 On breakfast ahead of the February 26 national convention of the ruling of Progressive Congress, stakeholders, members and loyalists of the party have thrown their weight behind the chairman. The Senate Services Committee is Senator Sunny Musa of APC Niger is for the position of national chairman. We'll take a look at the APC convention amongst others. We'll also take a look at the call by the House of Representatives for ritual killings to be declared an emergency in Niger. And don't forget, we also will go through the day's headlines for the national dailies analyzing the biggest stories. Welcome to the breakfast in Placidia, Africa. It's a very beautiful festive morning right here and it feels really great to be back on your screen two hours of great fantastic conversation right here and I know it's going to be great. Definitely. I am messy but full. And I'm Kofi Bartels, it's great to have you. Mercy, fantastic to be here with you this morning, looking fabulous as always. Well, you too. You're not carrying me along. I think that should be a trending topic one of these days that, you know, I met you here but you've not, I don't know, taken me out. No, no, it's fine. It's fine. You know the hustle and bustle because it's okay. It's all right. So, I mean, yesterday was quite interesting. We had a lot to talk about yesterday. It was about a few cues, you know. They haven't seized, you know. You saw them on your way to work this morning. Wow. The latest is that President Buahari is angry, you know, and he called for sort of a query for the head of the national Nigerian midstream and downstream Petroleum and Literary Authority which replaced the DPR, you know. So, let's see what happens. Let's see what happens. We had so long, 100 million liters or 80. It's actually 371 million liters that were affected. But we'll look at that as we go on, you know. Why not? And it's okay if the President actually calls. Of course, let's not forget that the President is the Minister of Petroleum Resources and there's been a lot of calls. So, some would argue that a certain High Court's rule that he's not the Minister of Petroleum Resources. He's still the Minister of Petroleum Resources and too many questions. A lot of people and Nigerians are also thinking that the President should be answering some questions. Looking at the fact that he's acting in, you know, double capacity. Anyway, some trending stories. Let's get to that. Very, very bizarre one. A child-spotted drinking beer. I don't know whether we should call this a beer because it's not technically beer-beer. Oh, are you trying to make an excuse already? No, no, no. I'm saying that calling it beer may exaggerate it because, you know, this is not beer-beer. From what I can see, it's a brand of beer that is mixed with... Citrus. How do you call it? Citrus. Oh, oh, citrus. Okay. I wouldn't know. I wouldn't know. As a good Christian, I am. Dude, it's nothing like good Christian. But as a good Christian... It's because you're not being a Christian and that's why you have to say good Christian. Yeah. I'm just trying to be... So, okay, so it's beer mixed with citrus. Well, that's the description that has been put out. You just said it yourself. It's a faster watching of what? You know, anyway, there's nothing wrong with that. I mean, Catholic priest friend has told us, you know, the popular one who is always on social media, that there's nothing wrong with Christians drinking beer, you know, or alcohol, I don't know. So usually, I don't like to double into those kind of conversations because they're very... Anyway, tell us about the citrus and... So first of all, when I saw that video, so there's a video that's made the rounds and I probably would think if I'm not mistaken that this is not... Even though it has actually resurfaced again, I would say resurfacing because at some point, I can't really say if it's the same child we're seeing that video. There was a time also where there was video of a child who was having beer and so the... But you know, no matter how many times it has resurfaced, it doesn't even change, you know, the conversation surrounding it. And one of the conversations surrounding is the fact that a lot of people have blamed that and poor parenting. And some people think that that's not a good... Blaming the fact that this child was seen on social media holding a bottle of beer. And having a great time. So I started reading the comments following that particular post and some of us were saying, oh no, maybe it's possible that he was drinking water from that bottle. And then there was a lady close by. But you can't really tell if the lady was a caregiver or was the mother or was a guardian. You can't really say what exactly that was. But it still brings us to the issue of negligence. So when we talk about child abuse, we're usually very fast to look at the issue of being very violent with a child. But issue of neglect has also not been considered as child abuse. Because when you... Yes, negligence is also another form of child abuse. Because every child, even though we still have outs of the 36 states across the Federation, including the FCT, a lot of states have not been able to adopt that, domesticates that particular law to say, okay, here, this