 Five panellists, five topical issues, no holds barred. For me it's not knowledge that's lacking, it's that greed, it's that mentality where you feel you deserve to take your own and take it infinitely and let everybody else just manage however they want. We're almost becoming hardwired to try and cheat. I would, you know, suggest that we begin to hold our leaders accountable. There was a time in this country when things actually work. I don't think that any organisation should be above the law and I think one of the challenges we have in this country is about governance across the board. What I'm saying is that it doesn't really affect us in Nigeria. It does! It does! I don't know what we can do if the system is already corrupted. We've been warned as a continent of the influx of the Chinese. If you don't repay your debt, they will just colonise you. Thank you for tuning in to The Advocate. Welcome. Today my worry is a terrible state of insecurity and the need for urgency to reform the Nigerian police. Joyce here is calling for Nigeria to move past the current constitution and rewrite a new one. According to Noem Spencer, mental health is not a destination but a process. It's about how you drive and not where you're going. Comfort is speaking on the role of social media and our phones, our playing in our mental health. And finally, Remod is asking a really interesting question. When are we going to send Nigeria? How about Remod? What's going to happen now? As always, your panellists are here to share ideas, aim that provoking thoughts with no owes bad. Stay with us for your Sunday dose of reflection, laughter and education after this break. Insecurity and the urgent need for police reform in Nigeria. It is an understatement to say that the state of insecurity in our nation is disturbing. Almost everyone knows someone who was recently robbed, kidnapped or killed. The most fundamental term of our social contrast is security of life and property. Sadly, that can no longer be guaranteed in Nigeria and things are getting worse. There is a complete state of war in the Northeast. Kidnapping and banditry everywhere else. The unending and ever-increasing farmers' health crisis. I'm Drogbre, the list is endless. A report by the open society initiative for West Africa states that the number of small arms in the hands of civilian non-state actors nationwide is estimated at 6,145,000. What's that of the armed forces and law enforcement agency collectively is about 586,600 firearms. Representing about 8.71% of the total arms and firearms in circulation. This is antithetical to Masweba's view that only states should lay claim to the monopoly of legitimate physical violence within a certain territory. In our case, the people with access to resources to cause violence are in the frightening majority. It cannot be overemphasized that our security system is in a sorry state. That is also the state of our police. A visit to any police division and police barracks will convince you. Currently, our police lack the requisite support, adequate remuneration, equipment, and training to effectively carry out this enormous task. Prior to the end source protest, a police recruit ends 9,000 naira per month. This is a violation of the minimum wage act. The basic salary of a commissioner of police is about 260,000 per month, and a corpora ends 51,000 naira per month. And we wonder where our problems are emanated from. Well, I would suggest some reforms. And you can add yours. Restructured in Nigerian police force, strengthening local police force, and induced constitutional amendment to allow state government to establish state or community police for the purpose of crime prevention, detection, and prosecution within the jurisdictions. The welfare of the Nigerian police should be immediately addressed by ensuring better conditions of service, better remuneration, housing, and other benefits. I personally would suggest 200,000 naira per month for an entry level officer. Some level of free education should be considered for policemen and women's children. Earth insurance schemes, life insurance, house mortgage schemes, amongst others. Entry level recruitment should not be below O&D, and to ensure that police training meets international standards. The length of training should not be less than 18 months. Also, there should be provisions for continuous human capacity development for the Nigerian police to close the ski gaps amongst the personnel. There's a need for periodic psychological evaluation for every police person during recruitment and throughout their service years. The government needs to provide modern equipment to combat crimes, and design a system for equipment financing for the police on an ongoing basis, and ensure deployment of technology for crime detection, investigation, and prevention. Develop an anti-corruption enforcement framework for the Nigerian police force to tackle issues of commercialization of bail, the nuisance of roadblocks, the unseasoned harassment, amongst others. Only a safe environment will guarantee economic development and good life that we all desire. We must reform the Nigerian police and we need to do so now. Very interesting, the numbers that you've raised. I totally agree with the reforms. Asking for 200,000 at entry level is also workable. It will just take us to also check the earning capacity of the country and the distribution capacity. Are we going to talk about the news of the 60 billion that has to be printed to get monies into the system? But if we can get it right, I think we will have the police force that we seek. Well, I think I substantially agree with Francis. I mean, it couldn't have been even better put. Of course, by the Constitution, section 14, subsection 2B is very clear that the security and the welfare of the people is at the heart of the social contract between the citizens and the government. And