Nigerian entertainer and disc jockey Obianuju Udeh, popularly known as DJ Switch, has called out Nigerian leaders for failing to create an enabling environment for youths to thrive.
Switch gained recognition in her role during the #EndSARS protests of 2020, where she streamed a live video of the Lekki Toll Gate shooting.
In her speech at the Oslo Freedom Forum, held at the New world centre, Maimi, Florida, in the United States of America, she criticised the Nigerian Minister for Information and Culture, Lia Mohammed, for his part in the October 2020 protests.
The entertainer also likened the Nigerian Army to Zombies in Fela’s 1997 song, ‘Zombie’, which she said was because they are like ‘mindless zombies following idiotic orders.’
She said, “As an artiste and a DJ, I listen to music a lot all the time, and I am reminded of the legend — the artiste, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. He was known for speaking truth to power with his music and I am reminded of his 1977 song titled, Zombie. Here, Fela likens the Nigerian military to mindless zombies following idiotic orders. It was relevant then, it is relevant today and it is most likely relevant tomorrow, in the future.
“The same future that they say is in the hands of the leaders of tomorrow, but what we have tomorrow are recycled leaders of today who have failed to provide an enabling environment for young leaders to thrive and contribute. But they chose, instead to kill us all off one by one.
“This might sound outrageous to you and you might wonder why; I will tell you. Our leaders are afraid; it is as simple as that. They are afraid of a thinking, innovative and collaborative working Nigeria. They are afraid of every young Nigerian who, against all odds, have made it for themselves.
“They are afraid of a ‘me’; the coconut head generation as we like to call ourselves. We are hard-headed, we are not easily deceived by propaganda. We stand up to our oppressors, starting with the Nigerian Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed.
“Yes, you heard me right. The Nigerian Minister for Information, our very own spin doctor, his first name is ‘Lie’. It is inevitable, right? The pun is begging me. ‘Lie’ called the shooting a fabrication of a massacre without bodies. He said I was a purveyor of fake news with an intent of tarnishing the nation’s image and I am a terrorist among other things.
“The Nigerian Army called the shooting fake and I had made the whole thing up with a green screen. Yes, I have plans of going to Hollywood after this speech.”
