News - South West - Lagos
Updated: November 19, 2020

#EndSARS: 'Nigeria Is A Dictatorship With A Democratic Face' - DJ Switch Tells CNN

By Samuel Mayowa
November 19, 2020
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Nigerian disc jockey and activist, DJ Switch has described the Nigerian government as 'a dictatorship with a democratic face'.

The popular Nigerian disc jockey and singer whose real name is Obianuju Catherine Udeh, stated this in a chat with CNN's Becky Anderson on Wednesday, November 18, 2020, after she was asked how she feels about the president's vow on Tuesday to prevent a repeat of anti-police brutality protests through dialogue and listening.

In response, DJ Switch who streamed live the shootings at the Lekki Toll Gate during the #EndSars protest said the government is headed by people who arrest and persecute innocent citizens.

“Nigeria is a dictatorship with a democratic face.”

Nigerian activist @dj_switchaholic speaks to @BeckyCNN from hiding, telling her about the horrors she witnessed at an #endSARS protest, and why she says she can’t trust the Nigerian government. pic.twitter.com/yJ6PO2yznD
— Connect the World (@CNNConnect) November 18, 2020

According to her: “I do not hold what the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria says to heart. Nigeria is a dictatorship with a democratic face. I think that is primarily to please the international community. It is our right to protest for the change that we demand. This government has used force from the beginning.

“They started with infiltrating a peaceful protest with things but that did not work. Then they moved to bring the military in. So, the same government that says that it has banned SARS for close to four years are saying that it wants to have a dialogue. The president has not even addressed the incident that happened at the Toll Gate so I do not take his words to heart. They must show accountability.”She stated.

Also, after being played the interview the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, earlier had with CNN, DJ Switch responded by challenging the governor, to tell the truth about what happened at the Lekki Toll Gate.

In her words, she said: “With no due respect, I actually challenge the governor of Lagos State to just say the truth. They know the truth and they have confliction stories with each other. Nigerians have died and this is not a time to play games. Families are looking for their loved ones. To be honest with you in regards to me, I do not know how to feel because, on one hand, I am grateful that I am alive today but on the other hand I don’t know if to say I am lucky because it seems that the others were not lucky. The governor owes a responsibility to the citizen of Lagos State to say the truth,” the disc jockey said.

While recalling the incident, Udeh, described it as the worst experience of her life. “What I experienced that day was the worst experience of my life. The Nigerian army that is supposed to protect us came with no warning; none. There was no representative to speak to us. We heard gunshots from behind the Toll Gate because we were at the other side of the Toll Gate. We heard the gunshots and people were running so what we did was to sit down, stay still, and wave our flags.

“We believed that if we waved our flags, they would know that we were not there to cause any harm but to express our rights. There was no warning, they just started shooting and people were just dropping. I cannot explain that it was just a chaotic scene that most times, I find it difficult to close my eyes without seeing those things,” she said.

DJ Switch, while giving an account of what happened on that infamous night, said describing herself as being lucky would be unfair on the side of those who didn't make it out of the protest grounds alive.

She went on to reveal how her career as a disc jockey has been cut short because of the hard evidence she had against the government.

"My career is gone, all my bookings are gone. But I am happy that I have used my platform to do this. I don't want to run forever. I want to go back home, I don't care if they pick me when I get home," she said.

She told the CNN journalist how the government has openly bullied and attacked some of the protesters in the aftermath of the protest by seizing their passports or illegally detaining them.

Dismissing claims that she has gone on asylum, she however confirmed that she is currently not in Nigeria.