 It's still the breakfast in plus TV Africa, Andrea Cotiver joins us this morning as we look at the consent of 10, Jack Rich, an oil executive that has appealed for admission of Nigeria into the G20 economic group. Now Jack Rich made the appeal during the U.S. African Leaders Summit, which was held in Washington D.C., which noted that the inclusion of Nigeria and African Union into the G20 would be a milestone in global economic acceleration. We urge Africans in desperate to work towards achieving the score. Now according to him, Africa would be a foster con with Pacific and Caribbean countries, we're talking about 15 and 16 now, countries, to the other end you have 15 and to the other end you have 16, I integrated into the continent. So we're going to be looking at about 85 African countries, 85 plus all of that. Now he said admitting Africa into the G20 would help the continent a lot and would go a long way in ensuring its technological advancement, which is also apt. Nigeria is about 19.3% of Africa's total GDP and that's a strong economy. This is some of the argument that he's put up. But Cotiver, thank you so much for joining us, Andy, we do appreciate your time. Thank you so much for having me. Well, Andy Cotiver is a social reformer all the way, or he's in the FCT. Well, let's get straight to it. What do you make of the argument of 10 reach, right? And when you juxtapose that with the fact that in 1999, the G20 was formed around economies that are critical to the world market in the sense that the criteria at the time is the importance of a particular economy to the world's financial market. And in 1999, Nigeria was nowhere near that. Now, it's more like the composition also of the G20, it's final, you know, it's just G20, can't be G21. So juxtaposing that with the argument of the expert. What do you make of this? So we are mainly chasing clouds in Nigeria and in Africa. We are failing to do the first things first. We are failing to do the foundation and we want to build a skyscraper. Imagine for instance, if you wanted to build a skyscraper, what kind of foundation you'd be digging. And this is what is particular about Nigeria and Africans and the way Nigerians speak. What exactly is the G20 supposed to represent? The G20 is a group that you have membership of countries that indeed have proven themselves to be countries that you can reckon with everywhere in the world in terms of economy, in terms of politics, in terms of some other social political considerations, right? But you see, we are not looking at fixing the first things. In general, what do we produce in Nigeria? You know, I've had this argument several times. What are you taking to the G20? Should you be admitted into it now? Are you going to get into it as a competing country or a competing country? We are going to get into it as a pariah. We are going to get into it as a country that will go there and be beggarly. And the community or the committee of nations that are going to be at this G20 that we are pushing to get into, according to Jack Ristain, that, you know, his conversation is going to be another kind of conversation eventually. Now, according to that, when you get there, are you going to be a diner or you are going to be the meal to be eaten? What is happening with Africa and with Nigeria is that we are failed to deploy the best of resources that we have got. So that others can see us as a beautiful bride and want to come, you know, and let us and want to come and speak to us and want to come and ask us to join, because this is what you see everywhere else in the world. You know, countries will take time to develop themselves. Nigerians and Africans, we are acting like that child that has not passed through primary school but is interested in getting into university. Okay. So, but the question is the G20 was formed not to have new members. I mean, it's G20, and that's what it is, finality. That's one of the characteristics of the G20. So do you think that this is very apt, this argument, or should we be more concerned about making us economically viable without having to pitch our tent? Regardless of if it was G20, you know, we have seen in the United Nations how that certain groupings that started, you know, started off having certain numbers have increased over the period of time and consistently they have begun to open the borders for other member countries to join, right? Life generally is about change. If you thought that if you had one African country that is as big as Nigeria that has done so well economically that is politically strategically located to advance the course of the group, if you thought so, there's nothing wrong with making it G21. You know, what about G20? There's totally nothing wrong with making it G21 or G27 or G30 if you may. So what you see, what would make them admit you? There are sets of criteria. There are conditions precedents to draw down, conditions that will make them admit you into, you know, this committee of nations. But what we ought to be doing before we get into that group should we really want to get into that group. We are failed to do those things. That's my grouse. That's my pain. So ought to fix the things first before, like a beautiful girl, like a bride. If you did not fix yourself, if you did not fix you, you had terrible body odor. If you did not fix yourself, if you did not fix yourself, how do you think you would have suitors? How do you think you would have men who would look at you and say, oh, oh my, what a sense. So, Andy, if we go, if we, I understand where you're going to, but that argument is not valid because they say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. So you have a lot of people who have very perfect self esteem. My point here is, if we go through that path, we probably might not get out of here because you have a lot of people who have fantastic self esteem, but that's not a requisite. And so they probably just