 Thanks for staying with us. It's now time to take our first hot topic and that is foreign embassies all three 5.3 million dollars ground rent FCT a clamp down on default is and to talk on these is doctor law me for a political Scientist, but morning and welcome to the program sir. I don't know. Can you see me there? Yeah, because I can start my video from here Thank you for having me. I I do hope you can See me I think We came Administration of the federal capital territory that we are quite a lot and In an attempt to recover The status of the federal capital territory, you know the Master image of the territory has suffered a great deal In the last two decades particularly in the last one decade It got to a point where many people were really asking do we really have a minister here? it about the weekend changing order and It was what he's saying about the ground rents and For all the duties here in Abu Dhabi. I think he's just very very very fundamental because I'm there are several things happening here with the political elites and using a Booja lands and the buildings it or London money tied down their money and order and they are not very If you come to Abu Dhabi and take a tour you discover that Nearly half of the buildings you have your own inhabited then you ask yourself. Why was the building put up in the first place? then coming to the embassies I Think it's all is rather unfortunate that Embassies I would be caught in this kind of mess if I am permitted to use that word Again, I want to believe that it's a matter of communication gaps the between the FCTM administration and The embassies I'm sure that if they Have a communicating effective way putting them on notice and all that quietly through official channels of communication these Embarrassing moments and wouldn't have a reason and They ought to Know better as well as I am concerned and then the the embassies I really don't want to believe that they would want to be in default. Maybe one or two will then be in difficulty in a difficulty of settling and such and Standards, but I believe that on the whole generally The embassies I would be how much are we talking about here? Anyway, you know 5.3 million dollars you know to us as Nigerians that appear quite big, but It's not a big deal for most of those countries so what I want to see is a better communication moving forward and They can't afford to default Because the weekend I know will not stop at anything until it gets at the moment It doesn't matter who the ox is a god Even if it is the villa that is for you the surprise weekend will be pretty down there next until they do the needful so the embassies Pay awesome is embarrassing moment and the rise of the occasion and do what they ought to have done a long time And this is they know that this is a Normal what they do annually do they really have to wait until The minister begins to threaten them fire and bristle. They don't need to wait These are routine Liabilities which they must meet and since it is not optional and And Is part of the contractual agreement between them the embassies and then the fcd a Or what you call fcd administration? They They should know and you should be somebody's a shadow in each of the embassies to see to such obligations that they are met and Then we have the Embassy or even true or three that can't Rise to eat immediately because of some challenges with the home countries can always a You know right to the honorable minister and them ask it for time and For me it's quite it's quite Unnecessary very very avoidable and they ought to do better and Nobody should blame me we care for this He is Getting them to do what they ought to do and if you don't have waited to be reminded Well in diplomatic circles, like I said communication is key How when such a message is a fast key? The probably it should not have been made a press or media issue At this level, but they came nobody knows how many times they have been reminded before It came to the notice of the media that the embassy side will you so We we need to get both sides to Live up to Their diplomatic responsibilities the embassies should pay and where they can't they should Ask for time and if it is reasonable The minister will certainly grant even for the he made and good a relation with those countries and of course like I said, but they are ought to be Better communication this thing ought not to be a media a media issue because of The fact that you have countries Involved the image because it's marks of Irresponsibility it does appear that They take such things for granted that is the kind of impression one gets But I really do not think that it should be or that that is the case Yeah, but because a lot of a lot of people Think that this thing could have been resolved, you know But like you said, nobody knows how many or how much of the back and forth we've had The FCT has had with these foreign embassies, but the fundamental question is Why did it even get to this point? Was it that they were asked to hold on was it that there was no But he appointed like you said that should be in charge of making sure that every of these embassies Live up to their expectation. Why did it get to this point? I don't know if that question has been answered already by the FCT a before this action is being carried out Because like you said, this is a national embarrassment for any country that will be held for owing Ground rents in any other country and it could have been resolved without taking it to the press some people say That this is just a distraction because some people are pointing fingers at the FCT a Because of the insecurity that is there and all that and even now today on the papers It was that the FCT a or the FCT is becoming so dirty That people are getting worried and now the administration has promised there will be Monthly sanitation just to make sure that FCT looks the way it should look so some people think this is a Distraction so that people will not be asking the questions that are bothering them Why is insecurity the way it is in Abuja and why is Abuja as dirty as it is that it shouldn't have been that much Do you think so as well that we case just trying to play to the gallery and distract people from the the real issues in Abuja Yeah, I really don't think so because then On a insecurity wiki has taken some concrete steps Trying to wicked the area councils and order trying to bring game They Residents of FCT to be alive to the insecurity challenge Um, these lanterns are springing up here and there with the activist support. I'm prompted By the honorable minister we came But when it comes to Hygiene and sanitation in FCT it's been quite embarrassing For quite some time now for about a decade about which I was there being a suffering a major problem if you Read them the basic literature and see the master plan of Abuja It was conceived to compare to any modern city anywhere in the world and that is setting out everything is pointing to it and the idea is to also Achieve a master image, you know for the federal capital territory Because here is a about the only city that Nigeria had the opportunity to plan from the scratch All the other cities in Nigeria, you know weren't really planned and then Restructuring them has always been a problem But I would have ought not to you know suffer from that kind of problem but then if you look