when that is broken, then you have a recipe for anarchy. And it's not surprising that there's a relationship between the breakdown of security at large and the wobbly state of the Nigeria state and what have you. Because if we have a strong security infrastructure to a large extent, we wouldn't have the rising spate of kidnappings, insurgency in the South East and all of that. All of these aggregates create a shock for the system. You understand? So if we had a better security system in place, we wouldn't have the rise of the upsurgency. The monies we are spending, funding the insurgency wars would have committed it to other development aspects of the nation. So, security is actually instructive and we really have to get it right. And I agree with most of our recommendations. As a matter of fact, after the, in the wake of the NSAS protests, I was privileged to work with the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. And the question was how do we, what can we do to create the legal framework that will improve the current police structure we have. There is none? In terms of the welfare of the rank and file. You understand? So we looked at the Police Service Commission Act, which was passed in 2000. So we have redrafted it and we've made it to, I'm very surprised that all your recommendations actually form part of what you recommended in that view. And I'm happy to announce that it has passed second reading on the floor of both House of National Assembly. And we are hopeful that if it eventually gets signed into law, these things can begin to be addressed. But certainly we can't compromise security. Comfort, let's hear your view. Yes, thank you. Not taking away from what you said, what defundals me is the fact that we have to say this all the time. This is not the first time that people have put this clearly. I mean, if you had even just stopped at the need for police reforms, you would have been 100% without even breaking it down. Because without breaking it down, can't they see, can't the government see that this is what is needed? I mean, if you're going to take the history of even insurgency, we're talking about at least 10 years. You mean in those 10 years, nobody thought it fit that the National Assembly, the government itself should have taken this without us every single opportunity we get laying it out. So yes, I mean, fantastic and all that. I'm happy to hear what you said that you were part of a committee and that finally they have seen the need to put, I mean, I'm not impressed, because I mean, I'm really not impressed, unless we need to have a bill to remind them every time that please when you see things going wrong, can you put yourself into our shoes and please make sure that these things go ahead. So anyway, at least for what it is worth, hope alive, there's something, I just pray that the people who are there are human beings so that they will be able to implement these things, because this is so long overdue. The statistics you even wrote, I mean, it's shocking, it's appalling. We shouldn't even be something that should be printed for us to see, because I mean, I mean, that's all I have to say to be honest. It's annoying. I was going to, you know, in recent times, we've seen regional, you know, the debate on state police has always been with us at least since the Fourth Republic. And it appears we are perforce. We are inching towards state police, even though not in a clear legal sense of it, you understand? We saw the Southwestern states, they have come up with the amotecum. If you ask me, that is regional police, that is state police, even if maybe we call it de facto, de facto state police play. You know, because of what happened in the Southeast, we now have the Ibibagu, the glory of the target. You understand? So states are now taking... Taking charge. They're taking charge, because the federal government doesn't seem to... I think of the day, they are the chief secretaries of the state, at least in principle. And I think we just hope that they actually get the objective for what this office has set up and actually been actualized. I agree with you on comfort. The only fear is that there is no uniform legal framework for the states to run this system that they have started practicing, and that can create some fears. But the fear of a thing should not discourage us from practicing is what's trying it. And to close with comfort statement that we've been saying this for the umpteen time, there is a proverb in my place that says, that the deaf person, by the time you are throwing in the incantation to the ifa, you continue to do it repeatedly. And the deaf, even if we cannot hear you, we make a sense of what you are saying. Repetition is the law of deep and lasting impression. We're just not relenting, right? We keep going until we get. Next is Joyce, talking about the need for a new constitution. Stay with us. A new constitution. Nigeria is currently using the constitution as enacted in May 1999, having used five others previously. One, in the colonial era, 1914 to 1960, we had Clifford of 1922, Richard of 1946, Macpherson of 1951, and Littleton of 1954. Two, the independence constitution of 1960. Three, the 1963 constitution of the First Republic. Four, the 1979 constitution of the Second Republic. Five, the 1993 constitution of the Third Republic. In the Fourth Republic, the present 1999 constitution. Now, there are a lot of reasons why the current constitution needs to be trashed. But today, allow me to stick with only two reasons. Number one is the preamble to the constitution, which gives the impression that the constitution is the work of Nigerians, when it claims that we, the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, having firmly and solemnly resolved, do hereby make, enact, and give to ourselves the following constitution. This is just not true. As the ordinary Nigerians