 News over the weekend, 9 of the Delta Avengers threaten to resume attacks, but President Mohammed Buari says there is no need, as he's addressing challenges in the region. We'll be talking to a former militant leader, Mujahid Asadid Dokobal, about this. Candidates emerge for the major political parties in Anambra State, ahead of a governorship election in November. It's a list of what can be described as economic and political heavyweights, but there are many internal party squabbles, but we're talking about all that this morning. And Zamfara State Governor Billo Matawale gets set to move camp from the People's Democratic Party to the all-progressive Congress. With that, we say good morning and thank you for joining us on the breakfast here on Plus TV Africa. It's another very beautiful Monday morning, the last one in the month of June. And we've had a very interesting month so far. Thank you for joining us once again. I am Osal Ghee, and I am Aneta Felix. First off, top trending this morning. All right, so we'll begin this morning with a rather familiar story. A politician wins an election on the platform of one party, spends some time in office, thinks, I need to switch parties and then goes ahead to join another party, while Governor Billo Matawale of Zamfara State is expected to leave the PDP for the APC as soon as tomorrow. Now it's always been a rumor, but the governor's spokesman confirmed this to the news agency of Nigeria yesterday. So Osal Ghee, this is where we are regarding this particular story. The question really has been, why do Nigerian politicians just cross carpet and crisscross and defect? However, you want to describe it from one political party to another. And the answer basically is very obvious regarding the fundamental lack of ideological differences between political parties in Nigeria, right? This is something we've discussed here on the breakfast. We've personally spoken to spokesmen of different political parties in Nigeria, asking them that question. What really is the difference between the APC and the PDP, between the YPP and the rest? And the question you get is a shocking reply that is basically no difference. It seems that political parties in Nigeria have become a means to an end. It simply is a means for a politician to attain political power. There's really no fundamental difference. Unlike in the US, where there's the Republicans, there's the Democrats, where you know where a Republican stands on critical issues in the US. You know where a Democrat stands, and there's really no points of conflict. It's different. You see a Democrat, and you have all the ideological innings of that party. So basically defections would not even make sense, except you personally have a reorientation of your values and how you basically see things, your perspective on national issues. But when it comes to Nigeria, it seems that politics is focused more on personalities. If there's a person, if there's this major stalwart of a party, all the supports go to that particular person. When the person defects, he can pull his crowd, pull his weight, and get people to move across party lines. It's not really about, oh, this is where we stand on open grazing. This is where we stand on unemployment. This is where we stand on federalism. This is where we stand on restructuring. There is no fundamental difference, isn't it, Osawa Gai? Well, you've said most of it. But also both of you, to believe that Nigerian political parties have ideologies. No, I said that there is no... You said there's no ideological difference between the parties. And I'm saying there's no ideology in the first place. Before we start talking about differences, the political parties here don't have stance on anything. They don't have stance rather on anything. They basically exist, and whenever it is convenient, political parties are like a vehicle to move a politician to one in whatever direction that he chooses to move to. So he chooses at that time which political party is most convenient. That's why one of the candidates in Anambra, which we'll be talking about later, has moved between about three or four political parties currently in the YPP. Same thing happened in Ocean State, I believe, where somebody went to a Zenit, I think it was a Zenit political party. So it's really just a couple of people gather together and name a political party, and you can join them, and that's who you are. So I also feel it is very disappointing for the people. And this is a perspective that I don't think we've spoken about enough in conversations. And that is, like you said, when a political bigwig moves parties, most times he moves along with the crowd of his followers, like zombies. But there's also something. Imagine growing up in a house where everybody has from day one being a Manchester United fan. And then at some point the father wakes up in the morning, stretches, drinks his cup of coffee, and then says, well, I think I'm going to be a Chelsea fan now, and is expecting the rest of the family to suddenly also just move to Chelsea. So it doesn't work like that. So there's that part that I don't think we've spoken about enough, and that is, how much of the state really feels the same way with the governor? How much of the electorate really feels the same way with the governor? Or did he just move simply to be in his good books? Yeah, well, so the people who are benefiting from his government, the aides, the members of the House of Assembly, members of his committee, basically, who will need to continue to benefit from his government, of course, will join him. But I'm talking about the state now, the electorate. Everyone who voted for him on the platform of the PDP, who saw that the PDP