 As conversations build on the next general elections and a ruling party rated poorly in key governance standards, we look at the opposition parties. Are they truly ready? Away from politics, the African Cup of Nations has begun, but not without controversy. Wallace Codd joins to discuss fears of poorly rated football competition. And as always, we will be going through the major newspapers and having a review of today's biggest stories. Good morning, thanks for joining us on the Breakfast here on Plus to be Africa. I am Saugie O'Bama. And I am Messi Boku. It's good to have you join us this beautiful Friday morning. Absolutely. As always, we will start with top trending stories. But much later, we're going to be having a discussion on the opposition parties across Nigeria. Some of the things that I've read across social media and seen people say and ask is, these opposition parties simply waiting and asking that Nigerians simply hand their votes over to them without doing any work, without fighting, without working hard and tirelessly to ensure that they convince Nigerians that they are a better option. And so we're going to be asking those questions this morning. Have they done well enough? Are they doing well enough in the period to convince Nigerians that they are a better option come 2023? And of course, Afgan, with our discussions with Wale Scott, will also come up this morning. We'll be looking through the officiating and a few embarrassing or seemingly embarrassing moments at the Africa Cup of Nations. But before that, our top trending stories. Let's start with, of course, one of the major opposition party, the PDP, Chief Delay Mamadou, the owner of Ovation International magazines, has declared his intention to also run for president come 2023. And of course, he's running under the platform of the People's Democratic Party. This, of course, might come as a shock to some people, but for others, they might seem very indifferent. And mostly because he, as a Nigerian, has the right to contest and everybody does. But he doesn't have a lot of experience with regards to governance. He has not held any government position in particular in the past. He has, of course, hung around a lot of politicians. He has a lot of friends in the political space. But at the same time, the chances, and this is one of the things I've also seen mentioned, the chances of the PDP giving him the ticket are close to zero. Well, so, like you rightly mentioned, the fact that everyone has a right to contest, including, we can also declare an attentional thing. We want to contest on that any party. However, I listened to him and he talked about not having that experience, but he has talked about the fact that he's been economically viable. And if you talk about business and what have you, he has been very strong. He also mentioned the fact that he thinks it's a plus for him that he's not actually had any political office. For instance, let's say he's not whether by appointment, or by election, he's not been a commissioner, a councilor, chairman, and what have you. So he was saying that that's an a plus for him, because I really don't know why he thinks that that's a plus for him. But he's mentioned the fact that being an economic or being in business, it's a plus. And he understands the plight of Nigerians. He understands the pains. He also went on to highlight some of the gains he has achieved in entertainment, the fact that if you see right now, young people, artists in Nigeria, both male and female are topping the charts, and he has contributed to all of that. But like you rightly mentioned, because you want to begin to look at the experience, do you have the experience? That's number one. Do you understand the pain? And he said one of the major issues, because he mentioned one of the major issues has been disunity for us as a country, that he's the uniting factor. He mentioned the fact that he's also from the Southeast, I mean, Southwest. Southwest. And he also has some kind of affiliation with the Southeast and what a view. But let's see how it goes, because at the end of the day, the People's Democratic Party would have to look for a very viable candidate to push out there if they have to clinch to the seat of the 2020 president. And because of how critical it is for the opposition parties and every other party, mostly the PDP and their chances of winning the elections in 2023. I remember they did all they possibly could in 2019, I believe. Maybe they can assess some of the mistakes that they made. Maybe they can also review some of the decisions that they took, the persons that they put as their front runners, which a lot of people have looked at and said, okay, these are very, very reasonably good candidates. But in 2023, PDP has a huge task ahead of it, to not just find the right candidate but also convince Nigerians that these are the persons that will be able to move the country to a better place at one seat next level, to a better place generally. And so because of how critical their decision is, not just anybody, it can't just be anybody who has a seemingly popular face or decides that they're a member of the PDP and they want to run for president. And that's why it might be a far straight for the limo model, like I said, the chances of him getting to get really, really, really slim because of how critical that decision is for the PDP. On any other party, he maybe will stand a chance. But he has, a few months ago, joined the PDP or gone back to the PDP. I also don't think it's the first time he's running for president. Yeah, in 2011 he actually contested. So he has just a few months ago gone back to the PDP. And so I'm not sure if he's aware that his chances of getting that ticket are extremely, extremely slim. And so it's starting to look like it's a joke to some people. Exactly. Now, if you want to look at it and if you feel that the PDP should be thinking in that particular direction, you see one strong argument is still on. It feels like a lot of people are trying to just ignore. It's the fact that if you say rotation has been it, despite the fact that it's not been constitutionally guaranteed, then everyone should be thinking, political parties at this point in time should be thinking of which zone should have taken it and should pay attention to it. So let's assume that these political parties put their acts right and then they pay attention to the fact that the South East should be considered. Following all of the crisis, I mean all of the unrest in the South Eastern region, iPop and people asking for a referendum and wanting to go different paths. One would think that the PDP should be considering that. That should be number one. And if they're able to zone, then of course you also have people who are from different regions of the