 Ligas is set to experience one of its biggest events when the Ligas International Trade Fair takes center stage. What exactly should Nigerians expect? And also on the breakfast, the Nigerian professional football league is set to get a new lease of life with the inauguration of an interim management committee. We look at what this means for the future of the association of football in Nigeria. And in the press, G.D. Johnson joins us for an in-depth analysis of today's major newspaper headlines. He's ahead on the breakfast. And we're back with the breakfast of plus TV advocates. A beautiful Friday morning. My name is Kofi Bartels. And I am Messi Bopu. Thanks for joining us. And as usual, we start with our top training segment. We look at the stories training in Nigeria and around the world. And then the once again center stage on a social space. We start with yesterday's NSAS protests. It was an opportunity for Nigerians, the Ligotians, and those who are concerned, the human rights community, to mark the memory to remember those who passed on at the Lecky Tollgate on the 20th of October 2020 and subsequently. And still call for justice for those who are still in prison. Of them still incarcerated according to Amnesty International. Well, the media were also there to cover the event and both sets of people, those on the memorial march and the media, were the recipients of a tear gas fired by the officials of the Nigeria Police Force. That's right, tear gas fired by the officials of the Nigeria Police Force. And it was far to dispense the protesters at that Lecky Tollgate Plaza yesterday. You can see some of the images of the protesters. This is just a memorial march, you know, in memory of those who were killed, those who were slain. But what has now come to be described by the judicial panel of inquiry set up by the Ligot state government looking to this incident and police brutality in general as a massacre. And, you know, those who were just even passing through the scene, civilians who were just moving from place to place, passing through the plaza to go on their way for their business were also affected by the tear gas. Like I said earlier, journalists were also affected. Some persons were arrested. But a television journalist who works with a Rice TV or Badawi was allegedly also harassed. And the procession, of course, was led by Nigerian musician and singer for Larry Falano, also known as FALZ, Mr. FALZ. And also a comedian, Adebo Wale Adedayo, Mr. Mariko McGroney, who he recently featured in the movie, Mr. Mariko Lakpa, which Messi has refused to watch until now. How do you know that's in there? Well, but what did the police say? I mean, on Twitter, I saw that the police spokesman in Ligot state, Mr. Benjamin Hundey, SP Benjamin Hundey said that there were no gunshots at the event. However, that the peaceful protesters were allowed to move around until some of them, I think I should read his tweet so we can quote him himself, quote, Peaceful persons were allowed to move around without interference from the police. Some of them that decided to be lawless started mounting and start mounting the toll complex and action threatening the existing law in order, in the area where dispersed with tear gas, where dispersed with tear gas. He says, quote, there was no use of a baton, neither was there a fiscal contact. We, equally, do not have any record of shooting would, however, appreciate evidence of gunshots, maybe a video to enable us to take appropriate action. He also said that no one was in custody. He said that they only held for a few of those who were arrested, only held for a few minutes before being let go. But we saw pictures of people in vans. You see these vans that look like prisons, cages, you know, thrown inside. You can see the video of a water cannon being sprayed in, how the law mercy jumped in at this point before I come in and then move on to the next training topic. So, I mean, it's very unfortunate I'd say that we're still at this point. This is a point where we are, if you look at the video very well on the screen right now and you see the water cannon being put out and tear gas and what have you. The question would now be, at what point should the police use the tear gas? This protest is that we see other people gathered. Was there any form of violence at any point? Did it look like there were armed peasants? Or, you know, because I mean, from what we're seeing, if you roll the tape back, you would see that people were gathered and tear gas has been used. But it's really saddening and quite unfortunate. We understand the narrative that's been put out about the fact that, you know, at some point in time, you find that some people were, you know, trying to take the laws into their hands. Protests has always been a tool that, you know, the people across different parts of the world use to protest the injustice, protest oppression, suppression by the government or policies that are not favourable. And that's what happens across different parts of the world. And just recently, we had a fascist Kiyama who made reference to a protest video that, you know, he posted on his Twitter handle, you know, from France and you could see the crowd. I like to ask, in all of that, that crowd that we saw, you can go back to look at the video, did you see the police, you know, using the tear gas, the water cannons and all of that? So it's