 We're glad to know you're still there and watching the breakfast on a plus TV Africa right now We're taking our topic which is rising unemployment and inflation the cost of Subsidic removal and we're glad that we're being joined by our guests this morning. Mr. Joe Femi Dagon row a chief strategist with West failure resources. Good morning and welcome to other program mr. Dagon row Yes, good morning Okay, we're talking about something that is worrisome to Nigerians unemployment and so many other things that are coming inflation as well because of the Fuel subsidy removal now we're being told that fuel subsidy was a waste of money and now that has been removed There will be excess money freed for other things to be done yet We're seeing unemployment as a result of the fuel subsidy removal. We are seeing inflation skyrocketing Rocketing rather as a result of the fuel subsidy removal. Is it doomsday for us? Or what do we what are we looking at for our future at least the nearest future? Sorry Okay fuel subsidy removal the cost of fuel subsidy removal according to experts is what has given rise to Unemployment and inflation. What are your comments? Then we have to leave Okay that we're used to buying from a book power supply or the higher price agreement. So that will make a little bit good friends, compared to what we are having before. Generally, all important things is available to us. Okay. I think we have lost the connection there with Mr. Joe Fermi-Dagunro. Chief Strategist was failure resources. As soon as he's able to return, we are going to bring him to talk about what we are talking this morning. We also hope to address the fact that federal government may revive economy by unlocking one trillion dollars in asset sale. Okay. So what kind of assets are they selling? Who are they selling it to? And what does it really mean to unlock this potential in that regard? So we'll find out what that will be with our next guest, if we have that opportunity to see him. But right now, we're still hoping that Mr. Joe Fermi-Dagunro, a chief strategist with failure resources, will rejoin us. Okay. Mr. Joe Fermi-Dagunro, you're back. Yes, thanks. What we're always trying to say is that unemployment is a global problem. Inflation, inflation, you know, it's not a problem that is only happening in Nigeria. But the problem is, products of significant movement has come into play. And it has aggravated the feeling of the people, because now, first of everything, there's no doubt about it. But we have to live with it, and these forces have come to stay. Now, the issue is how do we tackle it? The education now for the people to say, you know, how do we agree about it? And the government will say, no, we have a solution, and it measures the problem. MSNP, we have a single-digit loan, and all these things. But people are not seeing all these things coming. And now, people will be advocating and telling, how do we live our life? How do we cope with this situation? And it's so annoying sometimes, but all the things there are, people don't have sufficient information on how and what the government will do or tackle the problem. You know, the problems are not just, we are giving employment to one million people or five million people. No, how will this employment be generated? So all these things have to be disseminated properly, and the people have to be informed and have the trust in government. You know, the situation right now is becoming tense. When people don't know how to live tomorrow, you go to the bus stop today in 800 Naira, and tomorrow morning it becomes a 1500 Naira, and your salary has been changed. So these are the things that people are not thinking, for how long can we bear them? So the government has to move fast. And given this policy, even at that time, in bringing social, in bringing the lives of people within the next few weeks, a few months, it shouldn't be too long, because people are feeling the MSN being one of the small scale entrepreneurs. We close shops. And that is so bad, because even if someone is employing five people or 10 people or two people, you make this group up, at the end of the day, the employment market will begin to spread again. And this becomes a lot of commotion, if case, not really. So the government has to catch fast. I know that it's just about 30 days, but the expectation is there, and it's very high. And the people in the government will know this, because it's not something that just happened overnight. So now what we expect is that the government will come up with its ministerial process being filled. When the ministerial process is being filled, you will not know who is the competent person to talk to or to retry your case with you. So this has to happen within the next few weeks, so that people will begin to feel, okay, now we know who is the minister of labor, who is the minister of finance, and all those things. So these positions must be filled as soon as possible. And then the people who did it alone has to be effective. But who is the minister of the responsible for this? So now it has to be a gradual process, but a gradual process has to be as fast as the people want it. Okay, well, another scary thing, just because of what you have said already, the manufacturers association of Nigeria has said that a lot of international manufacturers are ready to leave the country because of what is happening right now. And there's no buffer of some sort. There's no cushion for them that the government is giving so that they will stay back, no incentive of any nature. But they are just, as a result of the fuel subsidy removal, which has made life so unbearable, they are planning to leave. And this is the government that wants to create a lot of jobs. And like you ask, what's going to, are the jobs going to be created? So it's really, really worrisome. But the question is now, do you really trust that palliatives that they are talking about, now seeing the kind of experience that we've had in the school feeding program, in the cash transfer to the vulnerable people, to the trader money and all that, with all those experiences, do you really think palliatives that they are trying to talk about now will be anything to write home about? I believe they must have learned a lesson from the past. I mean, the same party that has been made in the past, and they are coming in again to continue. So they must have learned that the mistakes of the past need a shift, trying to correct them. That's what I believe they would have done. They would have done their homework. One of the things I keep wondering is, why do you want to give anything to people? What is the criteria? What value do you have exactly? Who is the employer? Who is the employer? So these are the things you have to do. And now, the people are feeling the pain more and more. Imagine yesterday I was reading that beginning from 5th of July in London, they will be charging 1000 Maira for the proof of Polish of your plan. So if you are going to give 1000 Maira, you look at people and they want to pay you too. But you know what the plan is, you are not going to spend a million or so. So what is this money going to be used for? You know, the people are going to pay the change, and you are charging them again. I mean, these are the things you have to look for. And you are just giving, you just have to do it. Protect the integrity of the bank. What exactly is that? You know, you have to go to the bank, you have to be at home, you have to go to the paper. You have all those things. Now you are charging 1000 Maira again for proof of Polish of your plan. For proof of Polish of your plan. What is that? So the more you can tax the people, the more they begin to think that we can't breathe again. So the government is looking at all these things carefully. I mean, and we need to figure out more incentives that we are currently under control for the employer to begin to do something. It is not just