The News
KANO, Nigeria — Nigerian authorities are clamping down on anti-government protesters who have been seen waving Russian flags and chanting pro-Putin slogans in the country’s northern cities.
The nationwide protests to decry the rising cost of living and “bad governance” started on Aug.1 and spread across the commercial capital Lagos and several northern cities last week. But security forces have had a delayed response to the unusual but increasing presence of pro-Russia support at some of the protests in northern states including Borno, Kaduna, Kano and Katsina. This week the police said they had arrested some tailors responsible for making Russian flags. The Nigeria Police Force and the defense chief both said the use of foreign flags during protests and openly calling for a military takeover of the government is a capital offense under Nigerian law.
The Russian embassy in Nigeria was quick to deny any involvement of its government or its officials. “As always, we emphasize that Russia does not interfere in the domestic affairs of foreign states, including Nigeria,” it said in a statement. “These intentions of some protesters to wave Russian flags are personal choices of individuals, and they do not reflect any official position or policy of the Russian Government on the issue.”
Protesters who spoke to Semafor Africa in Kano said the Russian flags were a sign of strength on the world stage and a way to get the attention of Nigerian President Tinubu. “We have the conviction that if Putin intervenes we will have our demands met so that citizens will enjoy having food to eat,” said Naziru Muktar, 27. “Nobody gave us any flags, we sourced the flags by ourselves.”
“I am a textile dealer, I have volunteered fifty yards for the new flags to be produced and bring them out for anyone interested to be given for free, Nura Musa Adama, 22. “We are doing this to raise voices to get our concerns addressed,” said Nura Musa Adama, 22.
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Russia’s interest in Africa has mostly been concentrated in West Africa’s Sahel states, the Central African Republic and Sudan with little involvement in Nigeria beyond standard diplomatic relations. But in recent years Russia has been raising its profile across the continent. It has offered military support to governments including the ruling junta in Mali which is battling a terrorist insurgency in the north of the country.
In recent years Russian operatives have been accused of spreading pro-Russia propaganda on social media in some African countries and Russian flags have been carried by some protesters in opposition to French presence in certain African countries.
The Russian government-backed paramilitary group Wagner has been offering mercenaries lucrative salaries to work aiding military regimes in Africa instead of joining Moscow’s armed forces in Ukraine, an investigation found, despite the group being officially disbanded last year.
Step Back
The protests across the country were triggered by a quest to end “bad governance” and tackle hardship in Nigeria due to runaway food inflation exacerbated by the removal of a popular fuel subsidy. The ten-day nationwide protests have seen hundreds of thousands of Nigerians come out to the streets. But security forces have shot at protesters in some instances. Amnesty International reported that 13 people had been killed in clashes with security forces, as of Aug. 3.
In Kano, the protest organizers claimed over 200,000 people showed up on the first day, Abdulmajid Yakubu Daudu, Kano Chairman of Nigeria Patriotic Front Movement, the protest organizer said, many believe the figure is more than that. Similar or high turnout of protesters was recorded in Borno, Kaduna, Gombe, Jigawa, Bauchi and several others states and towns in the north. “We are united in this protest because hunger and high cost of living affects everyone,” Mukhtar Abdullahi, a young protester said.