were neither consulted in the preparation of the constitution, nor was the constitution written by us. Therefore, a constitution not written by us cannot work for us. Number two, the process of drafting the constitution itself was quite defective. There was inadequate consultation with Nigerians. There was no constitutional conference or no constitutional conferences to ascertain the wishes and desires of Nigerians. Nor were referendums conducted to confirm whether or not the constitution was acceptable to and by the people. So how would a constitution be fitting enough when it is not conceived with the diversity of Nigeria in mind? How can a constitution that isn't sensitive to the circumstances of the Nigerian terrain ensure its sustenance and productivity? It will seem that one major reason why we haven't made significant progress in burying this dead horse of a constitution is because we have become so used to it. It is probably beneficial to a select few and they have therefore devised means to profit off of its misgivings. But as long as this with progressive status quo is maintained, they will continue to weave their way. There is no shame in burying a dead horse that doesn't work for Nigeria anymore. The horse's lifespan serves as enacted experience, a guide to making better choices in the future. So what are the steps to rewriting the constitution? Referendum. Representatives at the legislature should be tasked with meeting their constituents and detailing their every desire for what the constitution should and can look like. These meetings can span months. All points must then be properly documented in the most transparent and painstaking manner possible. Constitutional Convention. These same representatives and other stakeholders will then publicly meet and debate on what should be contained in the constitution. Every representative must be allowed free speech just like in the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in May of 1787. Then we have the documentation process. After debates have been properly weighed and analysis derived, decisions should be put in writing by committee and then compressed. All parties would then sign an agreement if and when the document satisfies the needs of their constituents. Final step would be the approval and implementation of said new constitution. I think Raymond should go first. I would have the question of selling the country. I don't think I have too much interest. Constitutional lawyer, please now. But if I might just, the gunter has been thrown at me. Of course I read the scripts and you know, the argument on the on the Nigerian Constitution is an argument that may never end. It has been with us as long as we've had this country. In recent times it has, we hear persons advocate of a new constitution seems to be high in the pro. And the argument is this, that the constitution is not homemade. That is sample quality, decree that is written as a decree. Yes, and they are saying that we should have a new constitution that actually represents the independent will of Nigerians at large. And while I'm not taking away anything from the argument of those in the School of Thought, my view of the School of Thought that argues that the constitution, there is no constitution as a perfect document anywhere in the world. They are organic documents. They continue to grow with changing realities and society continues to evolve. And that's why constitutions usually have the process of amending its provisions to catch up with the realities of the modern times. Now, if for any reason the argument is that this constitution is not working. The argument should be how do we get it to work. Section 9 of the constitution has no disruption. We have up to four alterations to the 1999 constitution with each of them focused on tackling specific issues. So for me the problem is not so much of the source of the constitution as much as it is the enforcement of the constitution itself. And I gave an example of the current strike action by the judicial staff workers. What is the issue of this constitution? They are advocating for autonomy for state judiciary. Now section 1, 2, 1, subsection 3 of the constitution guarantees the autonomy for state judiciary. Why aren't the state governors enforcing it? So I don't think we should put so much blame on, we should interrogate the process with the people, did all Nigerians come and gather at TBS and say okay put your signature we have signed constitution and take it. So I don't know what you have. Even as a need for changing, we amend the constitution of the constitution. What say you Francis? My own view is that we need to revise the constitution just like Raymond suggested. And to hold the brief of the people who gave us this constitution, there was a process. There is a rule in law that once a document is satisfied it doesn't require for the satisfaction. So if you have a constitution that went through the drafting committee of 49 members and 230 member constituent assembly that looked at it and adopted it before they presented it to the nation. 