By Emmanuel Obisue
Nigeria’s Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla has labelled Nigerians as “gullible”, and has alleged that they are being sponsored to protest against the current administration by “subversive” individuals who are rich and highly influential.
Ogalla made this condescending remarks against Nigerians on Tuesday in Abuja while speaking at a joint press briefing by Service Chiefs and Heads of other security agencies on national security, at the Nigerian Defence Headquarters (DHQ).
The CNS’s remarks, however, reflects a stark contrast of the mental state of Nigerians who are protesting against growing hunger and economic hardship in a planned 10-day protest tagged: ‘#EndBadGovernance’.
“It is obvious to us that many of the protesters are sponsored by subversive elements who are bent on distorting the peace that we have been enjoying in the last 25 years of democratic governance.
“It is also obvious to us that these people who want to perpetrate this ideology, have other intentions other than the intentions that they have made the gullible Nigerians to believe,” Ogalla said.
In his remarks, Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa noted that the nation’s heads of security agencies and service chiefs converged in a very “rare” and “unprecedented” gathering out of the “respect” they have for Nigerians to brief them on their operations as it concerns the ongoing protests.
He assured that if the military is called on to step in, it will only go after the “enemies of peace”. “We will remain professional. We have talked to our men to respect the rights of every Nigerian. We want to make it clear that we are only after those against the State, not those that are innocent. We caution against violence and call for calm,” he said.
While the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Kayode Egbetokun denied firing live bullets on protesters, the Department of State Security, DSS, represented by its spokesperson Dr. Peter Afunaya, also denied arresting one Micheal Lenin, an #EndBadGovernance protester, or having him in custody.
The #EndBadGovernance protest which entered day 6 on Tuesday, started on August 1, and is expected to stretch till August 10, according to the organizers.
The national security briefing was attended by the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, the Chief of Air Staff, the Inspector General of Police, the DSS, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Nigerian Customs and the Nigerian Immigration Service.
