we must begin to see those who are found guilty persecuted across parties this third assembly that is going to be inaugurated soon must show itself to be different from the ninth assembly in many ways the senate president has said that he doesn't care if people call the assembly under him a rubber stamp assembly doesn't care so if you go with that kind of mindset that I don't care what people say I can do what I think is best for me I just do it and leave I just hope that the 10th assembly will think about what Nigerians will remember them for and it has to be positive there are still people in this world out of the world who believe that a good name is better than riches and gold so if he's not one of them that's his tragedy while you're still watching the breakfast on Plus TV Africa and we'll come back to take a look at the headlines on some national dailies do stay with us