 You're welcome back. It's still the run-up and we're looking at some issues, especially as the 2023 general election draws near. It's less than 40 days now. And if it's less than 40 days, what will we be worried about? The INAIC chairman, Professor Yakubu, said that there's a possibility that the election will not hold if the security situation is not improved. Some people panicked because of that statement. Some people berated him that he shouldn't have made that kind of a comment because there should have been some kind of reassurance to the Nigerian populace and telling them that the elections will hold and leave it to the security people to see how they can secure Nigeria. But coming out to say that, it will mean that some people may be too afraid to do their civic duty because of just the pronouncement of the INAIC chairman. Well, we all know that security situation may not be top notch in Nigeria, but there are things or there may be things that could be done between now and the 25th of February that the national elections will hold. And we have a security expert in the House that will be talking to us and proffering some of these solutions for us this morning in the person of Mr. Augustin Agwe Ega. Good morning and welcome to the program, Mr. Ega. Good morning, Mr. Nyamgo. It's a pleasure to meet you this morning. Yeah, thank you. So good morning, Mr. Devaio. Good morning again, Mr. Ega. Always nice to have you on. Yeah, OK. The INAIC chairman made a statement and he scared a lot of people. But sometimes when we talk to security people like you, you tend to douse the tension a little bit. And that is the reason we're talking to you now, to find out whether we should really be scared and run into our houses or there are some things that can be done by both the people and the government to ensure that we have a good election, that we have a society that is secure a little bit more than it is today, so that we will have some level of confidence. But first of all, let's assess the level of security in the country. Would you say the same thing in the shoes of the INAIC chairman? Would you say the same things that he said? Would you make the same statement that Nigeria is not secure enough for an election, except something else is done? Really, I've not seen what is seen. From my own point of view, I'm not seeing what is seen. And I don't think he's in a position to make such a statement. It should come from the highest authority in the nation. Because during the Jonathan election before he left the country, he left the country as a president of Nigeria. We had the worst and most terrible security challenge. And I can tell you, President Jonathan, at that time within two weeks, was able to make sure that everyone came out in their numbers to vote. But now the security situation in Nigeria, it is bad, but it's not that bad that we should neglect such an important election that would change the situation of Nigeria for us for good. I am not in the same kind of thinking with him, because I know if he says that there's his security situation, it should tell or it should be specific, what kind of his security is he talking about? Is it coming from the presidential candidates? Is it from the political people? Is it the normal, the physical security issues, terrorism, or what is it? Banditry? It should be specific about what security situation is talking about. Because it will help the authorities to deal with. And for, individually, Nigerians are knowing that we are in a treacherous situation. People are really, really careful with the security situations. I can tell you, everybody's aware, everybody's at last, they know what to do. At least, I can say 80% of the people know what to do when it comes to his security. So it should leave that to the authorities. And this is not something it should have said publicly. It should have spoken with the authority based on his findings. And so that the authorities would look at, would ask questions. In which area are you looking at, so that they can help him. He needs help. That's my take for it. OK, just quickly now. Even though... I'm going to follow up. Yeah, OK, go ahead, please. Go ahead, yes. A mistake, based on what you just said, and unlike Nigeria, there are those who also say that the fact that the political parties have been able to campaign and they are still campaigning across the country. And thank God, without any negative influence, any negative development, you know, at this rally, that also suggests that the environment is actually relatively OK for the election. What would be your reaction to that? And should campaign rallies and the effectiveness be a parameter for for evaluating the security situation in the country? From my point of view, I think we are very good to go with these elections because I think the presidential candidates from where we are coming from, at least Nigeria, we have been, we've passed through so many difficult times. The candidates that are contesting are actually aware of what they should say or what they should not say. Right now, we're not seeing that kind of violence that I expect in our streets like before, that kind of bitterness. I'm not really seeing it even if it's happening, but it's not like before. I believe that we are prepared to go with these elections. OK, so what are some of the things that we need to do, because there are some things that when we see we get some more assurances that all is well, what are some of the things that whether the security situation is good or bad, the the the authorities need to do to both give us the assurances and to secure our country even better for the election. Some suggestions for them. All right, I irrespective of what the INAG Chairman has said, I think there's an intelligence that they should gather some facts from what he has said. There's a red flag, whether we look at it positively or negatively, but I believe that the authorities, the security authorities should react positively, how they should hope they are given intelligence gathering. The law enforcement, the military that in charge of the border security, the the the customs in charge of the border security and the DSS for the internal threats situation of the country. And other law enforcement agencies like NJLA, the civil defense, they all have their intelligence units. So this point, it is a time where they have to actively collect intelligence and analyze to see the security situation of Nigeria. We cannot just take what the INAG man have said, we cannot dismiss what they have said, and we cannot just panic for what they have said. But the intelligence gathering that they will gather within this space of time will really tell us if we are really fit to go. So first is intelligence gathering. And secondly, I look at the international communities. Of course, the foreign missions are operating in Nigeria. Somehow they do have direct or indirect employees in a changing government. But I think they will be honest with Nigeria. Nigeria have been living for a long time. It's a time that we need their support. Allow Nigerians to choose their rightful candidate, someone who can truly represent and move the nation forward. So that we will not be guilty. So whatever influences they have behind the corner, where the media shake hands, we just want to tell them that, please, they should allow us to choose our candidates this time. But I think that one is important for the international community. Secondly, for another aspect that we need to look at, the communities, there should be community awareness. Like the media, of course, have been helping us over the years. And this is the time that is very critical for the nation to really look at the media. They should spend