 Regular abductions, closure of schools, restriction of movement and forced levies by bandits All making living in Zampara states difficult For Begetten and inciting to how things really are, the state An Enugu state joins Ondo as the latest state to ban open grazing in southern Nigeria In the north, some state governors give orders restricting animal movement And universities now to determine own entry-level cuts of marks following jammed removal of uniform cut-offs Welcome to the breakfast in Plos TV Africa, I am Annette Felix And I am Osao Ye of Bonner Good morning and thanks for joining us on the breakfast This very little wet rainy morning here on Plos TV Africa Indeed, big stories across Nigeria especially regarding security Let's start from Kaduna Yesterday the Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs Samuel Irohan made some security announcements He said that Kaduna state was banning open grazing The transportation of cattle from other states into Kaduna And the transportation of cattle from within Kaduna state out of the state has been prohibited I also mentioned that the ban will take effect immediately from yesterday The 2nd of September 2021 And that the cow market which really holds every Tuesday in Kaduna state Not local government area has actually just been suspended with immediate effect And this is on the back of all the security drama we've been seeing in recent time And we know that Kaduna state now joins a list of other states that have banned open grazing in this state It's the 3rd nerden state, Zamfara state and Kaduna state have also banned transborder Transportation of livestock And when we bring it down to the south, Enogh State has passed the anti open grazing bill It's a bill that prohibits open grazing And we know how this open grazing thing has really just made worse the clash between farmers and herders We see how its effects are spilling into food security And how it seems that the cost of food prices are just going up So at the plenary yesterday, the Enogh Assembly passed this anti open grazing bill So basically people in the south are saying it's now left for all the states to begin to do so They say they're looking into Imoan the rest Remember, southern governors passed the resolution to go ahead and ban open grazing in the states Which effect from September 1st We've seen Enogh State lead the way Let's see what the next few days look like for all the states in southern Nigeria And how that will work vis-à-vis the grazing reserve policy So to speak that the president is set to roll out across the country Yeah, well, I think Enogh State actually started before Enogh Rotemaker dole signed it on the 1st of September And then Enogh's yesterday So there is that One thing is And maybe a couple of times more that we've said it How Kato has become one of the biggest conversations in Nigeria in 2021 Not information technology, not great infrastructure, not great strides in any other direction But Kato, which is really, really heartbreaking to find ourselves in this place But there is that In my response to this I think that it's important that we also get to clarify That not all of the killings and the crisis and the murder that has happened in the last few years Has really been because of Kato A lot of them are really just murders that happen in the middle of the night That go unreported or uninvestigated And everyone just moves on So it's important that we get to distinguish between those that they have termed farmers and heard as clashes And the ones that are just outright murders by militia Or bandits, or whoever they are, that we still have not been able to actually identify Unknown gunmen, as they have also been called A couple of days ago there was also an unknown helicopter that fired into a boat in riverside That still has not, because Nigeria people haven't gotten any answers as to what exactly that was about And these are hundreds of incidents that just go and happen rather And we move on, 24 or 48 hours later everyone has moved on Waiting for the next incident to occur So there is that With regards to the northern states, Okaduna, Sokoto, Katsina The ones that I haven't record currently that have banned interstate movement of Kato My response to that is What I see this as is Eventually people are going to have to face the truth Because I remember that years ago, months ago, these same states would have sworn That they would never do anything concerning banning, grazing, or banning anything concerning Kato I mean it was basically free for all Ray or Kato do whatever you want to do with your Kato here Let the southern governors do whatever they choose, that's their business And it felt like they took a totally different stance from what the southern governors were doing But eventually they're going to have to face the truth And whether you accept it or not, you will face what the truth is concerning security in your region Zamfara State has shut schools down And that's one of the things we're going to be talking about today Zamfara State is the first one that has completely ordered all schools to be closed Eventually you will face the truth Whether you want to play politics with it or not Eventually you will face the truth And including those who completely turn a blind eye Northern leaders, northern elders, traditional leaders and whatnot That have decided to stay silent while their communities and their villages are being ravaged by these criminal elements Eventually you will face the truth and either it hits home or it hits very very close to home A friend of mine was saying yesterday that his uncle was kidnapped in a state And they currently haven't heard anything from the kidnappers or whoever took him They're really just at this point gathering as much money as possible Calling all family members to send as much money as possible and wait for that phone call But that's exactly where we are And that may be one of those cases that just really goes unreported For northern state governors, eventually you will get to face and be open with what exactly the truth is Because you cannot continue