at sanitation In the FCT the environment is not really reflecting that idea of a Buja and a master image that will be able to compare to any other anywhere in the world This is quite worrisome and then Is is not right and then there is a whole agency here a budget environmental protection agency agency, you know charged with the responsibility You know keeping a budget claim The ones this annotation. Well, maybe to have but I think that The agency is what should be reorganized even the head the head and leadership of the place Not up to up to it then something has to be done and I also know that you have been People You have a consultant who work with them the ability of protection environmental protection agency. They help in Moving the refills from here and there They they you know, I really don't know whether they Properly engage the promptly paid because when you have such people that would Take part of the work of you because when we talk about detainees, you know environmental challenges and all that we are talking about The refuse not been removed and then All dumped in places where they are not to be and then you will see Such a refuse springing up in so many places and all that I am People generate These things on daily basis and then there should be designated places where these things should be dumped and people And those responsible will come and pack them But those who pack are they really paid are they property paid? But these are some of the things if you don't pay them where and on time they do will Relax and you know see we're all getting back at you So I believe that these are some of the challenges that we get himself need them to Look into not just not just them Re-establishing a monthly environmental Sanitation for me, I will even Suggest something more organized. There should be sunny tree inspectors You know we catch you look in that direction It's only three inspectors in in colonial days That was how the white man kept everywhere clean sunny three inspectors So it's not just a matter of monthly exercise. No, your environment must be clean 24 hours So when they come and they find because they are they are coming will be random You don't know when they will come and all that but even things are not right in your You know, you are surrounding and things like that. Yeah, they say it's fine You pay when you pay such fine at once or twice you will sit up So you will discover that you need to go beyond monthly Exercise. Yes, it is good, but it's not sufficient. They need to do more. You know, I am proposing introduction of Sunny tree inspectors if we create job in a federal capital territory and area council to create job for thousands of youth and The answer is to ensure You know that if the environment is you know sparkling clean because they Move around in gangs to look at the environment the streets and order to ensure that their things are just in order But when you now move and you are seeing a sewage, you know bubbling here and there and You know, who's the job is it to do that? He said the environmental agency, which Would not be prompt in a scene to Evacuation of those a field of a sewage is so we have In environmental challenge here There is no doubt about that and there is need to do a holistic you know, the evaluation of the whole thing and Ensure that like I said the contractors are paid that we introduce sanitary inspectors and Yes, go on with the plan to reintroduce the monthly sanitation exercise and then do the photo Public enlightenment so that the citizens themselves and should take additional responsibility of ensuring that they've done their refuse at a designated their points and the older Then you have this a Baba Bola, you know people that move all over the estates and the buildings in Abuja And then they ask avengers they go into into the refuse and then In an attempt to find things of value to them They scatter the whole thing and then in the process messed up the environment that they should be put in check also I believe that Whatever those people are looking for there should be alternatives for it And they I really don't know because they are picking them things that at the end of the day May even be used to fake a product and then We need to look into them. They are their activities The scavengers that you call Baba Bola. That's what we call a Baba Bola and they are active They are everywhere in Abuja and they they are they are part of The environmental degradation that we are talking about here. So these are some of my thoughts that I think You know would help in a potential of distancing perspective. Yeah, thank you very much. Well, yes, it does it does help monthly environmental sanitation Exercise may not be the only solution. I give you an example The pride that was instilled into legosians when there was a slogan called a cony by jail which means a Legos will not spoil or something like that. I don't understand yoga so much It gives legosians so much pride that they wanted to do right. You go to Calabar. There was a time Calabar was the cleanest city in Nigeria and Donald Duke who was a governor then brought a slogan figured in Bakara That means they effort people or the Calabar people are the or you boos of Or the whites of this of Nigeria. So everybody began to behave like that and they didn't litter the place So we didn't have any cause for monthly environmental sanitation if you even go out of this country There was this there was a time Texas was like the the worst city when it comes to littering and there was a slogan Don't mess with Texas. That was a slogan targeted at between 18 and 35 year olds because they saw them as the people who littered the most and it had a globally a national effect so much so that later was reduced From from whatever it was by 75 percent just by that slogan So maybe our people should start thinking about a Reorientation of the psyche of the people to make them feel on their own that they need to be neat enough to Take on the responsibility of a clean city. Well, thank you for your thoughts this morning Yeah, thank you for your thoughts this morning. This is what we have to thank you for having me. Thank you very much Thank you. Yeah, but so that's what I am not a political scientist. I Am a social scientist. I am a Social psychologist to be precise. Okay. Yeah, we tie everything to politics. Yes Thank you so much Yes, and especially Knowing that you just launched a non-governmental organizations safe democracy and all that you are you are in it We're hoping it you into this all this show of politics, but thank you so much for the correction and Going forward. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. We've been talking to dr. Laume for a Social scientist. That's how he just corrected us now and he was talking to us from Abuja We're talking about the fact that foreign embassies or five point three million dollars Ground rent. So the fcta clumps is now clamping down on Defulters and Indonesia alone is owing more than two million dollars out of the five point three million dollars. So Let's see how that goes and we hope that it can be resolved amicably without these National embarrassment going further than it has already gone like dr. Laume for said it shouldn't have even been a matter for the price But let's see how it goes. We'll take a short break and return in a jiffy stay with us