The Arewa Intelligentia Caucus (AIC), on Monday called on President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to flush out all the Service Chiefs as a result of the Russian Flag at Kano and Abuja protests over hardship in the Country.
Also, the group implored the President to wield the big stick, declare a state of emergency in any state or region if the political leaders of the affected area(s) are not acting decisively, fish out and prosecute perpetrators for treason.
In a Press Statement signed by Abubakar Ciroma (President) and Nasir Adamu (Publicity Secretary), the group made it clear that it does not require a security and intelligence expert to understand the volatility of any form of mass gathering in Kano State, saying some recent antecedents even attested to how civil dissent could escalate disproportionately to the actual subject of discontent.
They noted that two recent cases in point should suffice, explaining that in November 2023, hundreds of youths took to the streets of Kano, protesting the appeal court judgment that sacked Governor Abba Yusuf as the state’s governor and that the protest took a violent turn as some of the protesters said they were ready to die as they demanded justice.
The group added that also in May this year, the repeal of the Kano Emirates Council Law by the Kano State House of Assembly, leading to the deposition of Aminu Ado Bayero and the reinstatement of Muhammadu Sanusi II as Emir of Kano, sparked violent protests.
They stated that it was therefore unsurprising when, on the first day of
the#EndBadGovernance protest, tacitly endorsed and supported by Governor Yusuf, events took a violent turn, leading to the destruction of billboards and streetlights, looting of shops and public facilities, and attacks on flashy vehicles.
According to the group, despite a 24-hour curfew imposed by the governor, the second day of the protest was marred by more violence, adding that when security operatives attempted to disperse some youths who defied the curfew to continue the #EndBadGovernance protest, it was met with fierce resistance.
But more worrying, in terms of the implication and significance of the protest, the group said was the waving of the Russian flag by some protesters urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to intervene in Nigeria, saying that one has to be a fool to believe that those Russian flags were hurriedly and expressly delivered for use between the night of the first day of protest and the following morning and quired that, “And why Russia? Is it because Putin has finally chosen to actively subscribe to the playground of proxy wars among world powers which West Africa has recently turned into, with his affiliation to political disruptions in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali?”
The group pointed out that undermining democracy has been a strategic objective of Russia’s African policy for the past two decades, adding that Authoritarian governments lacking domestic checks and balances provide permissive environment for enabling Russian influence on the African continent.
They said that Russian interest to undercurrent democracy in Africa occurs across a range of methods with disinformation, saying in the desperation by Moscow, 22 countries targeted for electoral interference and extra- constitutional claims to power.
While condemning in strong terms, the treasonable action of protesters in Kano waving the Russian flag, they observed with dismay that the same flag was also spotted in some suburbs of Abuja, the nation’s capital.
They also strongly held out that the action was a serious indictment on the security chiefs and therefore, called on the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Bola Tinubu, to be ready to wield the big stick and declare a state of emergency in any state or region if the political leaders of the affected area(s) are not acting decisively.