resources on the media. The media is there to help us and they have been helping us. Some of these jingles you make on TV or radios and all that, the little, a lot is helping people to really stay alert. So the media need to help us with this publicity and some little tips that people should really follow when they go to pulling centers. This is also important. It will keep us safe in our communities. And these are the few steps that I have. But I think if we do this, it will all help us to work together to ensure that we attend this election process. OK, Bayo, do you have something more? And yes, I was looking at the logistics of the elections. There's a huge amount of logistical requirements, you know, transporting electoral materials, sometimes before they have to arrive before the elections, the security or the securing of those electoral materials and so on and so forth. And the argument that most of our police is sizable number of police officers are doing VIP protection work. They are by reducing the actual number of police officers available for actual policing. What would be your recommendation as to how the police can be in this short space of time that is left, you know, be properly mobilized to ensure adequate protection of all the, you know, material, sensitive and non-sensitive materials and other security related requirements for the elections? From this, from the experience I've had and my interaction with the police at this very time, there's always a withdrawal of their main. This election process from the banks, the VIP, in fact, in my experience in the bank, the short time was that at this time they removed their main. And it is not something you can question because they see that this is a national national call. So this time the VIPs, they are aware, some people are aware that this time they withdraw their main. They show that they handle this election properly. And of course, they have other secure means of transportation. In the bank, we know they use bullions and there are some of these devices that are used in half tracking devices on it. They should install certain trackers on it to ensure that it's not just the physical protection that you have some electronic form of tracking these devices. Apart from the overall police just overseeing it, there should be another way to track and know where the devices are like you can track your phone. Someone can track your phone and know where you are. So these devices should be upgraded to this extent where people can actually track where every machine is. This will help. This will be additional security. So I am very certain that at this point, the commissioner of police, they always withdraw their main to give back up to this election process. This tracking technology you're talking about, sometimes it seems as if is something from the sky. It's so difficult to get. It's so costly and so on. Why do you think these things are not already in place in all the things that you are suggesting that they should be? Is it that the technology is too difficult to have or is too expensive or what? It's not really expensive. It depends on the developers. Because I think when they are acquiring some of this technology, they need to ask questions. I don't know how. I've not really played with it to see the kind of functions they have. I know they have biometrics on it, but I don't know if they have additional security like some tech that can really track the location of these devices. So that when someone steals it, they can easily find it. They will know where the device is at any point in time. I think during the acquisition of these electronic gadgets, this takes an issue to consider. Programmers can actually program codes that will do this for them. It's not something difficult. OK. Well, you did suggest that the media houses should do more jingles that will create awareness in the hearts of the people. They electorate the citizens on how to be security conscious. We have media houses. We just tell the stories. And we tell people what we have been told. So you are a security expert. So that means we will collaborate with people like you to make sure we get out the right messages there. But in the meantime, now that you're here, give us some of these tips that some people need or the people need as election draws nearer and nearer by the day. In fact, we have less than 40 days right now as we are talking. So what are some of these tips before we go into the details later on that we can make jingles out of to keep the people informed? OK, I think we have to analyze a kind of people that go to the polling booth. First, we have youths. And we know that there's a kind of movement like the NSAS movement. For a very particular candidate in Nigeria, I don't want to mention that we all know and we need to be careful that the youth, just like what happened in Toge, like it all gave the answers could still happen if there's no better means of communicating with these young people because they want it. They want their candidate and they have a higher number. And we know that they are very prone to violence. So I think for the youth, there should be some message that will really come their nerves that election is not to do or die matter. It's something that they should they should do their part and then leave the authorities to decide the winning candidate. Secondly, for the people that will go to the polling booth, they should not go there and involve in power lines. Like I said before, the best thing is go there, follow the instruction of the people on ground, vote and then leave. If there is a need for you to stand and then observe other things, don't be involved in power lines. These are some of the messages that they need to carry on. And the people who are our fathers in the campaign, like the political gladiators, the presidential people or the key people, they should try to gather a message for their own people as well. If they really love Nigeria, the intention of voting is for them to come and rule Nigeria. But if Nigeria will be thrown into confusion and violence, what Nigeria will they govern? Of course, they have no Nigeria to govern. So that you talk to all their supporters at all areas to shun violence, that is from their own angle. I know that the voice that they will learn will go a long way to help us walk in peace. Of course, these are the messages that the media will really help us with. Of course, the security forces, we already know, they should also not be involved in violence because some of them will go there with the intention of or some will be bought over. We know it. Some of them, they can buy them over and they start working for a particular candidate. They should stay neutral. Let the security forces stay neutral. They should be neutral. They should not threaten anyone. This democracy is a freedom of expression. They should express who they want through their voting. And so they should only help to make peace. And they should not make the environmental things that people will be so frightened and the result of violence. These are some of my kind of my tips that I'll give the media people. OK, thank you very much, Mr. Augustin. A gap for coming. It's always a pleasure having you on the show. Thank you, Nyamgo. Thank you, Mr. Devaio. Thank you, Mr. Aga. I have always a pleasure having you. And I look forward to having you again sometime. Yeah, thank you, sir. My pleasure. OK, we've been talking with Mr. Augustin, a guy security expert of International Repute and he's always, he's a regular on our show and we hope to tap into his knowledge from time to time. But now we are going to take a break in order for us to bring you the news. And after the news, we'll wrap up the show. Stay with us.