40 years ago that so much has changed. The constitution was written in 1787 over 200 years. They have deployed amendment. What do they call it now? I'm not an American. I'm Nigerian. I don't have to wait until they write a new constitution. The truth of the matter is certain things might have changed certain things still remain. The reality of 2019 is that the reality of 2021. Coronavirus has redefined the world. And also to further argue in support of the people who gave us that law. The fact that the photocopied the one that went through the processes that you suggested made it less necessary to go through that process again. What brought us to the democracy we got with blood, tears and sweat in 1999 between 1998 June and May 1989 did not leave room for too much debate. What we wanted as a country is the military out. We felt that once the military are out we'll find a way of resolving our issues. And that did not allow going through because there are a lot of things that divide us as a nation more than the things that unite us. So if you go to those assemblies there might be focus so much more on the things that divide us. And let us just move to the next stage. Now it is the next stage that we are that has not given us the opportunity for you to suggest that we should amend or review or revise the constitution. Truth be told, if we want to amend the constitution will we go through this thing. Comfortless let's hear your view. Yes, so the constitution the amendment of the constitution is another topic out issue and I think I'm with Joyce on this but I think my view would be on the, for me on clarity of what the constitution seeks to convey. We've had the issue of on one hand we say we're a circular country and we base it on the constitution on the other hand we have the religious part of it and the traditional part all lumped up in the same constitution which for me is what creates the imbalance the imbalance and a lot of the problems that we're having. As she said a lot of things have happened and gone through in our nation but I think it is also the people who put the constitution together that probably just were not up to scratch you alluded to the American constitution and we've seen is over 200 years old why has it endured it has endured because the people who sat down to write that constitution wrote it not from selfish interest they wrote it in the interest of everybody who couldn't be at our in the figurative in Tinibu Square. They wrote it that if I'm not here will the next person be able to use this constitution, find justice, find fairness, find legal standing and those are the things that are missing in our constitution and on that premise for me yes we do need anyone we now need selfless people who understand that it is not about me but about my the next generation coming and the next generations coming that this constitution needs to be waiting for and the first point for me is I has to be clear it has to be homogeneous are we a secular nation following a straight path of justice fairness or whatever are we a religious one that is following the dictates of God that satisfies everybody over thank you so much come down to that same issue this argument may never end because of it has to do with the constitution but you see I keep asking myself what is it that will be written in this new constitution that will be totally different from what is contained in the current document for example comfort made argument that the constitution should be based on principle of equality, justice and fairness when you go to the chapter 2 of the constitution it gives an idea of what this is called and the idea of the constitution it doesn't it it still comes down to the issue of the enforcement so should we amend the constitution and be justiciable yes we have to write it when I come in here so that I can clear that piece I guess Raymond's point Raymond is in favor of amendment and improving on the constitution as it were instead of writing one and there is no we will not be acting on any legal basis if we are writing another one because the constitution that guides everything that we have to do is beneficial for amendment and not the writing so we will be acting outside the chief law of the land by saying we want to rewrite if it will only satisfy the itch of Nigerians who are alive now then it's good enough reason if we feel like we own the constitution and we commit ownership there wouldn't it be worth it so this is where I come in here Raymond sorry I just wanted to say when he said the chapter 2 and that was why I referred to the fact that it is unclear the type of constitution we are operating if you have half of the country saying that their law is Sharia law for example and I do not subscribe I am not an adherent of Sharia law how does chapter 2 help me when my rights get violated because there is an entrenched Sharia is entrenched in the constitution which still has this chapter 2 but then the Sharia itself is a law and so because of that unclearity and that clash you cannot have an equitable constitution it's not possible you must be clear on what you are doing are you circular and all of us are on one foundation so that if you violate my laws I can go to one source and get my redemption Comfort, if I may I would differ to Raymond do seem to have a PhD in constitutional law but my view is Sharia law in Nigeria that is enshrined in the constitution is treated as customary law and it is Sharia private law now if you have issues with people and it has to relate with the criminal part of Sharia law that is not what our constitution speaks to what does our constitution speak to what is the practice what is the law what is the practice it is clear in the constitution it is only for you to find it so it is the Islamic personal law and it is treated as customary law and our customary law our customary law is also recognized and that is why you have the Sharia court of appeal and then you have the customary court of appeal in our constitution and so the clarity is there so if we treat the Sharia it is not much even if that is source from religion it is more of a customary law under our laws now it is not so difficult to understand what it is particularly if you look deeper into what we have as against what has been painted that is one what has been painted is that Sharia law is operating somewhere and it is to enable some people to trample on other people's right using Sharia law, prosecuting people using Sharia law that is not what our constitution says as of today so when you have lost in certain states that says you must not take a call it is the law of that state it is not the constitution that allows an Isba to come and break