DAILY TRUST
The Russian flags waving syndicate share a common identity in all the northern states – their written slogans promoted Russia and Putin while their songs/chants echoed anti-Tinubu narratives and by extension part of the ‘end bad governance protest’ demands – ‘a dawo da tallafi’ (return fuel subsidy), ‘a bude boda’ (open the borders), etc. Most of the flags-carrying protesters were heard singing in Hausa using lyrics such as ‘Ko ya bude sai ya sauka’ (referring to Tinubu and literally saying to him, ‘even if he addresses the concerns he must step down), ‘A bude boda’ (meaning ‘open the borders’), ‘A dawo da tallafi’ (return fuel subsidy), ‘Mulkin Tinubu ba ma yi’ (we don’t support Tinubu’s administration), ‘Zalincin Tinubu ba ma yi’ (we detest Tinubu’s oppression), etc.
Even though waving Russian flags during the end bad governance protest was mostly considered haphazard, data showed it wasn’t. Just like the protest itself was somewhat structured and campaigned for on social media, the idea to wave the Russian flag and profile/promote Vladimir Putin was organised and promoted on social media, notably Facebook and WhatsApp in local language, Hausa. Through audio and text-based short posts in Hausa, the anti-hardship protesters were sold the idea that their demands couldn’t be speedily addressed unless they bring Russia and Putin into it, a narrative their promoters emphasized will send a shocking message to the West, draw global media attention and make President Tinubu act fast. This could have accounted for the sudden appearance of Russian flags across many cities in the north.
The flag-carrying protesters openly called for Putin to intervene in Nigeria and rescue it. In this post on Facebook, the user, based in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital addressed his audience in Hausa language backing his post with a Russian flag saying “everyone should go and get a Russian flag, the struggle is not over yet, we must continue with it otherwise these leaders will escort us to the our graves”
Another Facebook user attached a picture of Putin and Kim Jon Un with Russian flag with a caption, “if Tinubu’s national address tomorrow favours us and addresses our concerns we will not be on the streets, but if it turns out to be otherwise we should all get Russian flags and be on the streets.”
On X, during the protest, the conversation about Russian flags was similar to the happening on Facebook. Analysis of some of the accounts that amplified the Russian flags and Putin showed intentionality about inviting Putin to come and save Nigeria. In this tweet, this user captioned a video he posted with a Hausa sentence, “we should remain resolute in waving Russian flags and pictures of Putin, we will see what will happen.”
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