 Welcome back to The Breakfast on PLOS TV Africa. What's next is off the press. It's the segment of The Breakfast where we take a look at the top newspapers in Nigeria and the stories that are making headlines. Let's say good morning to our guests, Republic Affairs analysts, Mr Femi Lawson. Good morning. Thank you for joining us. All right, let's begin with a punch newspaper. Headline says COVID-19 business booms. Inbound travellers bribe officials to evade test. Experts warn of spike. Flight passengers bribe officials with 10,000 Naira, 15,000 Naira to underpay and evade test. Virologists knock officials, allege evaders responsible for high community transmission. Above that headline on the punch newspaper, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt and Kenya hold 80% investments in Africa. That's according to the African Development Bank, AFDB. FG places 3,964 Nigerians on watch list suspense passports. The federal government says that 330,000 Nigerian refugees are in Chad, Niger and other countries. Asu meets next week over planned strike. Lament governments in action. Nigeria needs 840 billion doses, 40 billion Naira to close energy shortfall, says Buhari. Northern governors meet on vats today, sans spirits malamy. Quarra man who allegedly buries 9-year-old with 1,000 Naira note arrested. ICPC arranged two suspects for the fraud in RCCG of 10 million Naira over land. Abdoctors free 10 more Baptist students, keep 11 victims. Adeboye says Nigeria will surmount currents, travails and emerge in victory. Fashola and Pabyo own groups promoting ministers 2023 campaigns. Lagos clubhouse kicks as 100 policemen thogs demolish buildings, arrest workers and lastly on the punch newspaper Forex Crisis. Massive job losses loom. Profits shrink, says MEN, others. Let's now look at the daily independent newspapers. The big one says CBN may tackle FX crisis with Naira devaluation and rate hike. Also North will use numerical strength to quash zoning in 2023, says AYCF. APC needs rugged chairman to stay in power for the next 50 years and that is from Sherif Alimuru, Sherif, Senator. Also Oshibanjo says Nigeria will overcome security and economic challenges. Nigeria at 61, WIKE blames leadership failure on nation's wars. And also we must reconcile and forget past issues and move forward and that is from the Al-Afim. We also see here at UNGA 76, Buhari returns with special assignment from World Buddy. Airlines consider fair adjustment, lament Naira free fall. And finally Nigeria's revenue projections for 2022-2023, Miraj says analysts. On the nation newspaper, zoning tears PDP apart. Makhinde Aneem, lead opposing groups stormy days ahead. 60 held over mob lynching of policemen in Lagos. Streets begging, Al-Majiri not Islamic, says Sotan. Rising air travel raises hopes of new carriers. German SPD leads in race to succeed Merkel. Police bankers clash in Ijabudi. Boko Haram attacks Babangida town. Bianca, why I shunned APC Abghaz rally. Abdoctors free 10 students in Kaduna. Nigeria at 61 remains Africa's shining star, says Oshimbajo. That's Rao, firms from its August returns to FIRS. All right, now let's see what we can find on the leadership newspapers. Nigeria at 61, we can't build a nation with bigotry and nepotism, say Northern governors. And also one against defining people based on religion and tribe. Say demarcating Nigeria comes with great consequences. Also on the leadership, Sadik who bows out, leaves legacy of profits and transparency at NIPC. Niger gets $84 million Islamic loan from Mina Bida, or rather four of the Mina Bida road. Gandhajia points Ibrahim Gaia as MI of Gaia. And we can also find APC committed more resources to diversify Nigeria's economy than the PDP, that is from the Senate President Ahmad Lawan. Six Northern states economy on the threat. And also 10 more abducted Bethel Baptist students regain freedom. Finally, pension assets investment in federal government securities hit $8.51 trillion Naira. Good morning once again to Femi Lawson. Thanks for joining us. Good morning. All right, so let's probably start this conversation with the release of 10 more Bethel Baptist students. We'll quickly react to that. Well, it's a welcoming development even though it is still very sad that not all of those children have been released or are united with their families. It is very sad that indeed presence of all the nothing has been heard about the role of the government in ensuring the release of these children. It has turned it in the efforts of the parents and the authorities of the institution where they were kidnapped. Today, the government of Kathmandu state has given the federal government as the name starlet and have left these children to their own fate and whatever effort can be undertaken by their parents. It is very sad. We are only hoping that these terrorists will be, you may not know, to release the rest of these children, you know, to join their families and break, you know, the freedom again because it is traumatizing really to have school children adopted for this summer of and everything looks normal, you know, industry. Okay. I want us to take a look at the top story on the punch newspaper. It talks about people making business out of the COVID-19 pandemic and, you know, the requirement of Nigerians who are traveling out or coming into