quite saddening that the narrative has been put out about people who gather. It is within their right. I mean, it's within their right as long as they do not constitute a threat to national security and they're not a nuisance. And so, from the pictures or the videos that you see, I'm wondering at what point, you know, the specimens who gathered became a threat or they were armed as thugs and you could see that. It's totally, you know, a violation of the fundamental human right as it is. But we're hoping as a nascent democracy, as we say that we're developing, that we get to a point where we understand that protest has always been a tool. I really don't understand why tear gas would actually be put out at a group of peasants who are saying, hey, this is what we're protesting. Usually the contrary is that you're supposed to have the police escort to ensure that the protest is not even hijacked by some other element. That's what's supposed to happen in a saner climate where it's a different expectation on this part. And so every other time, the people have a right and for every time we talk about all of this protest and government and policies, it's that it's part of the system, it's part of the structure, it's part of their agreement that people would obey the laws, they would pay their taxes, they would do certain things and in turn they expect that the government would protect their lives and properties, they expect a lot from the government. So it's a social contract. And if the contract has been breached or the government on the other hand is not leaving up to her expectation, the people have a right in a democratic dispensation to step out and begin to protest in a civil manner. So yes, several questions we need to ask is, was the gathering a civil gathering? Always been a civil gathering? What's the essence? At what point should the police put out the tear gas or the water cannon? But fingers crossed, we'll definitely see how all of this pans out. Okay, so quickly, I would say that Nigerians are asking, look at the comments online, Nigerians are asking if they want to leave a country where the government will not allow them to protest freely without being fired tear gas canisters or water cannon. You see the water cannon is not just water, it's hot water. If it touches you, you want to be at the receiving end. What the police are saying is that the people mounted the Lekito Plaza. When they say mount, what does it mean? Because they're not collecting no tolls, they're about to block the vehicular movement. You look at the number of persons there, people didn't even show up. Look at how many people are there, compared to the number of persons in this country who should be out there remembering those who died. People didn't show up as much as you could have shown up. So when you say they mounted the Toa Plaza, how many of them mounted the Toa Plaza? Is it two, three, is it four, five persons? Because I mean, it's six people. Okay, so you now ask yourself, how cautious should we be about firing the tear gas and throwing the water cannon? How cautious should we be? Should we go and apprehend these five persons and pull them down? Or should we talk to them, even put some body count? Say, let's see that you are filming yourself as a police officer, filming them. Please calm down, please calm down, no move. Because this tear gas can take someone's life. It can take someone's life. There could be someone who has a high blood. So was it necessary, was the force that was applied? Was it necessary? And I know the police officers know their standard operating procedures. Now, what they say is that if persuasion fails, force must be applied. If persuasion fails, force must, that's what they teach them. All right, I've had policemen say this and called this since I was in primary school, secondary school. Now, when you're even applying force, you also need to decide what amount of force to apply. You don't just apply any kind of force. They have their levels and their steps. If the police are saying that people mounted the toe plaza, what does it mean when they say they mounted? Someone was saying to me that they had a coffin, they wanted to place the coffin there. These are things that people do. It's not the first time. So you now have to decide, are we going to the level where we need to fire tear gas or not? But like I said, you can see the coffin's there. Like I said, these are things people just want to vent. You allow them vent, you allow them, if it's a coffin, is there human being in that coffin? No. If they're climbing something, you can say, okay, can you calm down? Okay, let's try. Call the leaders, please. You see, this is not allowed. Maybe that was applied. Who knows? But I'm also concerned about the journalists who were there as well, who had to run for their life. All right, they had to run for their life. One of them was shouting in the video, they filmed tear gas or tear gas. So I think the Nigerians of conversations they're having amongst themselves now is we're going to cast a vote for a government that will guarantee our safety, even when we go out to protest, they'll guarantee that we will not be fired at. Who knows? Even in the excitement of the whole thing, the frenzy, trigger, happy, police might have fired a live round, like they say, you know what I'm saying? And what I'm hearing people say is, okay, you come out with