your bottle of beer after drinking beer and that aligns with the principle of federalism that allows states to be autonomous and independent and break their own private laws that is not part of what we have now is that what we are operating you are still going back to what I am saying you have just spoken about federalism but it is not what we are practicing is it the regionalization let every state do what they want to do in that case of the Isba and that is the point that any state infrastructure that is missing I think we should F4 should be made in many constitution to meet up with the missing link that has to do with its enforcement so the truth of the matter when you brought up the issue of Isba and breaking of bottles and you said it is related to only the states yes there is no perfect law and who would have thought that the American law has released a transition from one government to the other was that weak until we had the power of Donald Trump okay Francis the conversations will continue and they will never be complete without you Temilade Amuludun says I like your talk show very interactive and insightful thank you advocate team so follow us on our social media platforms on Facebook plus TV Africa using the hashtag the advocate ng or on Twitter and Instagram plus TV Africa using the hashtag the advocate ng to catch up with previous broadcast go to plusTVAfrica.com forward slash the advocate ng Comfort is talking to us on the effect of social media on our mental health after this break from the internet social media and our mental health according to statistic.com there are about 185 million mobile subscribers but only between 25 to 40 million users in Nigeria the revolution in the telecommunications industry saw an explosion of especially smart phones usage as we move from an era of multiplicity of functions to a time now where we virtually have everything at the touch of a button or a swipe with this newfound world easier, more interesting exposed and informed however this also came at a cost a cost that we are not focusing on and its impact on our future it is no longer uncommon to see children as young as five years old with a phone most parents justify giving phones to their children to keep them entertained while others feel it is the right time and justify the position from the angle of security well while there can be something said for the ease and opportunities that phones have brought us it is time we look at the flip side of the phone and access to the internet in our lives everything in life that is good has a potential to be bad if it is abused and lacking in discipline the dangers of the use of mobile phones and the internet are not being discussed enough it distracts all the children from their studies and chores makes them complete complete examinal practice spend excessive time on their mobiles and exposes them to bad movies pornography, online grooming meeting strangers and negative role modeling the truth is that adults are just as vulnerable in a fast paced world with parents occupied with the rat race they are not often there as the gatekeepers and guardians of these children there seems to be a paucity of an apathy towards social media studies as it relates to children in Nigeria and other countries that have suggested that problematic phone use should be classified as a behavioral addiction in 2020 Netflix released a documentary called social dilemma a docu drama film that goes into deaths on how social media design is meant to nurture an addiction the film also examines the serious issue of social media's effect including the mental health of adults and rising teen suicide rates Bill Gates and Steve Jobs raised their children tech free and that should have been a red flag that the two biggest tech figures in recent history seldom let their children play with the very products they helped create in 2007 Gates the former CEO of Microsoft implemented a cap on screen time when their daughter developed an unhealthy attachment to a video game he also did not let his children get cell phones till they turn 14 Jobs on to his death in 2012 revealed in a 2011 New York Times interview that he prob he bit his kids from using the newly released iPad Chris Anderson co-founder of drum manufacturer 3d robotics in an interview said that his children accused him of being overly concerned about technology he said I quote that's because we've seen the dangers of technology firsthand I've seen it in myself I don't want to see that happen to my kids if wealthy silicon valued parents seem to grasp the addictive powers of smartphones tablets and computers more than the public does though these parents often make a living by creating and investing in that technology shouldn't we sit up we must sit up my son is going to be 19 this year he was not allowed to have a phone until last year when he turned 18 that was when he got his first official phone before then he had to use mom's phone because the moment I heard that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates had such cap on the time that the children were exposed I said you've seen me now so my darling son a cap on it for you as well and even now we try we try we try to to regulate the use we try that's the underlined word because it's becoming increasingly difficult classes are held on zoom schedules with your your coaches are held online almost everything is there you want to send me a message you're sending me a link to look at the story you're trying to get me to see you're trying to send me you want me to be on the same page as you you're sending me internet links keeping us there further so we continue to try I think we must be wiser especially about our children and holding ourselves to higher standards nobody will die the world won't fall if my phone is dropped for 10 hours a day the fear of missing out keeps us hanging on constantly and of