- Trust deficit, fear behind civil disobedience in South-East
- IPOB hails compliance
Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo has declared that the long-standing Monday sit-at-home order in the state has finally ended.
He said this yesterday during a walk-through of the Onitsha Main Market to signal the return of normal commercial activities.
His visit to the historic market served as a symbolic and practical declaration that the state is open for business, marking an end to civil disobedience that has crippled the South-East economy since 2021.
He walked through high-traffic trading zones, including Ose Market, Bright Street, Lagos Line, and Emeka Offor Plaza, engaging directly with traders.
During the walk, he bought local goods, from fabrics to food items, to demonstrate that the fear factor used to enforce the shutdown has dissipated.
Although normal commercial activities resumed yesterday at the Onitsha Main Market, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Monday sit-at-home order left empty streets in parts of Anambra, with banks, schools, motor parks, and filling stations closed and roads deserted.
Meanwhile, despite efforts to stimulate the South-East region’s economy, trust deficit, fear, and insecurity have continued to encourage the Monday sit-at-home.
It was noted that while the governors of Imo, Abia, Anambra, Enugu, and Ebonyi States have mandated civil servants to work on Monday, business owners have shown indifference.
The worst affected are the markets and businesses in Aba, Abia State, Onitsha, and Nnewi in Anambra State.
Incidentally, these areas host the region’s largest markets, including the Ariaria Market and the Onitsha Main Market.
Since 2021, when the travails of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, began, Aba had reportedly remained deserted on Mondays, with businesses, including private and public schools, under lock and key.
The situation is the same in Nnewi and Onitsha, where markets and other businesses don’t open on Mondays. This is despite several calls and appeals by authorities for a change of attitude.
A dealer in books at the Ogbete Market in Enugu, Mr Vincent Eke, said that previous experiences by some businessmen in the hands of non-state actors were responsible for the continued sit-at-home.
Eke stated: “Before now, I was operating on Mondays. I was shocked to receive a call from an unknown number, warning that I had continued to defy their orders. The caller went as far as mentioning the number of children I have, the name of my wife, my residential address, and the kind of business that I do.
“He warned that getting me was as easy as anything. He said if I continue to defy their orders, whatever I see, I should take. I remember reporting that incident to the leadership of the market here, who advised me to be careful, as most traders were receiving such calls and that those behind it were not joking. So I made the decision not to open on Mondays.”
Eke went on to narrate that his children did not go to school yesterday, following orders and counter-orders on the sit-at-home.
However, IPOB has commended compliance with the sit-at-home directive issued across the region.
A statement issued by the spokesperson of the IPOB, Emma Powerful, yesterday said.
“This historic show of unity has once again demonstrated that the deep love, loyalty, and resolve of the Southeasterners towards Nnamdi Kanu cannot be broken by threats, intimidation, or state-sponsored coercion.
“From Omambala to Onitsha and across the South-East, the people have spoken with one voice. The land of Eri, Nri, Igbo-Ukwu, and Uzo-Igbo has reaffirmed its historic role as the conscience and backbone of the Igbo nation. Our people are born free, and will not submit to fear.”
The Guardian
