Protesters wave Russian flags in Kano, call for Putin’s intervention
….Tinubu To Address Nigerians today
…Casualties As Protesters Clash With Security Agents In Kano
Some Nigerians were seen in Kano waving Russian flags amid the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest calling for an end to economic hardship.
The protest has largely been marred by violence, looting, and destruction of public and private properties in the northern part of the country.
At least 14 people have been reported dead.
Organisers have labelled the nationwide demonstration as ’10 Days of Rage’.
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In Kano, northern Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, pictures on social media showed protesters waving Russian flags as they marched through the city.
The pictures were taken on Thursday—the first day of the protests.
Also, on Saturday, hundreds of mostly underaged youths took to the streets of Kano, urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to intervene in Nigeria.
The crowd defied the 24-hour curfew imposed by the state government and marched along Bayero University Road, where the Emir’s palace is located.
In Kurna Asabe, Fagge LGA, some of the protesters displayed placards with different inscriptions calling for a Russian military takeover.
The demonstrators expressed a desperate and urgent need for change, saying the current situation is unsustainable, noting that they would rather risk death from violence than continue to suffer from hunger and deprivation.
“We rather die of bullets than to die of hunger; we cannot stay at home and die of hunger,” Auwalu Idi, a protester, told TheCable.
“We cannot stay at home because we don’t have anything to feed our family—no water, no food, this curfew—that’s why we are out to protest again.
“We are raising the Russian flag because we believe Tinubu is playing his imperial masters’ scripts—the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the United States of America.”
Salman Garba, the state police commissioner, told reporters that some of the youths were hiding under a programme organised by an unnamed politician at the Nassarawa palace of Aminu Ado Bayero, the deposed Emir of Kano.
Russia’s Growing Influence In West Africa
Russia has in recent years expanded its influence in Africa more than any other external actor.
Russian engagements extend from deepening ties in North Africa and spreading its reach in the Central African Republic and the Sahel.
One of the demands on the placards raised by a protester in Kano read “End insecurity”.
Earlier this year, Russian military instructors arrived in the Niger Republic to train the West African nation’s army.
The deal was part of an agreement between both countries to increase cooperation as the West African country, one of the poorest in the world, grapples with jihadist rebellions.
Other French nations in the Sahel battling extreme terrorism have also turned to Russia for military assistance in the face of growing dissent against the West.
Analysts say northern Nigeria’s deep historical ties with neighbouring Sahelian countries worsened by porous borders have paved the way for Russian influence.
For 16 years, Nigeria has battled the Boko Haram insurgency, which has claimed millions of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands in the north-east region.
While the army says it has significantly subdued the terrorists, citizens argue that efforts to eliminate the armed group can be improved.
In June, a report claimed there is evidence that jihadi fighters from the Sahel region crossed into Nigeria through the Benin Republic border.
Tinubu To Address Nigerians today Amid #EndBadGovernance Protests
President Bola Tinubu has succumbed to growing calls for him to address the nation amid widespread #EndBadGovernance protests that entered its third day on Saturday.
The ex-Lagos governor who has been at the centre of rallies against economic hardship and high living cost that have reverberated across Nigeria’s 36 states and the nation’s capital Abuja will address over 200 million citizens on Sunday, August 4, 2024, at 7:00 am, his spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement.
“Television, radio, and other electronic media outlets are enjoined to plug into the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) for the broadcast.
“The broadcast will be repeated on the network services of the NTA and the FRCN at 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm on the same day,” Ngelale said.
Since the protests started on Thursday, opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Tinubu’s contenders in the last election ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi have loudly called on him to address defiant youths who have taken to the streets to express their displeasure over the wobbling economy and the attendant hardship in the country.
Prices of food and basic commodities have gone through the roof in the last months, as Nigerians battle one of the country’s worst inflation rates and economic crises sparked by the government’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of forex windows.
Resilient Youths List Demands
Propagated on social media, the #EndBadGovernance protests against economic hardship planned for 10 days entered its third day on Saturday as resilient youths pushed on, insisting that Tinubu meets their demands.
Some of the demands of the protesters include the restoration of petrol subsidies and the forex regime. They also want the government to address food shortages, unemployment and wasteful spending by those in power. Other demands are reduction of the President’s cabinet and general cost of governance, immediate reforms of the electoral umpire INEC and anti-graft agency EFCC with renewed vigour in the fight against corrupt politicians
The protests turned awry in Kano, Borno, Yobe, Kaduna, Jigawa, Nasarawa and other states where rampaging hoodlums took advantage of the situation and burned vehicles, looted warehouses and private stores. Police said seven persons died during incidents around the protests but denied that security agents killed any of the victims.
Till Day 3, policemen were seen dispersing protesters using tear gas, even as civil society organisations condemned the action of the police.
Casualties As Protesters Clash With Security Agents In Kano
A violent clash between security operatives and protesters defying a government-imposed curfew has left several people feared dead and many others injured in Kano.
The unrest erupted during the ongoing #EndBadGovernance demonstrations in the state.
Eyewitnesses reported that at least eight people, including women and children, were shot in the confrontation that occurred in the Rijiyar Lemo area.
An elderly woman and three others are confirmed dead, with many others sustaining serious injuries.
“At least eight people were shot in our area, including females and children. An elderly woman is now dead alongside three others, while many have sustained serious injuries,” recounted a witness who saw the incident unfold.
When contacted, the police spokesman in the state, SP Abdullahi Haruna, confirmed the incident but said “we are still gathering information at the moment and will release the full details of what happened once the investigation is complete”.
Also, Kano Commissioner of Information, Baba Dantiye, confirmed that people died at Kofar Nasawa and Kurna as a result of clash between protesters and the police.
The trouble reportedly began when security forces attempted to disperse youths who had gathered in defiance of the 24-hour curfew imposed by the Kano State Government.
The protesters, brandishing placards, had gathered at Mandawari, Kofar Kwaru, and parts of the Nasarawa area of Kano, chanting slogans such as, “We would rather be killed by a bullet than killed by hunger.”
The protest, which started peacefully on Thursday, spiralled into violence. Hoodlums were said to have attempted to loot shops, including a Rufaida yoghurt outlet, but were dispersed by security agents.
Some public and private properties across Kano were attacked. Notably, the newly built Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Industrial Park was set ablaze, with looters making away with desktop computers, chairs, keyboards, and other appliances from the facility.
Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf had imposed a 24-hour curfew in response to the deteriorating security situation, aiming to restore order in the state. However, the defiance of the curfew has led to further clashes.
