Why Anti-Subsidy Protests Didn’t Turn Violent Under Jonathan, Former DSS Director

• A former Director of the Department of State Services, DSS, Mike Ejiofor, has explained why the 2012 anti-subsidy removal protest did not turn violent
• Ejiofor said the body language of former president Goodluck Jonathan and the fact that things were not as bad as they are at the moment was responsible
• He warned that no matter the intention of the organisers, the #Endbadgovernance protest will be hijacked

Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 5 years of experience covering metro and government policy

A former Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) Mike Ejiofor, has attributed the absence of violence in the 2012 anti-subsidy removal protest to the body language of former president Goodluck Jonathan.

Ejiofor said the situation in the county was also not as bad as it is at the moment.

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The Punch reported that he said the case is different now as people are hungry, and desperate and are ready to use anything to vent their anger.

He stated this while speaking as a guest on Arise TV Morning Show on Friday, July 26.

“The 2012 protest didn’t turn violent, one, because of the body language of the sitting president then. He allowed everything to go and the situation was not as bad as what we have now. Now, it can be exploited because people are hungry, and desperate and want to use anything to vent their anger.

“It is their legitimate right to protest as enshrined in the constitution. But I think they (the organisers of the protest) did us a lot of good by giving sufficient notice to the government of their intentions to go on protest and you can see the grounds of appeals from various stakeholders, interests groups appealing to them to shelve the plan."

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Ejiofor warned that the #Endbadgovernance protest will be hijacked, Vanguard reports.

“No matter how good their intentions are; I believe this will be hijacked eventually.”

Fani-Kayode speaks on planned protest

Legit.ng earlier reported that a former minister of aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, revealed what the planned nationwide protest is all about.

Fani-Kayode said those behind the planned protests were trying to use the nation’s economic hardship to create chaos and mass unrest in the country.

The chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) warned that Nigeria does not want or need a nationwide #endsars-like round of protests.

Source: Legit.ng