because everybody is more aware. I know, because of some of these things you know, we are committed to. I am going to come into the order and one man is going to come into the order after I do that. I want to challenge what he is doing. But in some cases, these people coming here they can't tell us. And we have to look at the solution. The new solution internally. That is what the people are expecting. We are committed to so many things. We have to pay so many debts. And we are now in a mess. So it is not the government alone. The government just have to try a vector way to do it. And that is information to build a trust in the people. Because otherwise the money will be so big over. Yeah, we've had mixed feelings from people because even in all this, not much is being talked about in terms of refurbishing our refineries, putting them back in good shape or building new ones. Or even making it easy enough for the people who want to go into that industry and have refineries for themselves. We do know that, okay, they say the licenses are there and all that. But right now we still see people being given certificates or licenses to import fuel into the country, including the Dangote that has had his refinery commissioned a few weeks ago by the former president, Mohammad Buhari. Now Nigerians are just crying that if that can happen that means that we are back to the same circle. We are not going anywhere. There's no breakaway. And also there's a conspiracy theory. I'll call it a conspiracy theory because they may not have any proof. But it points to something like that. Some people are saying that $1,000 as proof of ownership for vehicles is just another way of taking money that should have been collected from the toolkit which is not happening right now because you and I know what happened at the toolkit and then the money being collected is no longer collected. So they are looking for ways to reinflate the purse where that money could have entered. So a lot of things are coming because the policies of government seem to be shrouded and we see that we don't know a lot about. So what do you think about this and the fact that fuel subsidy has been removed but refineries nothing much is being said about it. What is your own feeling regarding this? I want to say if this is something that it has to be in 24 hours I don't believe in questions if there will be longer in all these questions and all that. I think the government can find means and ways to generate money to create taxings and avenues to make money but the question is are Nigerians not over taxed already? The people must be given time you don't just wake up and say within 24 hours we are going to start collecting the taxes for these and that you can give us three months to say that for this moment we will be doing this the people we are going to prepare that is what I know how it's been done you know in other places I've lived in some other places I understand that even when in the EU the Dushmark was changed into a EU they gave the people enough time to when they were increasing the BAT in Germany they gave the people a lot of time because that way it was increased from 11 to 15 to 17 until now it's just we continue to do it it is part of how to generate money but they must tell you this money we are generating is for business, for that information was disseminated and you can't do this within 24 hours how many people will need the news paper when you got tax contracts how many people will watch the television when there is no electricity so these are the things we have to consider I can understand if you issue certificates it is part of the economy it is part of the farmers trade must go on so we cannot just stop everything and then suddenly we find ourselves having a shortage of work they will start crying again so before you retire or you even rebuild and in the final it takes some time and the people want to have a good life before you rebuild or you publish so these are the things we have to consider so even if they want to take 12 keys they will let the people understand these are the things that people would be you want to take a regular check but let the people understand it if you buy the information the people must trust the government because what is here is there is this I don't know what controversy if you may some people say the tax net in Nigeria is so narrow that's why they don't make enough money and some other people are thinking that the people who are paying the tax they are overtaxed Nigerians are overtaxed and that is why the issue of this 1000 Naira that came up again immediately after the 7.5% of VAT that will be added to some products and so many other things Nigerians feel that they are overtaxed do you think Nigeria is having a fair dose of this taxation that we are having right now in our country I think the taxis have been regained all over the world regularly in Nigeria in Uganda you see this thing happening but the fact is they never streamline the taxes if you want to have all this before you should streamline them I have no problem increasing taxis on champagne if you say 250% on cigarettes I have no problem with that I don't think you just have to have that but you have to consider the fact that basic things would not be taxed in a way that people would feel that they can't even leave again that's not the truth if you say everybody bringing all this SUV and they would be able to pay 500% in who cares nobody would say no because how many people do we have for that if you say how they are bringing leather boxes and leather shoes to Nigeria we have taxed 100% I'm sure that people from Nigeria are losing their family yes, people do understand that so we don't have to tax this one and not streamline it today there is one tax tomorrow there is another tax and we have to get this system or saying let this thing go and believe that it's a good choice so a few days is the old bringing tax to this country you have to pay 45% after a few days the other day there was a news going around when you said ok they are using the salaries of the president and all the top people and after a week of solution it's a fake news so let us get into it should be very useful now it's very important to have head of all these ministries to have a proper ministry real ministry to have an idea exactly what we are going to do and what the government want to tell so these are all good jobs and the people want to have everything that we get in a way that we know the right information is being discussed and we are understanding tax system can be increased but in line the situation whereby we have three or four times the difference that we can get back food should be something that should be a power which will give tax most of the food or the manufacture will be given some incentives if you are talking about technology look at technology we are importing a lot of choice from all these countries give them enough time to look at it because people we have access to they don't want to buy all these but by the way look at how these good men and women they created the industry they source their money it is not through the government and we are having good men and women bringing in millions of millions of dollars into this country despite all this so now this is a good job there they are not getting the money through IMF they are getting it so they are not achieving this country that means we have the chances of making it big alright thank you very much taxation or taxes they are not bad give us time and tell us what you are using it for that's a good way to end it there thank you so much Mr. Joe Fermi-Dagunro for coming on the show this morning and helping us to make sense of what is happening I appreciate ok we have been talking with Mr. Joe Fermi-Dagunro Chief Strategist of Westphalia Resources and we will take a very short break and when we return we will be looking at another issue bothering us stay with us