“What is the Nigerian government doing for us?” ask youths but deny political motive for protesting
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Hunger protesters in Northern states waving Russian flags – in defiance of warning from President Bola Tinubu and the military that it is a treasonable offence – have explained their motivation is to draw attention to the hardship across the country that Tinubu has failed to tackle while wasting resources on his political propaganda machine.
A journalist who embedded with the protesters and requested one of the flags in the Kurna area of the Kano metropolis was directed to a man later identified as a member of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN).
The journalist, who asked not to be named for safety reasons, said members of the Shi’ite group started waving Russian flags before other protesters bought into the idea, per reporting by Premium Times.
One man who identified simply himself as Haruna said although he was not an IMN member, someone brought the flags to them at the protest grounds to spite the Nigerian government.
“I don’t know him, but what is the Nigerian government doing for us? The government must listen to our concerns; they must bring back the fuel subsidy. The only flag that I cannot raise is that of Israel,” Haruna recounted.
Kano is a predominantly Muslim state, most of the population Sunni Muslims, among whom anti-Israeli sentiments run high.
Isah Bawa, an IMN member in Fagge Council, acknowledged the participation of IMN members in the protest and the use of Russian flags but denied it was an order from the Shiite organisation.
“Shite members took part in the protest like other Nigerians who are hungry but there is no formal instruction from our leaders for members to wave the Russian flag,” he stressed.
Abdullahi Maishayi, a tea vendor, who was arrested by the State Security Service (SSS) on Sunday for hoisting the Russian flag at his tea joint in the Fagge area, recounted he was released hours later after he denied knowing the person who put the flag there.
“It’s a tea joint, we host all categories of people. I don’t know whether the person who hoisted the flag at the joint is a Shiite because I was not around when the flag was hoisted,” said Maishayi, who is not an IMN member.
The waving of Russian flags in the #EndBadGovernance protest in Kano became noticeable on Sunday and Monday at specific locations in the city.
Hundreds of demonstrators waving the flags on IBB Way on Monday exploited the relaxation of a curfew imposed by the state government to continue the protest.
Several groups of protesters later adopted the Russian flags statewide, but many insisted they have no political motive for doing so.
Some peaceful protesters have withdrawn from the streets, yet hoodlums continue to loot stores and residential areas.
The Russian embassy in Nigeria in a statement on Monday reiterated Mosco is not involved in its national flags being flown at #EndBadGovernance protest.
Tinubu has condemned the waving of Russian flags and calls for the military take over by some protesters. Chief of Defence Staff Christopher Musa has flatly refused to heed the call, repeating Tinubu’s warning that waving any foreign flag to protest is treason.
Tinubu acknowledged in his broadcast on Sunday that protesters have a right to air their grievances but he did not make any concession to them, only saying they should embrace dialogue without spelling out how and when such a meeting would be convened by him.
While the peaceful protesters have withdrawn from the streets, some hoodlums continued to loot stores and residential areas.
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