the country to take COVID tests. Now, an investigation here by the punch shows that, you know, inbound travelers basically bribe officials at the airport to evade tests and that they do so with about 10,000 Naira, 15,000 Naira, and that's to make sure that they do not, you know, take this COVID-19 test and that that's really why COVID-19 is spreading in the country because these people evade tests and basically go ahead to interact with Nigerians. We saw the possibility of this, you know, when the pandemic broke out and, you know, there was a return, a resumption of flight, September 5th, 2020, about, you know, claims that Nigerians were paying, you know, to avoid taking this COVID-19 test. What do you think the Nigerian government should do and, you know, stakeholders in those sectors should do? Because, I mean, these are people who should be making sure that these inbound travelers, you know, stay protected by taking this test and, you know, safeguard other people. But what should they be doing now to make sure that, you know, this COVID-19 pandemic basically, you know, the curve is flattened? You see, what we are currently experiencing, I don't think the government of Nigeria, in particular, the authorities in charge of our airports and other, you know, entry points into the country can do anything differently from what these people, the investigations are supposed to do now are doing. In fact, the doctors are finding witness as far as the COVID-19 protocols and the attempt to evade it by most travelers are concerned today. It's a dead by the government itself because I have been fortunate to travel just twice after this old listing of suspension on air travel and, you know, opening of our border. And you realize that the Nigerian state is perhaps one of the few countries that have commercialized this pandemic, rather than making it a system that we ease, you know, the challenges that we face by citizens, both Nigerian citizens and, you know, foreigners. In fact, I can even tell you that the government have made it more difficult for our own citizens to travel in and out of Nigeria just because of the level of exploitation that is happening around this, you know, travel in the name of the COVID-19 restrictions and protocols. So the culture of bright taking and every other thing you are witnessing is encouraged by the government because for instance, all it requires to go into a country like Ghana and Coma is to conduct simple tests and sequela that's agreed by ECOAS for $50 and you move. But in Nigeria, we have found a situation where by all sort of levies, in nature part, they recommend where you take this test. Citizens are made to pay more than they require $50 as agreed. Then we find people coming into Nigeria, place on all sort of levies, including, you know, seas for, you know, isolation and whatever you call it. So these are things that have been aided by government itself. I guess Mr. Lawson lost connection with him. We're going to definitely reconnect with him and continue with his discussions. He was speaking mostly about, you know, the COVID-19 and, you know, a little bit of corruption here and there, which is not necessarily surprising. You know, of course, very, very bad and dangerous for the rest of Nigerians and also looking at the fact that, you know, the population that has been vaccinated is still so small and reaching head immunity. I don't even know if that's a target for us, you know, but if reaching head immunity is a target, it will take a really, really long time before we get there. So Nigerians need to do better, you know, from the immigration to, you know, people at the airports, passengers themselves. We need to do better because it's no way helpful. And of course, we've seen the numbers, you know, Legos in particular has had, you know, 100 plus numbers in the last couple of weeks, daily numbers, you know, which is really not even exciting. So Nigerians need to do better. I think for me, regarding the story would be the question, why? Why does this happen? You know, I liked how we put it, the commercialization of the COVID-19 pandemic. Is it because, you know, these officials are available to be bribed, are ready to be bribed? Is it that these people actually go ahead and approach these inbound passengers to say, you know what, I can spare you the stress, just give me 10,000, 15,000 Naira, and you will just go scot-free without having to take a test? Or is it the Nigerians themselves? Because, I mean, they're coming from other countries where they understand protocols and procedures, and you know that you dare not try such in the U.S. or in the U.K., you would be arrested and persecuted. So is it because there's a Nigerian environment, a Nigerian society that just allows for carelessness, that just allows for corruption? You know, really, why exactly does things like this thrive in this part of the world? There's someone who's readily available to beat the law or break the law. There's somebody who is willing to receive. So it's pretty much the same thing. There's still a little bit of that corruption. And because we once again have failed to create systems that checkmate these things, but to be fair, outside the country, I think in the U.S., there's also people who are selling fake vaccination cards, you know, to people for