Russia flag-waving undermines Nigeria

NIGERIA is waking up to a harsh reality after some citizens introduced a new element to the hunger and #EndBadGovernance protests. From Kano to Kaduna and other cities in the North, protesters are waving Russian flags during demonstrations. It appeared inconspicuous initially, but things escalated quickly as the demonstration intensified. This undermines Nigeria’s sovereignty and is food for thought as, despite decades of independence from the British, the country is still a fragile concern.

The optics provoke anxiety and angst simultaneously. Underage protesters and youths are on the streets with Russian flags. It reached higher dimensions on Monday, forcing the security agents to clamp down on the elements brandishing the flags.

According to the police, they arrested 30 protesters in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, and Bauchi in connection with the flag waving, along with 873 other protesters. The police said they arrested some tailors in Kano sewing the flags. They should investigate the tailors and fish out their sponsors.

A worried President Bola Tinubu raised the alarm over the pro-Russia sentiments that have marred the protests. The Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, describes it as treason. “You can see that some subversive elements are pushing individuals to carry Russian flags in Nigeria; that is crossing the red line, and we will not accept that,” Musa said. Both are right.

Russia, apart from invading Ukraine in February 2022, is a pariah state in the West and is looking to conquer new territories. After the exit of the West in West Africa, Russia is now embedded in Niger Republic, Mali, and Burkina Faso. The three countries are under military rule. Tinubu needs to urgently address the symptoms of Nigeria’s fragility instead of depending on propaganda.

Nigeria should be worried. Russia can employ the closeness of these countries to the North using religion and ethnic colouration to infiltrate Nigeria. In the North, many places host foreigners from these countries. Nigeria’s porous borders make it easy for them to move in and out seamlessly.

So, it is not out of the question that the protests have assumed an international colouration. To be fair to the government, it warned that the demonstrations are likely to be hijacked by those with sinister motives. This is turning out to be true.

On Monday, the Department of State Services reportedly arrested Michael Adaramoye, also known as Michael Lenin, the National Coordinator of the Youth Rights Campaign and one of the protest leaders.

Since August 1, Nigeria has descended into a farce. The Take It Back movement launched a campaign to protest economic hardship, bad governance, and excessive cost of governance. Demonstrators have expressed their grievances in Port Harcourt, Osogbo, Lagos, and Ibadan in the South. It is more widespread in the North.

Over 17 persons have reportedly lost their lives. Initially, the protests were peaceful but turned violent, especially in the North. The economy reportedly loses about N400 billion daily to the protest.

The flag-waving campaign shows the changing dynamics in the world, and Nigeria should be wary not to get sucked in. The political turmoil in Bangladesh points to domestic affairs in a country being teleguided from elsewhere. There are strong accusations that the demonstrators in Bangladesh are adamant because India interferes with their country. The deposed Bangladeshi president, Sheikh Hasina, fled to India on Monday.

Protests should be peaceful. Therefore, Tinubu and his security chiefs need to investigate this development thoroughly. It is the right of a Nigerian to protest, but it should not degenerate into anarchy and an open show of support for Russia or any other country. The government should prosecute all those fingered in the flag-waving act and descend on the criminals destroying and looting public and private assets.