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Sowore Defends Flying Russian Flags, Criticizes Government Distraction Tactics
Omoyele Sowore, former presidential candidate for the African Action Congress (AAC), has asserted that displaying Russian flags during protests does not constitute a criminal offense.
Sowore emphasized that such an act is not treasonable, countering recent statements by President Bola Tinubu and the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, who have warned against flying foreign flags, particularly Russian ones.
Sowore pointed out that Christian leaders often display Israeli flags in churches, and many individuals fly Palestinian flags in support of the Palestinian cause, without facing legal consequences.
He criticized the government’s focus on flag display as a diversionary tactic meant to distract from the core issues driving the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protests.
In his comments posted on X, Sowore accused the military and government officials of attempting to shift attention away from the reasons behind the protests.
He argued that the crackdown on foreign flags is an attempt to overshadow the legitimate grievances expressed by Nigerians.
Sowore recalled the 2020 #EndSARS protests, questioning the government’s commitment to national symbols after military forces were allegedly involved in violence against protesters who displayed flags and sang the national anthem.
Sowore’s remarks challenge the government’s stance and argue that the real issue is the widespread discontent with current governance, rather than the symbolism of foreign flags.
Nigerian politician and FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has said that he is aware many civil servants do not like him.
He shared that he understands why he is unpopular among some civil servants, explaining that funds previously spent on unnecessary conferences are now being redirected to road construction projects.
He said “Some people say conferences for corruption and I say what is that? You are going for conferences to do what? These are ways government funds are being diverted. I say put this money in this road here and the people will get the impact.”
The Federal Government of Nigeria has reacted to rumours claiming it has approved Adire as the new fabric for the NYSC uniform.
It can be recalled that the Federal Government recently announced plans to review the NYSC uniform, which sparked speculation online that Adire had already been selected as its replacement.
However, the government has clarified that no final decision has been made regarding the new uniform.
“I mentioned Adire during the discussion. I also mentioned Ankara. My intention was simply to cite examples of some of the proposals that have been put forward in the course of our consultations. It was not an announcement that any particular fabric has been adopted or approved to replace the current NYSC uniform.”
The Federal Government has announced an extension of the NYSC programme. It can be noted that the NYSC camp orientation is usually for three weeks before the youths go out to gain experience, employment, and serve the country for one year.
However, the FG announced that the passing-out parade from camp will be cancelled, and corps members will now spend six weeks in camp instead of three weeks.
“The first two weeks speak to laying a foundation on civic responsibility. The next two weeks will look at career mapping, basic accounting literacy skills, business planning and access to finance. The final two weeks, we intend to have focused corps-stream-specific training aligned with the corps member’s designated stream based on his choice, academic background and skills profile.”
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