a few dollars. I heard about that over the week. But we're sure that if those people are caught, they would be a prosecutor, but you can't exactly say that for certain kinds. I just wanted to put that out, that it's not just in Nigeria that there will be a little bit of corruption with COVID-19. Femi Larson, welcome back. These huge cards, that ordinarily they have been exposed to in the name of, you know, enforcement of this protocol. So government must make, you know, these things as simple as it should be. You should make traveling into Nigeria and living Nigeria as simple as it is in compliance with the COVID-19 protocol without unnecessary exploitation, you know, and free charging, which we encourage people to begin to boycott, you know, the processes of payment or trying to pay lower than they should pay ordinarily, which is that promoting corruption around what ordinarily is the pandemic that should worry all of us. All right. Femi Larson, let's move to something on the daily independent, the top right corner, top left corner, sorry. It says the North will use numerical strength to quash zoning in 2023, and that's from the AYCF. So let's get your thoughts on that one also. It seems like a very big, interesting discussion. Well, I don't think Nigeria should really take the AYCF unnecessarily serious because the issue of zoning is beyond the, you know, what people think they can sit in the comfort of their living room in Kaduna Abuja or anywhere to decide without giving due cognition to the sensitivity of the issue of zoning itself. Zoning is a question of morality. It's a question of fairness, equity and justice. With democracy in this part of the country, the world is built upon. And the truth is that every time they talk about this numerical strength, I think we should begin to interrogate the numerical strength that this element from the North always lay in claim to. Where is the numerical strength? Where President Buahari contested elections three times and was winning a election in the North, but never won an election as the Nigerian President in 2006, 2007 and 2011. Where they know the numerical strength, are they also assuming that the numerical strength extends to Kuala, Kogi, Benwe, Proctor, another middle-backed, you know, region of this country that they have possibly coerced into the name of the AYCF or whatever they call it. So it is beyond their mere wishes. Power rotation is a moral agreement, even though it is not a constitutional matter, but it's a moral agreement which must be respected. And it is only fair that after eight years of two times for President Buahari, the power should rotate to the other region of the country. So we don't take care and I don't think we should take people who just allocate figures to themselves without any factual business, you know, serious 123s in this court. Yeah, but Mr. Lawson, how do you think this can also be checked? Because like you've mentioned, a lot of times these persons really just pull in states from the middle belt to themselves and, you know, create that assumption that those numbers are inclusive of the northern numbers that they talk about. But is there ways that you think that this can be corrected or can be checkmated to, you know, prevent false narratives and electronic figures that may not really correlate with what the true figures are? That is already being done. And that is, if you see, you will realize that more than ever, you can see an alliance of, you know, the south and the middle belt stronger than it has ever been in the last couple of years, you know, seen for like the southern and middle belt leaders for all men, all those groups coming together, you see the people of middle belt, you know, coming together more than it has ever been, you know, to advocate for common interest. I want to insist that it's not as represented by people like KYCF, Northern Elders for all men, you know, does not have any number numerically to determine because the president of Nigeria, and what is to be done just like you have asked is that we consider to expose these atrocious figures that are always impounded around. We must consider to educate the people that when you talk about the north, the north, the north, you must be able to clearly define it, especially when it comes to political, you know, interpretation that has made people like KYCF and the NEF and the like to continue to assume that they have the numerical strength on the basis of narcissistic, which is not true. I will continue to do that. Okay. I want us to go back to the Pontchines paper now. There's a story here that talks about this VAT controversy, and it's on the top right corner. It says Northern Governors meet on VACs today, SCNs berate Malami. So we know that this VAC controversy really has been going on for a while ever since the River State government took this to court and won the rights to receive VAT in their state. Now, we know that the Northern and Southern Governors have different opinions on it. Those in the south say they will collect their VAT and are going to have to pass, you know, this law in their state. But in the north, they say that states have no power to collect VAT and that should be the sole responsibility of the FIRS. They have a meeting scheduled for today to discuss this. What do you think the