course that adrenaline rush that says oh somebody just liked that's there but that fear of missing out what if my client calls what if my boss calls what if my associates need my help nobody will die no sky will fall I'm dropping my phone today it's something I personally started doing this year intentionally every month I have a day off completely I actually have two days off where somebody takes all my phones and laptops away for two full days once it cleanses my mind it helps me bring back the jitters to say ha Joyce nothing will die nothing will stop you have to put your life in order else you'll completely be out of control like any other addicts that you might look down on on the street their addiction is cocaine mine is my phone there's no difference so we must hold ourselves to higher that's deep from Joyce I I am a village man so the phone addiction is doesn't really relate with me that deeply because I can do without it wonderful last year the doctors advised after I proceeded my phone be taken away I didn't miss it and when the phone came back when I ate phone calls so when the phone phone came back it was a lot of stress now on the social media side of things it's a it's a jungle I am the limited time I spend on social media I'm better able to manage my interaction after reading a book from Ryan he called it ego is the enemy and what you see playing out on social media is just feeding to people's egos and not solving any problem you hardly see even among the biggest influencers people coming out to profile solutions it's just about the number of likes the number of retweets and all that and people go into depression when they don't get that you could see the kind of impact on people's mental states when they say Twitter takes away their undo or suspends them or this or that but there is the other very heavy part for those of us who run our businesses on social media the quality of videos and content I put out determines how people buy my product and feed me I don't have an office my office is my phone that is the meeting room for myself and my team that's our market our office is on an app called Slack that's where we clock in every day we put in the duties for the day and we take off our shadow phone once again we run offices how was I found for the advocate? tell us social media I put up a video where I talked about the refineries and it was like this person sounds like somebody who should be part of the advocate and work you wouldn't know me besides that just like comfort said for everything that has an advantage there is an advantage you can switch off your eye you press an ion if you forgot it from your phone and all that so there are advantages to it but the other side of it is the the mental sometimes it's not even the essence but the quality of information that you take from your life and mental state is another thing and so just like you said maintain a balance and also watch what you consume there are certain information that are not good for you there are certain interactions that you should not get yourself involved in so if you're not going to create solution put food on your table just like you said there's no point why do I argue with you just because I want to be right I don't have to be right move on comfort if what you just read out script was a chart sheet then I think I should be pleading guilty as chart then you are guilty I'm taking your food because when I read your script it was it was a reflection of my personal struggle you understand but it's because of the nature of what we do and how someone has been able to make himself resourceful you understand at every point in time people are calling you do this, do that you have so much to read in a day to keep up with I write a column for an online Nigerian online platform I have to keep up with the key issues I have to research far into our realization so I could be able to formulate my own view point on an issue so you can switch off it's unfortunate that the times where life has gone completely virtual so I don't know how we can manage it but as you pointed out there should always be a need for more vision I can profess some solutions things that I am working on myself am I allowed to number one is to get help there are people that we call assistant executive assistant virtual assistant what not now it will shock you but especially because of COVID some people will work with you without your $20,000 they have no other income guess what, they are already good at researching and they research for life it's their meat, it's their bread, it's their water so you tell them I want to get information on this and you don't work with them every day you work with them 3-4 times a week perhaps and guess what, that's what is called the gig economy the research for you, the research for me the research for you, by the time we are paying them $20,000 each they are making $60,000 but they are working for us and then we expand their reach so that my income we can take from your income and hire other people to help you to come up with your script so for the script for today for example I had all the thoughts in my head I sent a 9 minute voice note to someone who is this assistant and said these are my thoughts, flesh it out and send it back to me, that has saved me time that has saved me spending 6 hours on the internet then I can put up my phone for a moment just to rest my eyes even if it's just my eyes wearing glasses that are anti-glare and all of that, so we look for help we are constantly trying to find help other thing is, if I remember that I am so resourceful that the people who need me are willing to work at my time that takes courage and confidence to ask to say can I submit on Friday you are saying it's Tuesday deadline I am saying I can meet you on Friday choose and sometimes we take a step back and say we need Raymond let's wait till Friday, they