country, also part of members of the political party like Dilma Mood. And then you would think that that would also be a factor because before you win, elections are numbers. It's not just about having a fine phase or having so much money and whatever you need to do. You need to work with numbers. And so if you have people from different regions, then it's possible that you are able to begin to converse and push this candidate. But most importantly, because people, I mean it feels like you see the declaration, a lot has been talked about now. You see the candidates that the highlight has been on if you want to use that particular word. And it feels like nothing has been really talked about the South East. Those who have actually come out to declare their intention don't seem to be having that highlight, don't seem to be having all of the attention that the counterparts are having from different regions. So we can quickly move on. I think that's the PDP's decision, not Dilma Mood's decision. No, no, no. I'm just saying that as a party, that if they think that they have to get it right, then they need to begin to consider some of these issues that putting the parties apart. And to be honest, nobody knows what the PDP is thinking. You have also seen Alan just say that there's people who jump in first and declare their intention first. They eventually get pushed aside a few months to the elections. And these are some of the names that will eventually very likely be forgotten in a few months that they're even running. So the PDP still has a lot of calculations to make. And same with every other political party. They have a lot of calculations to make leading to the elections. We're just in January 2022. And I understand that one whole year of politicking is what we're going to experience. It's still reasonably too early, exactly, to conclude that that's what their decision would be. The South East still will have a chance and have a shot. Moving away from the PDP and, of course, Chief Dilma Mood, let's now move to an Ambra State where something pretty interesting happened yesterday. The governor of the state, the governor-elect of the state, the former CBN governor, set up a transition team that will, of course, lead him into government when Willy Obiano's term expires. This transition team has been praised. And if you look across the comments that I read, a lot of people commended Chikuma Soludo because of the people who made the team. There's criticism with regards to the number because there's 80 of them in this transition team. And I also saw people comment and say that this is quite a large number of people for a transition committee. But if you look at the quality of persons that made up the team, that basically made everybody relax and say, OK, well, this looks like a very, very capable team. A couple of them, they are not even from an Ambra State. So he wasn't even looking at a state of origin when making that transition committee. He was looking at competence, was looking at the quality of the individuals that will lead him into government. And that's one of the things. Some of the people that were mentioned that have been named, let's see if I can quickly find that list. Just a few of them, you know, that really caught my attention. Mrs. Obi Ezekwisili, who's the chairperson of this transition team, Professor Benedict O'Kee or Rama, Right Honorable Ucho Kaffo, Professor Patutomi, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, Mr. Steve Mwaga, Chief Osita Chidoka, and Honorable Dr. Ben Wanko. That's just eight of them that I'll quickly mention. Along with, you know, a couple others that, well, are phenomenal persons in governance, in economics, in whatever field that they are. Technocrats, you know, if you want to call them that. So this basically got a lot of people excited about what Anambra will look like when Chukumasulo eventually takes over office. Well, those persons that some people are saying that, yeah, this is an opportunity, the importance of having a technocrat in the system, the list of persons that constitute the transitional team, look like the person that would add value, for instance, Obi Ezekwisili, some persons are quite impressed at the fact that they should be leading the team. And we're hoping that Anambra would actually turn to what the government actually thinks it will become. But, like we would always say, maybe too early, you begin to wait to see, you know, what the plan is. Some people would say, speaking English is not a criteria that it would translate into development and what a view. So at the end of the day, let's see how. Yeah, it looks really great, it looks great, because we've seen, even when this administration came on board, you want to talk about the economic team of the president. I mean, look at those who constitute it and you say, oh, you know, some brilliant heads right there and what a view. But where are we right now? And so as much as it's commendable to say, yes, that's a step in the right direction, you have quite some amazing, fantastic personality in there with some qualities and experience, and we're hoping that that would affect and bring about change and development in terms of these ideas. Another thing also, again, is implementation, because usually that's always the problem that we have. So you have a very wonderful policy. You have very brilliant, and at the point of executing, where do we stop? But it's a good one, call us to them and let's see how. My thoughts on this, when this current administration came into power in 2015, and this is in response to what you mentioned, follow up to what you mentioned, the first of all criticized because the government took about six months before he set up his, if I was able to name ministers and the likes. People in government defended and say, it doesn't matter how long it takes, as long as they eventually name. And then eventually name these persons, and they were basically political cronies. They weren't necessarily people who were experiencing any of those fields. They were basically round pegs and square holes. But anybody who seemingly assisted in getting the government into power was thrown in and given some position. And that's why you say a lot of MDAs in the country didn't work. If you ask 80% of Nigerians, who's the minister for this or that, I'm sure a lot of people do not know. Because these persons are almost relevant in those fields that they were given. So there is that. So it's a plus that you can see Chikumatsu Ludo and the mindset and the kind of people that he wants to surround himself with and understand implementation is different from sharing ideas. But there is that. The Anambra people are excited because of the caliber of persons that Chikumatsu Ludo is. His background as a CBN governor and