 We're glad to know you're still there. It's still a breakfast on PLOS TV Africa. It's time to leave from off the price what made it to the front pages of national dailies. Some of the national dailies we're going to be looking at this morning are the nation, The Punch, The Guardian, and of course Nature News. Let's begin with the nation newspaper. But before that, my guest this morning is Mr. Tunde Kolawole, a legal practitioner here in Lagos State. Good morning, and welcome to the program. Good morning, brother. Thanks for having me. And a very good night as well. Yes, I hope you had a good night as well. Yeah, I did. I did. Good. He wants the lawyer to be going up to meet. Yeah. Read hard. Somebody might just tell you now to go and help him get perpetual injunction. So it will bring a lot of money. Okay, Mr. Kolawole. Yes, that's what brings the money. Let's go to the newspapers now. But the first newspaper we're treating or we're looking at is the nation newspaper. Let me just re-loud some of the headlines and then we zero in on one of them. Government took up rising inflation with a cut in money supply. That's what they are saying on the nation. I don't know how that is going to be the solution. Stock exchange joins B to boost forex availability. And APC declares our last group or groups caucus as a contraption. Okay, we also have UK Police Chargesiani with bribe taking fraud. We have president names NIMC boss because he has asked the other one to go on to resign. Or to retire. Medical consultants serve 21-day strike notice. But we're beginning with the builders headline on the nation. New twist in Niger crisis as Russian mercenaries arrive. And the rider on that story is Wagner group in Mali with arms ammunition. And Abdul Salami raises dialogue hopes, briefs Tinobu. Let's begin with that. Echoers is talking tough. And Niger also is saying, well, we die here, as we would say it. Mali and Burkina Faso are brothers in arms right now. And we heard a long time ago that an agreement has been reached with the Wagner group and by extension Russia to defend Niger. So this new twist has said that already the Russian mercenaries have arrived the country. What are your thoughts? I am not so proud that the Wagner group are already in Mali. And Puna and Lika will make an incursion into Nigerian public. The truth of the matter is that most of the leaders that we have in the Western world today they are ambitious. They are most likely, wants to kind of recognize Africa as a part of the Middle East. When you look at the leaders of the Pulai Putin, you look at the Donald Trump and some of the other leaders, you will appreciate what I am saying. More importantly, the African leaders have shown their attitudes and the capacity to cater for their people. And so people are using all forms of means to get into the Caucasian world, to get into the Western world. We have to buy up a chance to be better, whether they perish in the Atlantic Ocean or not, they are not really, they don't bother. And when issues are like this, the people want to protect themselves, protect their environment. And that is what is calling this news camp for Africa. First that, sooner than later, they might want to colonize Africa. And because Russia would not want to stand by, because of the investment it has made especially me in Africa during the struggle for the colonization. You remember the Soviet Union, when the Western world didn't want to give us independence it was the Soviet Union that became Soviet Union that supported us to resolve it without an elimination with much power and logistics. But after independence, they didn't benefit anything. Rather what they were told is that it's not only that the person that drinks the water, that will drink the water. So I suspect the Russian people sensing that Africa may be the colonized, they went and settled the war against us and are using it as a kind of exploratory impulse to either begin to get their food out on Africa or to begin to roll back the struggle of the Western world on the African country. The retreat from Ukraine by the Wagner group is just a tactical manoeuvre. Tactical manoeuvre to allow them to be able to go back to Africa to continue what they were doing there. Unfortunately, most of the Africans in there don't realize this. They have not appreciated this. I have written series of articles in the newspaper, on the social media, and not seen a black ray that sooner than later, if the African people, if the mythos don't get their ass together, the colonization may be re-digited on them. Because the people that are unable to cater for their own livelihoods, they are not better than animals. And those who are able to cater for their own will not sit by and want to come and navigate the consequences of their own soil. So the race for the colonization of Africa may have begun in a very, very subtle manner. And if we don't do anything about it, it is going to be tragic. Unfortunately, the most of the people that we have at the end of leadership in Africa today, they are very healthy people, very unperturbed people. People who are not good leaders, who are not good leaders of history. And even if they are good leaders of history, they have never developed the capacity to protect themselves. And I've also been saying this, who have reached the issue of all animals and plants that have gone into extinction? They are the ones that are unable to protect themselves from their predestined neighbors. They are the ones that are unable to manage their own waste. They are the ones that are unable to sign the danger that is ahead of them. If it weren't for the Wajna group, the colonization of Africa may have been in the open. Okay, another headline there just above this bold headline is that the UK police charges this area with bribe taking and fraud. And some other headlines are saying that EFCC is mum about this. They are not saying anything, but in the UK, far away UK, she has been charged with this. What are your comments, Grace? Well, there is an announcement by the General Secretary of the National Council, which I love so much. He said the person that steals a keg of palm wine, I mean, the person that I received, the receiver of a totally keg of palm wine, or palm oil, is a guilty person and told it. Look at the Western world. They will