give you time to rest it's work in progress and I think actually it's a serious issue, the last time I travelled I saw my parents I was so happy for them I was so happy because I saw the state they were, my dad had his transistor radio by the side doing some jingles there was no pressure, there was no rush there was no likes, they didn't know what was happening they are just at peace so I tried to see how can I actually mirror my life like that but unfortunately I may not be able to do it I will invite you on my next I will invite you on my next technology first the people who fast together I would welcome that come for thank you so much for making us talk about this I think Raymond is angry today because this question gets us to be Raymond is asking us to sell this country after this break and with him on it when are we going to sell this country? fellow Nigerians things are really getting out of hand but is this news anymore I do not think so you only need to have a chat with the average Nigerian out there to find out just how bad things have gone but it appears we might have just unlocked a new level in our economic door drums a few days ago the governor of Edo state Galben Obaseki told us that a hoping 50 to 60 billion era was minted by the federal government for the states to share in the monthly bazaar that best contextualizes the absurdity of our federalism for the avoidance of doubt what this means is that Nigeria has become so broke that there is not enough money to share owing to depleting federal revenue Governor Obaseki as the governor of states that participates in the country ritual should know what he was talking about even if other governors may have chosen to be silent about it the federal government has expectedly denied Governor Obaseki's claims and asserted Nigeria's supposed decent financial standing so who do we believe Obaseki or the mendacious federal government of Muhammad why the jury is still out on that circumstantial evidence however seems to support Obaseki's claims at least from our astronomic inflation numbers and other economic vitals when a government takes the easy part of minting more money it opens the economy to all man of shocks and risks including rising inflation and consequential rise in the prices of goods and services the latest numbers from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics as at February 2021 shows that Nigeria currently has an alarming inflation rate of 17.3% we are currently the poverty capital of the world our unemployment numbers are scary with an unprecedented unemployment rate of 27% I leave each and every one of us to speak for themselves on what has become the prices of commodities in the market so is that a thing that has been hidden from Nigerians ask me if a moment that Governor Obaseki was being unduly sensational with his claims perhaps to score cheap political points as the federal government would have us believe are we not actually heading towards that direction in actual fact I rarely disturb in peace the other day by the former CEO of the different diamond bank Dr Alex Oti which put in alarming context our current dismal fiscal position contrary to what the minister of finance would have us believe a situation where we have borrowed up to our neck so that we now owe up to $5 billion and spend over 85% of our annual budget to service our national debt is indicative of his serious economic crisis that might set us on the Zimbabwe of Venezuelan path so Governor Obaseki is not a problem the devil is in the details of our economy I don't see myself as an incurable optimist I think I am more of a pragmatist or at best a cautiously optimistic fellow and so if things have gotten so bad out of hand that we now have to print more money to run this economy I don't think it is altogether out of place to join the choir of pessimists who have often argued that this country as a whole be put up for sale this guy is a woman they did tell me that how much are you looking for and a big one that he wants to sell Nigeria the whole of Nigeria the truth of the matter is you cannot emphasize the fact that Nigeria is broke in fact one OAP would always say Nigeria is bankrupt and whatever the glowing state of the economy that the government or the minister of finance wants to print there is a saying in my place that even if we haven't died we've slept so we we know what is going on so we can tell whether the economy is gloomy or it's performing excellently and the truth of the matter is we know what we know just like the former governor of Lagos said see the economy is in a bad shape and we are one of the most expensive governments in the world our national assembly about the most expensive in the world and if you look at what we deploy to the national assembly and how much more we can do with it by deploying to other sector of the economy you can begin to imagine what we can achieve we've held on to certain assets so if maybe we commence by selling Nigeria by selling those assets those assets have become cost centers why are we keeping to that cost center and then another whooping 1.2 billion is to 1.5 to repair dollars to repair protocol to refinery for 225 barrels per day only we don't need that my question so this thing is pinning me because we've spoken to this even in the party that I belong that we have a both revenue plan there are some entities that Nigeria have good equities that we can do without we can sell them for good money to address pressing needs with long-term impact and remember that at the end of the year we still come and collect companies and come tax so let the government focus on the business of governance and provide a regulation for companies to thrive and creating the environment for businesses to do well as against government competing with businessmen now we have refineries whose capacity is even bigger than the whole of Nigeria they are