what it promises for Anambra State. And so himself and then having a team like this, these aren't necessarily going to be people working for him in government, it's a transition team. But at least it gives you an idea of the caliber of minds that he wants to surround himself with while getting into that position. Another thing that I would mention is we also need to realize and this, okay, some other things, two things that I'll mention. First of all is shed a light on the fact that we need to see some of these persons show their hands at the state level. Some of them have contested for president before or have tried to get into the seat as high as the presidency before and they failed. So people have mentioned that it's also good that we see how capable they are at the state level. And that's one of the pluses that Chikumatsu Ludo has compared to Kingsley Mogalu in conversations concerning elections in the last few years. Let's see what you can do at the state level first. That's another thing. The third one that I'll mention is governance at the state level is extremely important for every citizen, for their electorate. If we have states run by persons who know what they're doing, who can develop IGR, who can give them the very basic things that make better quality of life, nobody necessarily would need to remember about the federal level all the time. Governments and their failures have also contributed to the complaints that Nigerians have had at the federal level. If you have a state working perfectly, infrastructure, healthcare, job creation and every security-wise, a lot of people will leave very, very comfortably. And if you have that happening in every state across the country, then a lot of times the pressure that the federal government also and the insults that federal government gets all the time will be less. So we need to remember how critical it is to have a government house at the state level that know what they're doing, basically. And so, best of luck to a number of people. We hope that Chukuma Soludo does succeed and, of course, with the rest of his team. Our final story on talk training this morning is the EFCC sharing that they have made an arrest of a fake army general. He, of course, tried to defraud citizens of $270 million, but he was eventually arrested along with some arms and ammunition. But that's not the only thing with regards to his story. His name or his Bola Renoir or Luwasegun faked himself as an army general, also even said that the president, Muhammad Bawari, stated that he was going to make him the next chief of army staff. This is a very clear story of it seems to be past me, I want to do now. But that's not the only thing concerning this story. People have also seen that this person is the same person, if you remember during the Ansar's protest, he was the same person who was firing into a crowd. He got out of his black SUV, a Range Rover, and was firing into a crowd of Ansar's protesters somewhere here in Lagos. The young man, Kuelumio Nifade, who made that recording, if you remember the story very well, who made the recording of that incident where this human being you are seeing on your screen was firing into a crowd of protesters, live ammunition. The person who made that video eventually was found dead, was arrested, a country reporter arrested by the police and never made it out alive. And that's an investigation that we still have not been able to get to the bottom of till today. But so rest in peace, Kuelumio Nifade, but this person on screen, that is not the chief of army staff, Nadia Zia, an army general, has been arrested. So how did he... So I'd like to start from the part that if the story, that's something to go by that he was found shooting in the crowd during the Ansar's protests, how did he find himself there? How was he able to, you know, deceive everyone and come... I mean, really, it doesn't really add up, it doesn't really make sense. Except there's something that we don't know, except there's a play, there's a game that's actually about to unfold, and somebody is going to take a fall for something. How do you... The military is not just any profession, the Nigerian... And that's why I said... How do you say that somebody parades himself as the chief and army general? I mean, that's a lot to even, you know, digest right now. That's why I said, you know, this is a clear case of the things we pass by when we do now, because there are things that you should try. Listen, there are things that you should do. No, no, no, you shouldn't. There are things that you can do and people will say, so how did he bridge the protocol? How was he able to carry himself so much that he couldn't be recognized? That, you know, the real army generals, the military personnel... I don't think it was necessarily walking in army circles, you know, this is a... So he was walking in isolation? No, so listen, so these pictures, you see, and aren't necessarily in it's a two division or any division, these pictures could have been taken in his own house, you know, taken anywhere. You know, maybe, of course, around unsuspecting, you know, fellow military officers. You know, but I don't think he, you know, would walk into where the chief of army staff is. I salute him and say, you know, good afternoon, sir, and so on, so please, because they would find out that nobody knows this person. I remember also a couple of years ago, decades ago, actually, a person who, you know, said that he was CBN governor or so and tried to sell an airport. It comes in the world, for more than 200, about almost $300 million that he tried to sell that airport to unsuspecting, you know, foreigners. He also claimed that he was maybe CBN governor or GMB of NMPs. I don't remember what it was, but he also had his own, you know, ways of convincing his victims that he was this person, you know, that he had these positions. You know, it's not very difficult to take pictures in offices and claim that you are this or you are that. My only concern really is, I hope, you know, that there is some, I mean, if he's found guilty of some of all these crimes, at least there is some justice, but at the same time, never mind. I'm just thinking that, you know, that's so much to process right now. Yeah, it's a lot. We just pray that the justice actually would be meted and, of course, the law would be cut up when he may be found. We should not just end at, you know, defrauding victims. He was also caught with weapons, and so those charges need to be amended. I hope that the charges are up to 50 of them and he stays away for a long time. He found guilty. Those are our top trending stories. Stay with us. We'll take a short break. When we come back, we, of course, will be looking through the major newspapers across Nigeria this morning. Stay with us.