end up bad and, you know, the other person on the other hand will get a hard time. So let me explain to you, for you to be able to get into a certain clique of people, for you to be able to get into a position where a certain category of men would ask you out, they have got to up your game. Trust me. If you think a Prince Charles is going to come into Nigeria and just go pick, all those things happening in Cinderella stories, he's just going to pick one girl who's not confident, a girl who's not... I'd like us. I'm saying that the G20 is like a Prince Charles, I'm saying that the G20 is like that kind of... So when he said beauty is now at the high of the beholder, it would mean that just one, pardon my ease of the word, one regular boy, we see one regular girl, oh, you say it's beautiful. And he would say, okay, come, I want to be friends with you. But if you must get beyond the regular, beyond the ordinary, you want to get to the extra-ordinary, the exquisite, the selected few, you have got to prepare yourself for it. That's the point I'm making. So I want us to talk about, Andy, let's talk about what Nigeria is not doing. What's the criteria you have been... You have mentioned this a couple of times. Nigeria... So what are the criteria that we should have so we can be attractive to the G20? What exactly should we have? Because the argument of reach 10, he said that Nigeria is at the center of trade right now. But because I know that in 1999, that might not be the case, but now he's saying that yes, in Africa, we are at the center of trade and what have you. If you also look at contribution to the GDP, especially in the continent, Nigeria is stopping the charts. So what's the reason? What criteria then is stopping us from being part of the G20? Okay, so a lot of people have questioned the GDP that does not affect the quality of life of the people. Look around the world and show me one country with a very, very high GDP, having the quality of life that you see in Nigeria. So some economists have said GDP alone is not enough to use as the heuristic for measuring the economies of the countries of the world that have crossed the path of poverty. They have become great. It's not a measure for that because your GDP is great and you're buying a bag of rice for $48,000 and $50,000. Your GDP is great and you cannot produce fear for yourselves. Your GDP is great and you are importing petroleum products. Your GDP is great. You export crude. Your GDP is great and I can go on and on and on. I'm saying that our leaders have got to start thinking the ABCs, common things they say or call commonly and common things have capacity to make you get to the top. It's not the extraordinary things. The common things that you do extraordinarily that get you to the top. The point exactly is that for us to become that beautiful bride, Nigeria must begin to think about producing my sister. I have asked, the last time I was in a studio here in Abuja, I asked the journalist that show me one thing in this studio, one, including the cloth you are wearing that was produced in Nigeria, one, including the cloth you are wearing, including the wrist watch you are wearing, show me one, point to one, how do you think you can become a beautiful bride when you have failed to do the things that you should do? You see, we are just doing wishful thinking, particularly coming from 10. 10 had always been, in my opinion, a wishful thinker, right? You know, there is nothing wrong with living in that bubble and being utopian, being conceptual. There is nothing wrong with that. But you see, you have got to transform the concepts to reality. We were told that words are first living in our minds before they have brought out the existing concept, even God that we serve. Andi, we have to go, but before we go really, we have been prompted in less than a minute. He has also suggested that there should be a collaboration because we know that one of the criteria to be part of the G20, you have to look at numerical strength. And so he is asking that there be a collaboration with the Pacific and the Caribbean, you know, the diaspora, integrating with Africa, so you have that numeric strength to be part and also, you know, the economic viability as well, to be part of the G20. Do you even see that as possible or rational? Okay, so I am for everything and anything that is processed, right? Like I use the illustration, if you thought that the process to get into the G20 is X, Y, Z. Be strategic about achieving X, Y, Z, and automatically it will be a given that you will be admitted. Why do we go to the universities? Why do we go to schools? Because somewhere in our mind, we believe that once we acquire education, it would allow us to live and lead a good life, right? So be strategic about prosecuting that. And for me, that is what I want to hear and not all this wishful thinking. Oh, we want to get to G20. These are the criteria. We must set up a machinery, a system that can help us begin to achieve this since if there is need for us to have collaborations, let's have collaborations. If there is need for us to revamp setting areas of our system that ordinarily today is dead and gone, please quickly start to revamp it until you do these things. You will just be existing in bubble and be living largely utopian life. Well, thank you so much, Andy Apotive, for being part of the show. Thank you for having me. Well, Andy Apotive is a social reformer in the FCT and we appreciate his thought, but we have to go at this point in time. We hope that we put our acts together and so we become very attracting as a bride, you know, to the groom. I like that illustration. But if you missed out on any part of the conversation, it's fine to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel who are Plus TV Africa and Plus TV Africa Lifestyle. My name is Messi Bopu. We joined the newsroom at nine o'clock for the news brief to have a merry Christmas.