going to be in competition very soon why do we need to do that so the fact that we are broke do you want to sell Nigeria let's not sell it as a whole let's sell the parts that we need to sell let's sell the spare parts it's all coming with a very big bag I knew you had an agenda my question Raymond if and when we sell the country slaves or no we are going to buy another country we will not have enough money to buy another country you see to answer your question in a very funny manner some people have argued that if we should take all of Nigerians to the US and ask all of them to come here in under 5 years we will be wanting to come back to Nigeria so that tells the picture of what we are facing with in fact one of my idols Chinua Chebe said that the problem with Nigeria is not the Nigerian air it's Nigeria or her geography it's simply and squarely a problem of leadership it is a problem of poor choices Nigeria is a biblical prodigal son who has eaten off all the wealth of his nation and he's now become broke and doesn't have the humility to admit that he's now broke and we need help to fix it but they say no we are still okay we are still the best leaving a false reality and the reality is that people are actually suffering people are suffering and why it pains me is because my generation is actually at the receiving end of this our fathers had a better experience than us as a matter of fact Chinua Chebe described his generation as a lucky generation why would he say that why would he say that but can we say the same thing for our generation so that's why it gives me serious concern I mean I loved this topic when are we going to sell in this country the sooner we are honest about our issues the better for us but there will be no takers that's the problem because even the little thing when you sell something there should be some value in it you know and at this point if anybody sells us what do we have you know quite frankly and I think one of you mentioned that if we did sell what would we do with what would happen to us and the issue of leadership there's also the issue of followership these leaders come from among us each time we know we say the leaders but who are the leaders we are the ones who participate in what brings out these bad leaders so when are we followers too going to begin to look at ourselves and tell ourselves that this country is in the position it's in I have also contributed to it by either selling my vote or not speaking of when I should or not being consistent when I've seen something wrong when I have broken the traffic light even as small things as as little as that are we going to get to the point where we will be humble enough to tell to say that we are broke maybe but at that point who cares everybody tells their own issue in their country and Nigeria is always a country where either you have donor money coming in in millions not in small figures they give it to the government they give it to the states we squander it we don't improve on what they've given us the money for so you collect loans you said we should even sell the money if we sell the pieces the spare parts we will sell it we will still squander the money so it's a vicious circle and at this point it's a catch 22 so my joy and my hope as the unrepentant optimist is that we have we have us we have comfort we have you we have Francis we have Joyce and we have many other Nigerians like us for every one of us that has a good idea there are 7000 others who are like us but just may not be as outspoken as we are when you go to an event and you ask for questions during the Q&A session three hands will come up only but after those three check it 15 hands will come up because our hands are up other people will raise their hands this is this is the hope not hope for foolishness but hope for energy that we can still recover this country amongst us we have the will or I don't think we just came here to talk and go no in our different endeavors we are making efforts and we will continue to make efforts and our children will be happier for it but we are not waiting for them alone we are doing it for us too we will be beneficiaries of the better Nigeria that we all are advocating for and working for so that when we have an offer on the table to sell we will say no we are not selling we are rebuilding my just answer Mr. Francis he opened by saying that he surprised why being a lawyer I am also interested in the buying and selling of Nigeria well I am from the part of the country where I come from buying and selling so while we continue to push for the best options for Nigeria and Nigerians please don't stop in your efforts to make Nigeria a better place don't forget the advocacy continues on our social media platforms on facebook plus tv africa hashtag the advocate ng or on twitter and instagram at plus tv africa hashtag the advocate ng to catch up with previous broadcasts go to plus tv africa dot com the advocate ng don't forget to subscribe to our youtube channel plus tv africa join us next week same time on this station and let's keep advocating for a better society five panelists five topical issues for me it's not knowledge that's lacking it's that greed it's that mentality where you feel you deserve to take your own and take it infinitely and let everybody else just manage however they want we're almost becoming hardwired to try and cheat I would you know suggest that we begin to hold our leaders accountable there was a time in this country when things actually work I don't think that any organization should be above the law and I think one of the challenges we have in this country is about governance across the board does it really affect us in Nigeria it does it does I don't know what we can do if the system is already corrupted we've been warned as a continent of the influx of the Chinese if you don't repay your debt they will just colonize you