is Charite Act. Yes. So not every... I mean, the entire state, if you look at Niger, not every state have been able to adopt that. And the issue of negligence is top on the list. But usually when we talk about child abuse, we're very quick to look at the physical harm that's been caused to the child, sexual harassment, and what have you. But negligence is also another form of child abuse. Because according to the Constitution of the Republic of Nigeria, you're a child... I mean, looking at who a child is from zero, you want to say to like 18 years. And at this point in time, it's expected that you make decisions and protect this child. I mean, let's look at the content of that. However, I want to make it look like, see-truths and a little bit of, you know... Is it really beer? Is it really beer? I wish I could put a picture on screen, but is it really beer? You know, but the funny thing about this... Are we going to argue if it's really beer or coffee? Are we really going to argue? It's a question I want to know. I don't... I'm asking you to know. But the funny thing about it is that the body, it's a popular brand that has good... One of the things in the sky. You know, they shine bright. You know, the ones that shine. But anyway, the Twitter handle for this brand that you said is mixed with what? Beer and what? No, you talked about it. You said it's mixed with what? Beer and what? Citrus. A combination of citrus and alcohol. Yeah, I can sort out some. Yeah, but that's what you did. And they said this. They had to put out a tweet. You know, attention has... And you know, in this time, everybody is just trying to be politically correct. I'm tired of its political correctness and their workness. And you know, you just... You can just... They put out a tweet. Attention has been drawn. But in terms of public relations, it's okay to do that. You know, but the pressure on corporates, you know, on people is a bit too much because you get called out and canceled, you know. But anyway, they said that attention has been drawn to a video of a... And they, they do their job, which is they say it's not for persons below 18, you know. And but because of fear of backlash, they have to do this. That's the world we live in today. But anyway, they said attention has been drawn to a video of a child drinking this brand. Yeah, we are disturbed by this video as it promotes the wrong value. Say no to underage drinking, you understand? So they put that out, which is okay, which is okay. But the pressure, you know, would have been shown... No, you're necessarily not said the pressure. And that's why I came... Okay, so if you say the pressure, then it's okay to say the pressure. But like I have mentioned, the issue of negligence, because you're a child, open to turn a particular age according to constitution. And within this ambience, you're expected that you should have people who should protect you because you can't... I'm saying it's not the fault of the beer company. No, no, it can't be the fault of the beer company. But it's necessary that they put that out again as a reminder of what they stand for. The world we live in today, there's so much pressure on brands, on people, on individuals, that you don't know what people are going to throw your way and start cancelling you and boycotting you. And then it's now become so too much, really, for me. Look at what's happening to Spotify. I mean, I'm black, but you look at what's happening to Spotify and Joe Rogan and then a lot of other things. You know, people are under pressure to just be politically correct these days. You know, that's what I'm saying. So it still brings us one and the same thing that we have been saying that it's an issue of having negligence. Child has been neglected. Because if you look at child negligence... By the parents? By the parents or the guardian or whoever is involved. And that's also a case of child abuse because within this particular age period of time or however you want to put it, it's expected that the guardian parent should be responsible for them, look out for them, and understand what is right and what is not wrong. Because it's also been looked at at that particular age, not even to make some decision and judgment for themselves. So it's just a case of another child abuse because someone has refused to pay attention. Well hopefully, let's just look out for kids and our children. Yes, very important, very important. But then, you know, some things happen and then people will be asking, I mean, are you surprised? Like, we've seen it several times. What people are doing, what we see on social media is we see worse than that. You know, thankfully you said this one is fruit juice and beer, right? Why do you, why? You sound like I don't want to produce... We have parents who actually give their children real full beer. I've seen videos of parents giving their children beer. You know, when we're kids, you know, we have parents who in parties they'll call the kid, come and sit on my lap, take, and have a reason why they do that. You know, but at least a message must be passed them. And I think the company did well to also lend the voice to say, you know, underage drinking is wrong. All right. I know I'm being emotional about