such force, force, just a few number of persons, nothing harmful. Are we seeing you apply that same force in tackling insecurity in the country? Are we seeing you go after criminals with the same amount of force? You see how armed to the teeth they are when they hear there's an incest memorial. Oh, there's even a rally. I mean, you remember the rally that happened the first October rally? If you were on the streets that particular Saturday, I'm sure you were, but probably you left quite early. So if you headed towards my destination, would have been something else. You need to see, you know, the show of force. I call it a show of force. You need to see the might, the military. And then you begin to ask yourself, so we have all of this men and we have all of this, you know, gadgets and what have you. Well, we need to move on Ko-fi. We're hoping that we do better because, for instance, we cannot every other time make all of this comparison. Just like the one fastest Kiyama made recently about, you know, the protest and said, oh, it was a global issue. But you also need to learn the lesson that the people were gathered. There was no point. There was no where we saw a video or, you know, police officers trying to, you know, scare the people away by using tear gas and what have you. You need to see that video and understand where I'm coming from. But moving away quickly is the issue of thefts. And the boy said, Governor Devo Maye has suspended the Permanent Secretary, Minister of Power and Energy, and Engineer Godwin Wangkwo and Special Assistant to the Government of Public Utility, on a big man on Wangkwo over alleged thefts. I hope I got that correctly. That's the issue. According to this is that, you know, the experience, it was a concern over the volume of diesel that has been lost in the hands of the persons involved in the business of streetlight, adding that the ESCO, therefore, should resolve all the concerns in the business of streetlight supervision. And the story is almost endless. So I think that the DSS has also been involved in the case. And so it's quite funny, right? So I remember that once upon a time in crossover state, you know, if you leave in that state prior to now, something about the streetlight and then all of a sudden the streetlight actually was no longer there. So you move around in the night. It's one of the things because generally prior to previous governor, Donald Duke, it was known as a state of tourism. And so for a tourist destination, one of the beautiful things you see is that everywhere is lit at night, all of the streets and all of the roads everywhere is lit. But at some point all of that, you know, became history. And people started asking and then the issue of theft came in. Now I'm bringing this, you know, this narrative because of theft. And they say that people are stealing. And who are the people stealing the components from the streetlight? Because it's not like I'm an engineer if you're in that state, you're not an engineer. So it would definitely be people who understand the dynamics and people who are close. So it's just quite funny for me. I find it very hilarious that it's almost the same thing that's happening. And so diesel has been stolen. Can you imagine the things that we're talking about? And, you know, someone has to be suspended. So it goes a long way to show that there's a lot that needs to be done. Like I say, you probably might not have, you know, the opportunity. You might never become the president of this country. And that's for a fact. You might not become the governor. And you might not become, you know, the permanent secretary or senator. But in your first control where you are, there's a lot of influence that you have. Imagine that we all do the right thing every other time. Imagine what would become of our country and of our state. But it's a good thing, you know, that the police is actually involved because it's said that it's alleged. So we're hoping that investigations will be done. And the law would take its course if it's found or they are found guilty of the accusation. Okay, let's move on to the third trending story. I'll look at the details. And then when I'm done looking at the details, maybe you come in with an analysis and then we round up. Pedro Tanca exploded along the Lagos Ibarro Expressway on Thursday morning. I mean, it was a hot topic because of the importance of the Lagos Ibarro Expressway and the danger such an incident pertains for life and property. The incident was set to occur at Aromi Town before Shagam interchange in open state explosion reportedly affected an 18-seater passenger bus which was caught in the raging fire according to the Federal Road Safety Corps, the FRSC, which is Nigeria's Road Safety Agency. The details of the incident were sketchy at the time. The reports emanated. But we later got information from the Federal Road Safety Corps that day. They said they had closed to public route, to public use rather, that road. And they put out some information advising motorists and the public to use alternative routes on the Lagos Ibarro Expressway due to that explosion. The FRSC, Central Commander in Open State, Ahmed Umar actually put out a statement. They issued that, you know, they could advise motorists to make use of other routes to avoid a necessary delay. It wasn't really close, but it was sort of a rescue operation and it meant that