More excerpts and facts continue to emerge from the recently released book of former President Goodluck Jonathan, My Transition Hours.
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In the book, Goodluck Jonathan expressed how his mother who had lost 8 of her children before him became traumatized after pictures of a mock coffin with his name and picture appeared on social media during the fuel subsidy protests of 2012.
The former President said;
“The protests continued unabated. In all of these, one woman I pitied most was my aged mother who was with me in the State House.
Every day, she watched on television protesters carrying a casket with my picture on it and having the inscription ‘Rest In Peace.’
I could imagine her trauma. This is a woman who had 10 live births with only my elder sister and I surviving.”
Continuing further he said, several Nigerians of note had visited him to plead with him to reverse the increase in fuel prices after the subsidy removal.
He noted these Nigerians as; General-Overseer, Living Faith Mission (Winners Chapel) Bishop David Oyedepo; Primate of the Anglican Church, Rt.Rev Nichola Okoh and eight other clerics.
Jonathan said what was more disheartening was the fact that the opposition in Lagos had hijacked the protests and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) which had been briefed on the matter before the subsidy removal was announced joined the opposition on the streets of Lagos.
“In Lagos State for instance, it was like a carnival. Musicians, comedians and other celebrities were engaged by opposition elements to join the protests. Refreshments were served to protesters.
Every morning Lagos State government workers cleaned up the Gani Fawehinmi Park and prepared it for the day’s protests. It appeared as though the protesters were very special guests of the Lagos State Government. Similar scenarios played out in other opposition controlled states.”
The former President further pointed accusing fingers at the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal saying although he was a PDP member at the time; he decided to work for the opposition to exploit the situation.