was a good platform to take control of their state, who believed in whatever ideology the PDP had at that time. When you move to the APC, do they simply also join you, or do they feel betrayed? Before long ago, you know, I think I hadn't even started, you know, media work then, when Edousteak lost the elections, you know, in court to Adam Sushomole of the APC. It didn't feel in any way good around the people. Yes, there were celebrations because of him in particular, but did the state become fully an APC state? I don't think so. A lot of people still felt very, very much, you know, like it was a PDP state. The state, of course, now started to have APC flags there and there, but the people themselves, I don't think they fully, you know, accepted that, okay, we are now an APC state. They still, you know, believe, because that's how they started. Lucky Canadian started as a PDP governor in the state, and that's what the, you know, the other state people knew at that time. So do the exam for our people now, you know, all want to become APC apologists. They also now fall in love with the APC because their government has done so. I don't know how, you know, that it turns out. But other things that I feel are also important that kept being left out of the conversation are governance. You know, regardless of what political party that a person decides to cling to, governance should not be secondary. You know, it is primary, you know. And so does the state become, you know, function better now that he's going to move to the APC? Does the APC make him a better governor? Does the new political party give him a better ideologies with which to run the state? Or is it, you know, business as usual for him? Zanfarah State has had security challenges for a long, long time. Bandits have continued to, you know, attack and, you know, do whatever they can in Zanfarah State. So the conversation on governance should not be left out of it. You know, the PDPs members, and I've seen some of their comments on social media saying, oh, good riddance to Bad rubbish, you know, it's none of our business. You know, he has never really been useful to the PDP. Exactly. See, that's another angle, really. Why, why is it that this happened? Would this be hypocrisy? Why, what exactly is the reason when a politician defects from another part from one party to the other? And the response that, you know, we seem to get from that party where he defected from is, oh, like you mentioned, good riddance to Bad rubbish. When IID defected, we're like, oh, yes, he was never useful in the party. Thank God he's out now. But if he was there, they would release press statements and talk about how he's the best thing that ever happened to the party. So he really just shows exactly politics and just the lack of that ideology thing we need, you know, we're talking about. So if we're talking about national restructuring, I think another thing we need to consider in the country is restructuring of political parties. Because gone are the days when we had the NCNC, you know, those political parties in the early days that were fighting for one cost. And we knew what their purpose was. But now it just seems like a means to an end, which is, you know, ends in selfish interest, selfish interest. That's it. That's really what it is. All right. So let's talk sports. Now, Nigeria is mixed four by four hundred meters, relates him, has broken the African and national records with a and that's a time of three minutes and 14.09 seconds at the making of champions meets, which took place in Lagos yesterday. That's the happy part of the competition. The sad part is that Nigeria may not have a men's relay team at the Tokyo Olympic Games. The men's four by a hundred meters team missed out on the qualifying time by 0.1 seconds and Senegal beat Nigeria to the four by four hundred meters relay. Yesterday's competition was the last opportunity for Nigeria to qualify for the Olympics. So, OK, how would you feel if you're in this situation? You miss you missed out by 0.1 seconds. It is sports. You miss out by 0.1 seconds. And so you try again. Unfortunately, there's no opportunity to try again. And it's simply sports, you know, so you so at every opportunity that you have to beat a time, you need to give a billion percent of yourself and your effort and your training to ensure that you beat that time. And that's what it is. I don't I don't I don't necessarily feel bad, you know, for the person who walked the hard. Nigeria would not get that representation. Yeah, that's that's for them. The person who trained the hardest, the person who worked the hardest, you know, will beat that time and will get in. If you didn't, sorry, you know, and there's there's no there's no sentiment with regards to things like this. You know, nobody's going to say oh, it's just 0.1 seconds. Let them in. No, sorry. It doesn't work like that. But another thing is I don't think that we have in the last couple of years invested or put in any any attention or effort into our athletics. I personally don't think so. I think we focus so much on football, even the football. We've not even done so well. We keep dropping in the world rankings and in the Africa, if you found, you know, rankings in Africa, we're currently very, very low in African rankings and in the world rankings. But we still haven't put in any effort in athletics. How many how many athletes do you know? How many people running for Nigeria? Does anybody know a side's blessing or category and there's a divine rule? I don't think even still runs for Nigeria. While it's got to know better, I don't know anybody. Way back long ago, you know, we still have a four by hundred relating. We used to have athletes that we