the whole pressure on, you know, but that's the right thing they should have done. At first, let's talk football. People were wondering why in the Nigerian Football Federation went back on its touted appointment of Jose Moreno's former assistant at Real Madrid, Jose Pesero, as the coach of the Super Eagles after the Nations Cup, you know. In fact, during the first Nations Cup, when Austin Aguavo was appointed as interim, you know, a manager or coach, or like we say in this country, technical advisor of the Super Eagles for the tournament, people were just like, if you have a new coach who is going to come in and coach the Super Eagles team, why don't you appoint him and let him lead the team? But, you know, they said they wanted him to study the Super Eagles and all that before he comes on. Now, after that Egypt game, of course, we all remember that Nigerians, we say, well, look at the plane, we are the big Egypt. So Aguavo should be the coach, you know. Now, following the Nations Cup, Aguavo stepped aside and then a couple of days later, we heard that Aguavo had been reappointed as interim coach to be assisted by Amunike, former Nigerian national, both teammates at the USA 1994 World Cup. And people were wondering what's going on. So this man, Jose Pesero, put up a statement on his Twitter, on his Instagram account to say, I never had any agreement with the Nigerian Football Federation that we were still talking. Only for these guys to come tell Nigerians and tell the world that Pesero is going to be their next coach. Had they signed any agreement, was there any signing ceremony? You know, there was nothing like that. And once a day, we're still talking. They had not agreed. So he said, at the end of the day, they could not come to an agreement as to the financials and then some details in the contract. So there was no agreement at the end of the day. And this meant that probably the Nigerian Football Federation should have maybe waited till the man had signed the dotted lines or don't want to agree in principle before coming out to tell Nigerians that this former rally at Madrid assistant coach has agreed in principle to be the coach of the superiors. So it's just a thing of how we can be very, very zealous and sometimes forget all of that. So usually you probably are in talks with someone and then there's a body language, even though that has not been, but it would possibly just be because I'm not holding brief from them, but I'm just imagining the scenario would have played out. The NFF would probably have thought that maybe there's some green light, there's some hope that everything has been dotted and then of course, out of the zeal, out of the zealiness, no, no, that's what I'm saying. It's not a matter of agreement, but it just shows. I mean, it's okay for him to put that out of agreement. He says he had not agreed with the NFF. So I'm saying that these are the possibilities that could surround it. I am not making, I'm not holding brief for the NFF. I'm just saying that we live in times, especially in this climate where we could be very over zealous and then one or two signals could definitely mean a yes to us. And so out of all of that, then we just go ahead and put out that statement, right? So but it's okay for him because at some point this response is coming where you have the NFF also coming out to tell us that Austin Aguavon will be the interim, you know, technical coach and what have you and amongst all this, I mean, the list has been put out. And so it's very necessary for him to say, well, it doesn't also take out the fact that they were also in talks and they were also having conversation with you say, right? So it is what it is. An agreement was not rich. It's very obvious. This is what he said in the statement quote, after several weeks of negotiations during which were several news from the he put it in Spanish, by the way. So the papers he had to do a transliteration after several weeks of negotiations during which there were several news from the Nigerian football federation that I would be the coach of your team from the end of the Afghan 2021. He said on his Instagram, a fact I never confirmed. This is what he wrote. A fact I never confirmed. And these did not materialize due to disagreement regarding contractual clauses and financial matters, you know. So that's what he said, you know, we were negotiating where discussable had never agreed, you know. And it also gives people something to talk about as regards maybe the financial dealings of the Nigerian Football Association. We're well aware that Gerhard Rohr, the former coach of the team, was owed several months salary. And anyone who is coming in will want some guarantees as regards that. Maybe he wanted to have a higher salary than the NFF Color for who knows. But these are dynamics that come to play in African football in Nigerian football. But some are saying, you know what, Senegal has won the African Nations Cup with an African coach. The last Nations Cup in 2019, they were in the final with the same coach. And this has been able to build a team. The last country to win the Nations Cup before Senegal was Algeria. They also won the Nations Cup with an Algerian coach, an African coach. You know, some have said