The planned nationwide #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria and 10 #DaysOfRage protest have suffered a significant setback in Cross River as practitioners in the entertainment industry have distanced themselves from the forthcoming street protest.
This disposition came to the fore on Monday in Calabar the state capital metropolis during the first edition of the Cross River State Stakeholders Interactive Session.
Majority of the entertainers comprising performing artistes, models, Disc Jockeys (DJ’s), stand up comedians and commedienes, event planners, costumers, designers/stylists, OAP’s, make up artistes, etc who attended the event were of the opinion that they will not participate in the much anticipated public protest reminiscing on the catastrophe of the 2020 #EndSARS protest especially in the state capital metropolis.
However, there were some dissenting voices who argued that since the 2020 protest, which saw the theft and destruction of their businesses, the Cross River state government never intervened to ameliorate their losses. They therefore used the opportunity to task the Cross River State Government to be empathetic towards their businesses going forward. Some used the opportunity to query why entertainers in the state had not been beneficiaries of the numerous government-distributed palliatives in the face of economic hardship.
In his opening remark the chairman of the occasion, Emmanuel Ironbar, the Chief of Staff to the state governor, represented by the Special Adviser on General Matters Ekpenyong Akiba, observed that he was not entirely opposed to protest but, was rather keen about the kind of protest like the interactive session where insecurity will not characterise the process. The Chief of Staff promised to take into consideration the concerns raised by the various clusters which constitute the entertainment industry.
While addressing newsmen shortly after the interactive session, the Commissioner for Information, Dr Erasmus Ekpang, disclosed that Cross River has a phobia for public protests.
The event was graced by Special Adviser Event to the governor, Effiong Ekpenyong, Security Adviser South Cdr Patrick Odiong, Special As Entertainment, and a host of others.