allow you, steal your people's money, take it to their bank. They'll start all these thinking rules and regulations that they have for receiving money, for tracking money, and then for saving money. But they will first receive it, put it into their system, use it to develop their own economy, and after a few years they will turn around, go for the patent, put in the money, and then pretend that they are investigating, and they want to punish the person. So many years, so many resources will have been lost in this process of investigation. At the end of the day, they might find the person who brought the money in guilty, and then they will not begin to negotiate with you what percentage they will return to you, and now you are able to spend their spend on what infrastructure or both of the sites you can invest the percentage that they are returning to you. So we are in a category, is it 22 or what do they call it? Is it good, like they said, and like somebody who was saying in the studio, that at least we should go for whatever we might be able to get back from the... the first money in the UK. But the truth of the matter is that some years when that money was stolen, the value is not the same with what it is. So the cost of litigation in those places will also take as much as almost 50% of that fund. So all you might get at the end of the day will be near future. But let's concede one thing, that at least they at the end of the day try to make effort. And then they also do very brilliant investigations. Unlike Colossea, where we will say, the Miss Feliz touched the billions in his house. He was financing terrorism and all that. And at the end of the day, we will bring him to court for illegal possession of the dendons. This report at the end of the day might convict Alishimaki AK, because they would have done the thorough work. Look at the numbers here, it has taken them to investigate her. But at the end of the day, what will be returned to us will still be beaten. And when we get it, our people are affected. They have to have been looted for that return to us. The one that was gotten, that was looted was looted some of it passed to Konefambu Yasuke for purchase of arms and ammunition for the military to fight Bokwara. At the end of the day, there is no evidence that those arms and ammunition were provided or were bought. The African youth should stand up to fight against the colonization of Africa. It is the official that is at stake. It's difficult when you are not in the corridors of power to fight except you go to the streets and you start to demonstrate which is not even allowed and all that. But you just mentioned the Mefele and it brings us to one other headline still on the nation and they are saying government to curb rising inflation with cut in money supply. When you talk cut in money supply, some of us who are not... That is the wishful thinking. Why do I say wishful thinking? We are told that in the economy the worth between the value and the expense of your money is your productive base. What efforts are they making to strengthen the productive base of the Nigerian economy? In my own opinion, there is none. We are only using financial instruments to curb inflation as never was anywhere in the world. We are talking about a country that is only about 83 years of Naira. We are talking about a country that doesn't even know how much of this oil which is the mono products, how much oil it produces, how much it sells, how much it's import to consume. So this breaching wood policy for continuing inflation would have worked if it is a vacation. Since it was introduced, don't know about the Naira, to Yara Dua era, to Jonathan era and now to Ajwaj Wola made to Nobu's era. We need a holistic approach, a very pragmatic approach to find solutions to the economic crisis that Nigeria, most of Africa and the Middle East are confronted with today. Let's move to the punch newspaper. Some of the headlines here on the punch are that AU plans, fresh sanctions and Abdul Salami warns against war. Federal government, states, local governments share 966 billion Naira July revenue. EFCC mom as a designer faces bribery charge in UK. We've talked about that. And some other headlines. But anger as states warehouse rise, delay palliative sharing. It's a story that is very funny to me right now. Anger as states, warehouse rise, delay palliative sharing. It's a deja vu as far as I'm concerned. There were palliative during the COVID era and there were warehouse as well. And then people had to break the warehouses before they could get a hold of it. Some people were even waiting. Some governors were waiting to share the palliatives at their bed days. So it will now be like a bed day gift to the people. Somewhere hoarding them to use during campaigns. And so many other things that you'll be wondering what is really going on. Now it has happened again. So the question is whether the states are warehousing the rise. The question is that are they really having a good plan for the palliative money that has been given to them 5 billion per state, which if you ask me anyway, is totally unagreeable. Lagos has more than 20 million. Another state, up north, might have like 5 million or so. And then you're giving 5 billion to every state. That's no equity as far as I'm concerned. But I don't know how they made that template to work for all of them. But this is it. They are warehousing the rise and they are delaying sharing the palliatives. In the first place what kind of palliatives will 5 billion do for the people and for how long? So the question of palliatives, do you think it's a good move in the first place and are the states ready to do what will be beneficial to the entirety of their citizenry? What the palliatives not like we have said before is a doesn't appear to be well thought out at all which is like putting the card before the house. Thoughts are for most less safe. If you say you want to face out a regime of subsidy then you will also not be distributed palliatives. If you begin to distribute palliatives it means you have mainly taken subsidy from one place and take it to another sector of the society or the government because the money you are spending to provide the palliatives are money you could equally have used to continue to sustain the so called subsidy on petroleum