it would slow down the traffic and you can see, you know, what traffic on that road looks like on a day that you have something like this. So, I mean, just like you have mentioned rightly, it's that the Lagos Ibarro Expressway is very critical. And for someone as myself, I stopped playing that road a long time. You know, I took that decision way back when I was, you know, an undergraduate student at university probably coming for holidays. I stopped taking this particular road coming to Lagos. It's been a big decision. So, if I cannot afford to go by it, and not that that's entirely the same, then I will for several dangers such as this. So, if you're not talking about, you know, a tanker explosion, you're talking about thefts, you're talking about robbery. If you're not talking about robbery, you're going to talk about the fact that the roads are horrible, maybe there's flooding. So, there's a lot of issue. I mean, it's a debt trap if you ask me. But as a country is us, I know that we have leaders who constantly leave this country for vacation and then sometimes they go for different reasons. So, I ask myself, is it just about sightseeing? Do we just travel to these other countries, develop countries? And every other time we come back and wish that Nigeria was like this other countries. Is there anything that we can learn from them? Is there anything that they're doing that we can imbibe and also try to implement? Is there really anything positive that we can actually see from? I have always wondered if it's not possible to have a means where a sensitive product as petrol has been transported through the pipeline because it's quite critical that we don't have to have this product on the same road as user because it's quite sensitive. I mean, sometimes you find out that these vehicles are packed on the road. So, you find tankers packed on the road with sensitive products. And trust me, it is always a scary sight because anything can happen at the slightest, you know, error, human error, anything can happen by passerby. I just think that we need to do better as a country. I mean, that's a question that I keep asking. We need to find a way, you know, to do these things. We wouldn't be the first country, we wouldn't be the first. So, and I don't think these things are rocket science. But that's what leadership is all about. It's quite unfortunate that this happens. And the roads, that's a very crucial road that, like we've mentioned earlier, and we should be thinking of the safety of those roads. And so, if you're not talking about armed robbery, you're talking about the fact that you could be a victim of tanker explosion. Why do we have, you know, these vehicles playing the same road where you have commercial vehicles? Is there a way to have all the means where these same vehicles like the tankers that are moving with petroleum products or fuel, whatever it is you want to call it, sensitive product, like I'd like to say, have another way that they can move, not necessarily on the same particular route where you have, you know, orders moving like, you know, regular passengers because it's sensitive and anything can actually happen. But we need to, you know, bring that to an end. Yeah, but before we bring that to an end, just to do the rounding of, you know, a question that we'll ask ourselves, and I usually ask is, when we have such incidents, do we see any report? You know, because it's very important to have an opportunity to learn from what happens, you know, opportunity to learn from what transpires in such tragedies so that at the end of the day, we don't see them being repeated, you know. So why did this tanker explode? What happened? There used to be a report, something used to be put out to say, this is the reason there was an accident or there was overheating or there was something wrong from the product, you know. What we see in the country is that we have, you know, accidents without proper reporting, without proper investigation so that we prevent future occurrences. I mean, it happens in the aviation industry where there's an accident because of the sensitive nature and the delicate nature of aviation transportation. They will retrieve the black box. They'll look for flight communications data to try and see what happened, you know, and that's why Nigeria have the AIB, which is the Accident Investigation Bureau. Now for the Federal Safety Corps, for instance, do they have an investigative department, you know, where they can investigate the immediate remote causes of these accidents with a view to giving the public some information so that they do not see this occurring again. It's very important. I'll quickly say that on, I think it was Wednesday night, you know, making my way to Lagos Island, I saw somewhere on the Bagada Expressway that a tanker had overrun the median. It was in the middle of the median and the Federal Safety Corps or Commission, had to coordinate the service lane so that people wouldn't use it. Now, is it because the drivers are drunk at the OSP? We need to know because when we have reports, we have investigations to help us with information so that these are not repeated again. All right, we have to go. Hopefully, we don't see such a repeat or a bit of such an incident again. We'll take a break and when we come back, we'll have a look at what the papers are saying until Johnson is standing by. Stay with us.