outcome of that meeting might be, Mr. Lawson? Well, I don't have to say any other thing than the fact that the Northern Governors will likely come out to stand by the federal government because a lot of the Northern states today, you know, are beneficiaries of the city but to democracy that has made our states so levy and unproductive and they have to wait on taxes from other states, another region, another people's mineral resources before they can survive. What would have expected that this street of our VAT will quicken the process of restructuring, will reawaken the consciousness of our states to become more productive and be able to generate income to run the state. But these people are still very much interested in going cap in hand to a Buddha every month to receive allocations to run their state. It means they are not viable. And now that the issue is before the court, I would want to advise that we all look forward to whatever the decision of the court will be on this. This is going to be very historic as far as our democracy is concerned. So I don't think the Northern Governors will in any way do anything differently from what a lot of them have been saying, especially when the government of Kathina got the cardinal of them in the past, you realize that they want to keep benefiting from the parts which they are contributing literally to, nothing to, you know, in the name of the FRRS power on the DAT. So I think we should not expect anything between this but whatever. All right, now let's also look at the President's UN General Assembly you know, speech. And it says here on the Daily Independent, Buhari returns with special assignment from World Body, and that's with regards to the UNGA76. So quickly, Shayo views on the President's speech at the UN General Assembly. I think there was also something here to discuss with the leader of the Netherlands. And then also the special assignment from the World Body. I'm saying, you know, can you share your thoughts on President Mohammad Buhari's time at the UN General Assembly 76 that took place sometime last week, and then on the Daily Independent, bottom right of the screen, it says there that the President's President Buhari returns back to Nigeria with a special assignment from the World Body. Right. Well, it feels good that President Buhari was specifically present at this session of the UN General Assembly. And it's also impressive that he was able to make certain categorical demands. And it's also also very good that as he took away, he has also been advised to go back home and play critical role in addressing the question of insurgency, not only in Nigeria, but around the region, you know, of West Africa, where terrorism is on a fast, you know, emerging trend. But it is very good that we remember that President made a plea for Delta nations to consider the possibility of writing up our deaths again, like we have always been asking. But I don't think it is also morally correct for us to be seeking death cancellations at the time where we are even making bids for fresh loans from these, you know, countries that we are asking to cancel our death, because it looks more like we are not coming face to face with thin air. We must be ready and willing to show that we are not able to be productive. We are able to at least finance and run our countries without necessarily resorting to external borrowing before we can begin to make this kind of plea that President Buhari made during his trip to the Nigeria attempt. And on the issue of terrorism, I do not want to totally agree with the President when he claims that Bukko Alam has been dealt with, even though they still exist. I think it sounds more a little bit contradictory, especially when you look at what the Ishwab, the Bukko Alam, has been doing in the last couple of years in Nigeria. Only yesterday were reading reports of Anambush, you know, a number of our military tests there. And we are not only battling with Bukko Alam in the Northeast, any London, but also another trend of terrorism in the Northwest that is spreading fast to the middle parts of the country. So I think that it is challenging that President Buhari must take seriously, especially that he has been admonished to go back, whom are also a great issue of terrorism, not only Nigeria, but around this region. I think that's quite good. Look at this story. It's also on the nation newspaper. It says 60 held over mob lynching of policemen in Lagos. And we spoke about this last week, Mr. Lawson, that police officers had gone to Aja'u Estate to basically arrest motorists, you know, basically people who drive what is popularly known as Okada in Nigeria. They said, you know, this is banned in Nigeria. And all people who, you know, had those were going to be arrested and their motorcycle seized. But these people seem to have had, you know, that up to their necks, they attacked the police, the policemen, they vandalized their vehicle and allegedly killed one of the police officers there. So the story on the nation newspaper on the top left corner is saying that 60 people have been held, have been arrested over the death of this particular police officer. Do you think an arrest really is, you know, even though it's good, you know, we're talking about prosecution of, of, you know, this particular case, but do