products. So that is one. The second issue is that it is unlawful for the federal government I can't remember specifically the particular section now but it has to do with the finality of the federation the consolidated revenue of the federation but I think it has to be the one of the construct the federal government cannot borrow any state any money and then the state cannot borrow the local government any money whatever money comes is the account of the federal government but in relation to the consolidated account of the federation which is to be distributed by the state and the local government as part of the money to run their respective state. So when the federal government comes up and says they are loaning the state for five billion to provide palliatives I dare to say that it is unlawful secondly that money has not been properly appropriated by the National Assembly and we do have enough time for the money to be sent to the National Assembly to be properly appropriated that will not be properly appropriated it is an illegal way of eliminating palliatives by regime thirdly when you look around the world there is no society where there is no one form of palliative or the other in places like Britain public transportation is subsidized in places like Britain agriculture you go to the UK and America some of those places are not there there are food banks where people who are poor who are unable to send for them are given at least one square meal in a day there are also a number of charity organizations churches and mosques that distribute foods clothes medication to people in crisis situations like this we don't have that in Nigeria and I don't know whether you watch a video on Tiktok on the social media which gives us a very graphic example of what this palliative is all about that video came from Iloni in which a bag of rice was given to the whole world in Iloni comprising of more than almost 10,000 people and the community gathered and were asking themselves that if just one teaspoon is given to one each household the one bag of rice will not go run and you must also know this palliative thing is not going to be forever it is all going to be for a certain period of time whereas there is no certainty that the prices of petroleum products will not rise in the future if it rise are you going to begin a new random palliative for the people so it doesn't make sense also remember that a year or two or there about before the body regime pulled out of power there was a jumbo contract running into billions of Naira to return Naira maintenance also they have to take the refinery what has happened and they paid upfront what has happened to that town Naira maintenance or the cessation of those refineries honestly speaking whichever way you look at this palliative is never going to work and so if it is not properly managed just like we saw I think in Adama war it could be a very serious crisis situation in which there could be a rise or there could be uprising against the government so they are better watching these politicians also want to use this lead to change to begin to this capital to begin to make sense to begin to do it and the other in Nigeria it was good by giving them a three school pool of rice then they are better watching the government should go back to the drone board and find solutions to this like in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia doesn't impose any hardship on their people they produce oil and then the oil they continue to subsidize it they also subsidize housing and you also not see any tired when you are pressing on the streets in Saudi Arabia begging for harm or walking at an imaginary to fend for themselves at a very tender age these are the dangers of life in here well Saudi Arabia does Saudi Arabia practice democracy? it is not it is not so it is not a democracy it is not a perfect democracy anywhere in the world I was just going to the fact that they keep telling us that democracy is the best is that democracy or is nothing that the worst democracy is still better than any other form of government and all those sort of things but right now this palliative money, the 5 billion by the way we didn't hear we just heard that there will be 5 billion the time that we got to hear that the 5 billion has already been paid was when the federal government started telling the states that you have to return 48% to the state we are only giving you like 52% of that money the rest will be returned and the governors were kicking against it that if we have to return it then it's not palliative anymore that's when we got to hear otherwise as a person I didn't hear it had already been paid I still kept thinking that right now we found out that the palliatives themselves are being hoarded by the government it's really funny very very funny so, you know yeah go ahead under I think it was under Dr. Gulo Chinuchan in which monies were similarly giving to the states to address certain challenges that they were having remember the governor didn't tell anybody all the other people and the federal government also didn't tell the Nigerian people that money was made available it was through the present minister of war I mean, the federal capital territory he has some wiki that we got to know that the jumbu a month of money were given to the states and that he was using his own to construct overhead bridges in a state the death of governor was said not to have used the money for anything and the human rights body have not taken to court it was also to discover what is important in the media that some other governor used a large chunk of this money to buy cars and then improve their wardrobes in the respective states rather than using the money to provide for their people it went into keeping wife of the local government wife of public official buying cars for all manners of political appointees leaving the roads the hospitals and the schools in very deplorable conditions we require to be transparent in addressing whatever money going to the state, the local government and to the federal accounts I remember I think Yara Dua at the time was publishing whatever locations are given to the states and the local government each time money is shared at the federal level somehow that program I think under Dr. Gulok the Nigerian people should begin