to play politics forever Regardless of what state you're from, you will not continue to play politics forever Eventually you will get to accept what the reality on ground is And how dangerous things really have become in those parts of the country So terrible a situation here that we found ourselves And when we think things couldn't get any worse than this We have the bad news we're getting from the financial sector in the country The state of our economy seems to not be getting any better Because the Nigerian Naira has hit an all-time low of 530 This 530 to a dollar we're talking about was at Wednesday But speaking with people who are in the BDC space They say the Naira to a dollar right now is at 550 550 Naira to a dollar, can you just imagine? Now we know that one of the reasons for this is the heightened pressure on the Naira And that's basically after the central bank governor got in a very controversial suspended The sale of forex to BDCs That really has had a very terrible, terrible impact on the value of the Naira right now The CBN governor had said that these BDCs are basically encouraging and engaging In money laundering practices Even though the association of BDC operators in Nigeria have said that's a lie But it's really been a challenge for us trying to peg Trust of all, the government has tried to peg the official rate at 412 dollars But this has also raised concerns that even from the side of the bankers They would definitely hold this forex so they can sell in the black market And get a better deal And when we look back at the year 2015, March 2015 When the Buhari administration, when the Buhari team were campaigning for power They put up posters saying that it was 216 Naira to a dollar at that time And asking Nigerians, is this okay? And saying that it was time for us to speak up But many years after, it's the second term, we see that from 216 Naira It's now 550 Naira to a dollar at this time So is that okay? I was trying to hold myself back from reacting to the campaign promises There was also the one Naira to equal to a dollar It was part of the campaign But good thing President Buhari says When I leave, Nigerians are going to feel the benefits of what I'm doing today To realize the benefits of my administration Absolutely There are people who have said that it will be lucky if we don't need 800 or 1,000 By the time we're getting to 2023, the way things are going So it's really terrible Yes, it is terrible And it's scary mostly because of how this affects cost of living in Nigeria And a generator, I'm going to buy a generator for a couple of days now Because the price that I knew a generator was early in 2020 It's not the same price that it is now And that's pretty much the same thing with everything Have you found out how much it is to buy a car in Nigeria today? Cars that used to be 1.2 million a couple of years ago Now you can beg to get it for 3 million or 3.5 million That is the problem with the devaluation of the Naira Because definitely when you devalued the Naira See, okay, let's talk about the benefits You have the benefits that exports to be cheaper or exports is good It's basically going to increase exports Yes, when the Naira is devalued, things are going to be expensive to import So people are going to buy indigenously Local manufactured items will definitely sell Local manufacturers would make money But when you look at the flip side of devaluation, it hurts our economy Because first of all, you can't import anymore Inflation is going to be on the rise, which is what we're seeing right now So anything that is not manufactured in Nigeria As long as it is not manufactured in this country You have to bring it through whatever border You are going to pay heavily for it And that's what we're facing right now in the country Absolutely Could we have made better economic policies? Maybe yes, we have an economic management team We have some of the best brains that were recruited A couple of, like a year or two years ago To be part of the economic management team By the current administration, including Chao Soludo Who was the former CBN governor How much do their words or does their work Get to the ear of the president and to the CBN governor How relevant have they really been since they've been in that position Including the vice president There's so many people who have been absolutely brilliant minds That you would expect would be able to advise better Are we making the best decisions? Are we taking a knee-jerk approach to certain things That is affecting the Naira? How many of the things or the new laws That the CBN governor has put in place Is helping in any way to improve on the Naira's story It's really not in any way being beneficial I'm more worried about how Nigerians Regular Nigerians will be able to afford living in Nigeria In the next few years Because that's where the biggest challenge is It's not the billionaires and the politicians Who really don't have to suffer as much as the common Nigerian Who has to buy food stuff Who needs to pay house rent Who needs to pay school fees Who needs to buy a new car Who needs to buy a new phone Random little things like that Buy a new laptop There's so many of all these things That will be affected as the Naira continues And its value continues to fall Do we see a future where it might come down It doesn't look like it from the way things are going In any way And I would also say that Whenever the National Bureau of Statistics Or any of government agencies put out Information that inflation figures have dropped Or we are looking better economically Those are just figures That if they don't translate to a better living standard For the common Nigerian Then they're totally irrelevant You can use those figures And put them up on the internet and brag with them But if they don't in any way Change the reality on ground for the common Nigerian Then they are totally irrelevant And it's of no use to anybody Saying that we're defeating inflation And inflation figures are coming down some of all of that So when really we look at what's happening with Naira And how it's been