As the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests entered day 5 on Monday, a fresh crisis erupted in Katsina, with security forces firing canisters of tear gas at young protesters who were taking to the streets waving Russian flags.
MUK TV reports that angry Nigerian youths have vowed to sustain the nationwide protest slated for August 1 through 10, despite President Bola Tinubu’s national broadcast on Sunday urging protesters to stop the demonstration and embrace dialogue.
Despite the president’s appeal, waving of Russian flags by protesters, which subtly undermines Nigeria’s sovereignty, has continued, raising concerns in some quarters about an invitation to military rule.
According to the Daily Trust, on Monday morning in Katsina, some protesters waved Russian flags while chanting in Hausa, “Hunger is killing us.”
Although Russia, the leader of the Socialist bloc, has no ideological ties with Nigeria, the Eastern European power has been implicated in recent coup d’états in Nigeria’s neighboring West African countries, such as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