you think the arrest really would do anything regarding this matter? Because we know it's something we've seen, you know, week by week out, the policemen and motorcyclists basically clashing in Lagos, especially in the Abalindi area of Lagos and around the Kedah axis. And do you think the ban on bikes in Nigeria is something that really would work? Well, it's, it's a ban on motorcycles, especially those I call all regulated, you know, motorcyclists. It's an inevitable change. When you consider the critical situation in the country, you know, at times it is easy for us to hide under the guise of unemployment and the lies, and we need to encourage people to do something, you know, and begin to justify the oppression of this motorcycle. But whether you like it or not, for a group of people that could assassinate a chief citizen of police, a senior police officer tells you how dangerous this group of people have become, let me also remind you that the most dangerous situation would well have found ourselves. Now is that you find these people moving into our community in droves or registered undocumented motorcycles, a lot of them are even illegal immigrants from Chad, Nigeria and every other parts of the of the region. But they are here oppressing how you must blame the government. In other words, I want to hold the government responsible for the death of the policemen, because if you want to lose our critical personnel, before we start chasing, who did this and who did that? As you are our students, the state is about dealing with this madness that these motorcycles are constituted, you know, in Lagos and every other part of the country. It is possible that we have motorcycle operation in some part of the country states to ease the burden of transportation. While it's not doing, these operators must be documented. They must not be seen riding on registered motorcycles. They must not be seen riding without light. Sometimes you will see them as young as 16, 17 year olds riding motorcycles. The state is promoting lawlessness and that's why we are paying for it with the life of the lives of dying innocent policemen that was killed. So beyond arresting those 61 or thereabouts people, the government must be serious in ensuring that we limit the influx of these illegal immigrants into our society and begin to document who is who, whether you are a motorcycle rider, whether you are a truck pusher, whether you are a shoe shiner or whatever, the influx is alarming and it's a major security threat, not only to the security agency, but to ordinary innocent people of the state who are now so vulnerable. There are times people are just driving in their vehicles and they have, you know, minor accidents with these motorcycles, motorcycles and before you know it, you know, there's a mob action and people are there to say, sometimes they go and leave. So the state must not wait until they keep policemen or any other person before taking a drastic action against these activities of motorcycles that is becoming a notice, you know, illegal thing. Alright, Mr. Lawson, I think you can just go on with this because we're about to wrap up. So I want you to share your thoughts on what you think should be done. Should, you know, motorcycles, you know, these motorcycles be completely banned from legal states, seeing that of course there's still some lack with the public transportation system. And how can they be better regulated? I want you also to put into consideration that a lot of these persons that we're seeing riding motorcycles, if we're, you know, being honest, a lot of them may not even be from Nigeria itself. How can this be regulated and do you think that we can even still pull this off? The question of motorcycles, even the problem of unemployment, I'm beginning to disagree with it at this point because I've realized that most of the people who now operate motorcycles in Lagos are not even Nigerians. A lot of them are not even from here. And I don't think the Lagos government is under any obligation to provide employment space or opportunity for foreigners who are illegally in our country who are not documented. So as far as that goes, those illegal immigrants operating motorcycles have to be eradicated completely. And perhaps we see a reason to retain local operators who can be profiled, whose identity can be known. The operation has to be limited to particular areas of the state, especially when we're also considering that the state has not been able to do enough in addressing the problem of transportation. This has been the nature of our roads, you know, and the, you know, the question of public transport system. But if we would have motorcycles operating as a means of transportation, not in our major highways, but through this transportation in selected areas in the state, it was the pleasure that people who are known to Lagos and to Lagos people, not these aliens who are traumatizing and not killing our policemen and harassing our citizens. All right. Femi Larson, thank you very much for your time this Monday morning. And of course we wish you a very beautiful Monday ahead and a great week. Absolutely. Stay with us when we come back. We're going back in history to 2008 to share with you some very major feat that was achieved by China on this day in history. Stay with us.