so devalued That there's really It's almost nothing to write them about It takes me back to when the CBN Went ahead to freeze the bank accounts Of four startups in the asset management space Who help Nigerians buy foreign stocks And it's because of things like this The Naira really has no value The way it is now in the global economy It's not competitive So you can understand the concerns of Nigerians And take their money, you know Change it into dollars, buy other foreign currencies Save their money in the miscellery account And decide to invest in foreign stocks Because really when you look at the money you had in the bank Ten years ago, five years ago And you take what that money is worth It's value in the market and what it is now It almost seems like nothing So you can definitely understand where Nigerians are coming from When they decide to invest in foreign stocks But it seems that the CBN is not doing much To make sure that our Naira is strengthened And yet when people who try to find a way Out of that mess do so They're now clamped down on it So it's like we're going to fix It's just terrible In response to that, I think it's also It would also be fair to say that When the CBN also spots corruption Or spots, you know Mismanagement of the Naira And mismanagement of foreign currency And those are not just excuses Maybe one would argue those are just excuses You can say that they're excuses But also The CBN also has the right And should be able to take that step When they spot some of all those things And of course make new laws To protect the Naira And protect the country from criminals And from fraudulent people It's also important that they do that But I think it's very, very critical The way that those things are managed And the way that they take those steps Because of the after effect that they will have The CBN governor You know, Nigeria's economy team is not Necessarily going to see a fraudulent activity Going on in BDCs or wherever And turn a blind eye simply because they need to You know, ensure that the Naira is protected They need to take whatever steps are You know, available But while taking those steps You know, there should be a very, very Very, very knowledgeable advisory team That can say, okay, don't do it this way Let's do it in a totally different way So that it doesn't in any way have You know, a negative after effect on the Naira But this is where we are You know, and we can only hope that it gets better But How does it get better if we don't Diversify our Modes of Generating wealth for Nigeria We're still mostly focused on oil The current administration made a lot of promises Concerning agriculture and information technology Some of all of that, which, you know Don't exist currently I'll find a top trend in the story You know, if you have doubts About the Naira's vaccine The executive director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency Dr. Faisal Shraibu Is trying to clear them Now, he spoke yesterday, basically urging Nigerians To go ahead and take the COVID-19 vaccines Saying that they are safe And you know, these vaccines have gone through All the rudimentary checks And they are good for you So he made this plea yesterday And let me read quotes for you Dr. Shraibu said Insane what they say about the vaccines As a medical practitioner For more than three decades I can confirm to you that what we have Is very good and safe for Nigerians I encourage every Nigerian to have Confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines It's critical in tackling the virus And we're encouraged to have confidence In the system Now, when I saw the response to this I cracked up so bad yesterday The story says COVID-19 vaccines Are safe, take them, FG People said Nigerians don't We don't want FGPGs Nigerians So Nigerians really have turned Everything into a joke in the country And it's sad that Regarding the COVID-19 vaccines It seems that not enough information Has been put out there regarding How safe it is, you know There's still an information gap There are still people who believe That the COVID-19 vaccine is this and that They have their conspiracy theories I'm still talking to my landlady today To take the vaccine She says no, I'm covered with the blood of Jesus And there are many people who think the same way So I really have no idea Have no clue on how to advise the government Regarding what to do to turn our minds around Regarding taking the COVID-19 vaccines But the thing is Vaccine hesitancy is still very big Here in Nigeria I can even expand that bracket To the rest of Africa because You see our vaccination Figures, even though they come out here and there To give you a COVID-19 briefing And they tell you it's in the millions But you realize there are over 200 million people And the percentages are very low So I have no clue What to do to take Nigerians To have confidence in the system To go ahead and take those vaccines To protect themselves and their families But the thing is the government is Pleading Asking Nigerians To take the jab Vaccine hesitancy Is something that Nigeria would have to do with Numerous reasons it does exist There's also been the religious reasons Or aspects where people Or pastors have come out to say Don't take the vaccine as long as you're covered by the blood And then there's also those who really don't Even know anything about COVID-19 Or believe that it is real So there's numerous reasons why That does exist But I also believe that As we try to encourage more people to take the vaccines And also find ways to get even more vaccines Into the country To be readily available And work hand in hand A lot of people don't believe Until they become victims Or until they see with their own eyes That's when they believe some of those things And sadly that's where we are So there's a lot more work that needs to be done By the Ministry of Information By the NCDC and some of those bodies Coming together to encourage And of course to educate Nigerians Indeed, and that's it On our top trending stories for you today We'll take a break here and return With off the press Stay with us