were we know their names. We're proud of them. But I don't I don't think I know anybody who is running for Nigeria now. And so it's not like we even were expecting that if we get into the Olympics, we have a team that will give us bronze or silver. No, let's be honest with ourselves. Nobody expected us to do anything in the Olympics. And so us missing out on the Olympics doesn't also mean anything for me personally. It doesn't I don't I don't see anything that we're missing out because it would rather be that I would be happier that we're at home and watch other people who are ready to compete than to go there and go, you know, finish seventh or finish eight. Do we do we take this all back to the conversations we're having during a sports segment about the lack of investment in sports? Yeah, obviously lack of investment for the athletes. And you will see these things in is a lack of investment in every sector in Nigeria, not just sports in health care, in security. We speak about these things every other day. And so when these things happen, nobody should be shocked that we didn't qualify. How much money is given to athletes to train? Where where their equipment? A lot of them sponsor themselves, they fund themselves and try to do their best to make it out there. And immediately they get some popularity. They switch countries because they know that they will benefit more with training, with funding, with support from another country, Netherlands, Bulgaria, wherever it is will give you more support. But how much as the Ministry of Sports in Nigeria have been able to invest in athletes? How much training do they really get? How much support do they really get? So it's nothing in any way shocking for me. I would rather even, you know, save us the embarrassment and let us stay at home this time until we're actually ready to compete in the Olympics. It's not, you know, it's not a cooking competition. It's the Olympics. I'm talking about missing out something. You know, we're getting sports by a hair's breadth. I can't remember the name of the athletes, but there was a long drop record. She was going to break. But because the the time that didn't, you know, they didn't set the timer. Oh, my God, when I think about that, it really drives me crazy because in Nigerian setting, we would say that was your village people. Wouldn't we? Well, that's what we, you know, would normally say when we don't want to accept that. But how did that happen? Would we say we don't we didn't have batteries in that clock? Would we? I mean, because obviously it would never be acceptable for you to use the mechanical timer that was that was used. It's just so unfortunate. All of these, you know, are really just paint in a very clear picture of where we are with regard sports in Nigeria. And so if we want to ask ourselves and be honest with ourselves, where what part of the country truly is thriving right now? Is it nollywood? Is it sports? Is it our health care? Is it our education? Is it infrastructure? Is any part that we as Nigerians are really proud of sports? You know, used to be the only thing that Nigerians will come together and be one and celebrate. And, you know, there's pure joy with, you know, Nigerian athletes and Nigerians competing in sports. But I don't think we have that anymore. We're only just going there with. OK, so we did cover that event. And that's the mixed relay you're watching on your screen. Fantastic game here. Wow. Amazing. It's just just so sad. Wish we could have done better, you know, definitely. We lack that investment. Sports games have lost their glamour in the country. The question is, can we be redeemed? Can we be redeemed? I don't know. Wally Scott will talk a little bit more. I just I'm looking at them running. I don't even see anyone there and there's nothing there that just really excites me with. That's what we're saying. It's lost its glamour. But the great thing is Nigeria qualified for representing the women. I think we definitely can get better. And the question is, how soon is a redemption, you know, for Nigerian sports? Oh, I think they don't know what they need to do. So the earlier they start doing it, you know, the better for us. The earlier we start investing more in sports, the earlier we start supporting more financially and with, you know, whatever levels of training that are required, the better for us. If not, then we're just going to keep, you know, deceiving ourselves. Same same feeling that we have when we're going to the World Cup, we're going to the Africa competitions. You know, there's no, you know, belief. There's no trust. There's no expectation. There's no high hopes that any of these, you know, contestants is Nigerian athletes will go far or do anything, you know, maybe in Paralympics, you know, we have a couple of those people who still do very well with weightlifting and maybe shot putters or things like that. But, you know, with 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, I don't think we have anybody that we have had in the last three, four, five years that we should be looking forward to seeing anywhere, not in any Olympics. Let's stay at home. Let's go back to all the sports competitions we have in Nigeria and how all the Kenyans and Ethiopians just clean surprises right from under our noses here in Lagos. There is that also. All right, let's take a break here. Well, we've been talking about political affections in a person of Billah Matawali, Zanfarah, state governor. And of course, all the controversy regarding the Olympics, you know, qualifying or not qualifying and lack of investment in sports in Nigeria. We take a break here to join Mr. who's standing by to help us analyze the newspapers this morning.