to hold their people accountable because in the way when you look at it the so-called removal of society is mere punishment for the Nigerian people for the indolence of the political elite who have been able to manage not just the petroleum sector but the society at large they say they take the petroleum product and cause the burden they say some people have been persuasive for where they didn't supply what is the responsibility of government is it not to ensure that the product are not put up what is the responsibility of government is it not to punish those who might steal a public fund in my humble opinion it is not to punish the Nigerian people I usually say the removal of fuel subsidy and bringing up palliative is like destroying the community bridge and then giving canoes to people to ferry themselves across the same river that the bridge was called so now the common bridge that everybody could pass you have destroyed it and now you have brought canoes and there are some people who cannot access the canoes well let's go to nature news there is a headline here WAPAN begins registration of waste pickers in Nigeria says that waste pickers promote clean environment and provide employment and reduce crime so would like to get your take on this registration of waste pickers well those who are saying this why don't they encourage young children too to be waste pickers if you look at the condition with those people men and women go to pick these waste and noras you will agree that they are opposed to all manners of diseases furthermore so some of those things especially electronic waste can be cancer genetic can be cancer cancer genetic because some of them they are component contain some manners of chemical and adjacent agents that could be templated to women existing so why are you going to be encouraging of people to be waste pickers in other parts of the world waste baskets are provided in homes in offices and on the streets there will be a waste basket for metals waste baskets for paper and waste baskets for plastics and for more items and then the waste people who go to the homes to the streets to some of these places to pick these things and take it to some rapists home where they are cleaned up and then recycled and recollect that a lot of the time they was building waste recycling plants all over Lagos there is some at Isola here one here at Isola here some on the Lagos island and some of these other places when the lipstick came to power when the overdue the government in 1984 they stopped all that project but fortunately when the civil and people came again other than to facilitate the project they cured it it's not impossible that some of those waste recycling plants have been sold to those who build houses for residential workers on them then why can't we also all those who generate this waste accountable for the waste that they generate those who produce drinks and which plastic is used before the discipline we could make sure or we could insist they must have a way of getting back all the plastic when they did their distribution those who produce bottled water those who produce the popular circuit water we could tie it to their agreement or contrast to the state a program of calling back of the economy of connecting the waste and they regenerate rather than encouraging and exposing our children so those who are in different places they are engaging in this furthermore also note that those waste dumps have become a kind of a center of breathing of criminality and have too many times read in the papers in which police have apprehended some of these army suspects and then the suspect will take them to the waste dumps where they are hiding their weapons or carrying out their nephalos or activities so also look at the state of those waste and they properly manage the waste is in fact the waste dump site do we close them up on time when they should be closed also that they don't begin to engage in this fighting what is the implication of those waste dumps on underground water that we have all over the places a short-sighted way of creating dump for the youth which we should not support all and call it the government would you rather have them because they are here with us now would you rather have them practice without any form of recognition because this registration seems to be something that will give will make it legal on the one hand it is possible to monitor them on the other hand and so much more whether we like it or not some youths are engaged in it whether they are exposed to diseases or not and this is what they see as their own form of livelihood so taking it away from them don't forget Okada riders and those who ride the Marua who are supposed to be registered at the same time as it works if it works most of the state will not be banning the use of Okada and then on the highways or in the communities most of the time we say we want to register people for one reason or the other to find out that in our climate it has not worked because when it works will be transplanted into the wheels of those who are profiting from the chaos and anarchy that all our societies have become Ok Well this is where we will have to wrap it up for this morning Thank you so much as usual coming to give us your thoughts on issues that have a reason Good morning Thanks for asking me permit me to quickly pay my condolence to Senator Adiola whose personal system was killed in Lagos may the soul of the departed PA to the senator and we want to employ the security agencies to leave no stone unturned to apprehend whoever is behind it I happen to know Senator Adiola who worked in the same place for some 10 years Precisely Adiola Thank you Thank you very much Ok the senator's aid was killed by what they are calling a killer soldier and the association that is mourning this aid is saying that this killer soldier should be brought to book whoever it is whether it is a soldier, a civilian or whoever is responsible for all these killings everybody should be brought to book crime should never be encouraged Well we have just been talking with Mr. Tunde Kolawole a legal practitioner here in Lagos State and we were looking at the headlines some of them that we were able to cover we will take a short break when we return we will go to our first hot topic for today stay with us