this would be a nice opportunity to see if we can just use a homegrown, you know, coaches to do some good. Well, the arguments for having a homegrown coach has never since then the conversation still continues right here. But I mean, it's okay to have this feedback from Jose Pesero at this point in time as regards to the conversation and negotiation that's been ongoing that was never, of course, has come out to see. And that's because you have the NFF also coming out to make some statement that has warranted that is what I would think. So, but as much as that's a very valid point, I mean, I'm just saying that in terms of negotiation, business and talks and what have you, there's a tendency that you get to that point where you feel like there's a green. I mean, it's a don't deal already because we would have expected him to speak earlier than before this time. So, he felt like the NFF needed to make a statement before he comes out with that statement. Maybe he wasn't even consulted. We really do not know what it is. In football, you can never make a statement until you're sure. For instance, there are 10 months to buy a player. You can be negotiating with that player for weeks and months, but you won't tell people we have him, until you have signed dotted lines, or maybe he has agreed in principle. That's the point. And to have made all these announcements only for the thing you have to go through, it maybe shows a bit of lack of management argument to manage information well. So, for me, I'm also thinking that, yes, it's also a problem. But as the time that that statement was put out by the NFF, he didn't come out to make any other claims or refute that. So, there's also possible because whether or not you act, I mean, it's something called in business law that whether or not you have agreed to it, the fact that he didn't see anything within that period could have also meant that he had accepted. It is what it is, a Nigerian, so it's looking forward to having him. So, it's just a two-way thing. But however, whatever it is, it feels like we have actually gotten to that point where the NFF have actually decided to settle down with having locals running the affairs of the football and all of the things it has to do with supporting football. Let's see how it goes. Though there isn't a word interim for a Govan, which main kid that it's not permanent. We've forgotten what we've had, like acting, you inspected General, please. I would love to see Amunike given a chance to run the show. I'm sure we'll talk about this tomorrow. Yeah, like he should be given a chance to run. He's not done badly, you know. All right, we have a last one, merci. This happens to be a sort of alleged refusal by telecommunications, the telecommunications officials or workers, union rather, giving a particular network an ultimatum, you know, giving a particular network an ultimatum. So, we hear that the telecommunications union under the ages of the private telecoms and communications, senior staff association of Nigeria issued a 14-day ultimatum to a telecoms company to address setting issues bordering on workers' welfare or face industrial action. I mean, we've not had telecom strikes, you know, in the past. I don't remember last time I heard anyone like that. But the association, you know, said that its workers would down tools and subsequently disrupt communication services nationwide if the telco, this particular telco, one of the big ones, fails to accept its demands for the expiration of the two-week ultimatum. And I don't know how we're going to cope, because this network is everywhere you go, you know, so I don't know how people are going to cope if we have this telecommunications strike affecting the network coverage around Nigeria. So, over time, the conversation of having laws protecting the workers in Nigeria has been in question. And so, you constantly ask yourself the issue of welfareism. I mean, how are these workers fairing? We want to begin to look at the current realities. It's really, really sad. So, you ask yourself, someone who's been ending a particular amount for very long, let's say 50,000 a year. And that's like 10 years ago, 15 years ago, still ends, you know, 50,000 a year in 2022. It doesn't really add up. It doesn't make sense, because times evolving, we're moving with the trend. I mean, you want to even begin to look at our climate, the issue of inflation, the valley of the Naira and what have you, it doesn't really add up. So, yes. But as always, it feels like, you know, because capitalism is a system of government that usually the priority is usually about, I mean, interest. Interest would always be a profit. And so, it feels like, you know, that system doesn't really necessarily care about the people. It's quite unfortunate. This is a time where you begin to ask the association, the laws, what are the laws protecting the right of workers, especially for the private sector, and what have you. It's really sad. But let's see how things plan out. All right. Let's see how things plan out. Time to take a break. And, of course, when we come back, we'll dive into the details and analysis of the headlines from today's National Daily with Ezekiel Ingea. It took a public affairs analyst. Stay with us.