By Obike Ukoh
The one week closure of Onitsha Main Market, ordered by Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, to compel the traders to go to the market on Mondays, raised a lot dust.
Soludo ordered the closure on January 27, for refusal of the traders to go to the market on Monday January 26, for their normal businesses.
Sit-at-home on Mondays, was “ decreed’’ by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), since 2021 across the South-East to press for the release of their leader, now imprisoned Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
There was high compliance of this order by the non-state actor at the beginning, but has whittled down over time.
In many states of the South-East, businesses go on normally on Mondays.
For instance, in a state like Ebonyi, markets, banks, schools among others, carry out their activities unhindered.
Irked by the high compliance rate in Anambra State, especially Onitsha, Soludo had consistently pleaded with the traders to go to the markets on Mondays and assured them of security.
The closure of the Onitsha Main Market, unarguably was Soludo’s last masterstroke to end the practice in Anambra State. Unfortunately, the governor’s action was greeted by condemnation and protests.
Indeed no group has commended the governor for the strategy he adopted to break the sit-at-home impasse.
Leading the pack, a U.S.-based organization, The Rising Sun Foundation, via a statement by one Dr Maxwell Dede, described his action as tyrannical, economic blockade of Onitsha, and “flagrant betrayal” of promises he made four years ago to support a grand dialogue on the Igbo people’s future within or outside Nigeria.
The group criticized the governor for deploying military and police personnel to blockade economic arteries, describing the move as “the act of a tin-pot dictator, not a democratic leader.”
The group added that the world should hold the Government House in Awka responsible for any breakdown of law and order, insisting that “Governor Soludo fired the first shot with this unjust and provocative blockade”.
The group stressed that the “path to peace in the South-East is through justice, dialogue, and the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, not through military barricades and economic suffocation.”
On its part, IPOB through its spokesperson, Emma Powerful also condemned the governor’s action.
“This tragic incident is a stark reminder of how Nigerian authorities often initiate cycles of violence, only to later falsely attribute them to IPOB and the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
“We call on all well-meaning Nigerians, human rights organizations, and the international community to immediately caution Governor Soludo and warn the Nigerian police and army to desist from firing live ammunition into crowds of unarmed Civilians.
“Such provocative tactics not only endanger lives but also exacerbate the very insecurity they claim to combat”.
Emma Powerful stressed that: “IPOB remains committed to peace and a negotiated settlement that culminates in a democratic referendum on self-determination, the very cause for which our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, was unjustly imprisoned.
A former Chairman of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, (PFN), Apostle Eugene Ogu, also lambasted Soludo.
Ogu, who is the General Overseer of Abundant Life Evangelical Mission, said he would invoke “Chukwu Abiama,” the Igbo name for God, against the governor for his reckless action.
“The God of the Igbos, Chukwu Abiama, will respond to this display of senseless arrogance,” the cleric said.
The Cleric also accused Soludo of abusing executive powers and undermining the livelihoods of traders who depend on daily sales for survival.
While acknowledging that the sit-at-home have adverse economic consequences, argued that shutting down markets for an entire week, amounted to a greater act of economic sabotage.
“Between those who stayed away from their shops for one day and a government that shut down the market for a whole week, who is the real saboteur?” he asked.
The Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), Anambra State Branch, on its part stressed the adverse impact of the closure of the market on traders, customers, and residents.
The CLO Chairman, Comrade Vincent Ezekwueme, noted that “mercy and love are more fruitful than strict justice.’’
He said that inadequate sensitization and safety concerns were the reasons for non-compliance with the governor’s directive.
In the same vein, The Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ONICCIMA), advocated the use of dialogue to resolve the issue.
ONICCIMA President, Chinedu Nwonu, says the Chamber recognizes the constitutional responsibility of government to create enabling environment for businesses to thrive, in order not to impair its projected Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
“Equally, our state government constitutionally maintains law, order, and economic stability ensuring that non-state actors do not dictate the commercial life of Anambra.
“Government records show that the South-East region reportedly loses about N19.6 billion weekly as a result of sit-at-home activities, with Anambra State accounting for approximately N8 billion of that loss.
“With such a huge and recurring economic drain, the Chamber observes that the state risks drifting towards economic dislocation and instability, a situation no responsible government can afford to condone,” he said.
Nwonu, however, noted that the chamber supported decisive actions aimed at restoring lawful economic activity, as they considered it imperative to draw urgent attention to the grave economic and social consequences of prolonged market closures as a punitive measure.
He highlighted the adverse effects of the market closure to include: disruption of supply chain; erosion of investor confidence; social tension and public anxiety; impact on livelihoods and household; among others.
The president called on government to balance enforcement with dialogue, security with economic sensitivity, and authority with partnership in the collective interest of the people and economy of the State.
He also charged Anambra State Government to restore confidence, protect businesses, and ensure the full return of Onitsha Main Market to normal Monday-to-Saturday operations in a safe, secure, and sustainable manner.
The apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, said it understood the government’s concerns, noting that the decision was intended to ensure order, safety and long-term development
President-General, Sen. John Azuta-Mbata, in a statement issued by the group’s National Publicity Secretary, Dr Ezechi Chukwu, urged the governor to consider the economic hardship confronting traders and families whose livelihoods depend largely on the market’s daily activities.
According to him, reopening the market promptly would ease the burden on residents, particularly amid prevailing economic difficulties.
“We commend Governor Soludo for his purposeful leadership and the administration’s efforts at transforming Anambra.
“In the spirit of inclusive governance, we request engagement with market leaders and stakeholders through dialogue to reach an amicable resolution.
“Ohanaeze remains confident in the governor’s commitment to Ndi Anambra and pledges continued support for peace, progress and development,” he said.
Soludo in a broadcast explained his action to Anambra people, stressing that the action was taken to protect the state’s economic future and reaffirm that Anambra is open for business six days a week.
The governor said the continued observance of sit-at-home on Mondays, despite improved security in the state, amounted to a deliberate effort to undermine the South-East economy.
He noted that markets opened on Mondays during the Yuletide period and enjoyed a peaceful Christmas, but reverted to shutting down afterward.
According to him, the development has negatively affected traders, artisans, farmers and school children, who now operate on reduced work and school days.
Soludo said his administration had engaged widely with stakeholders since assuming office, including offering amnesty, empowerment programmes and pro-poor policies to ease the burden on residents.
He added that he had also consulted key actors in the past to discourage the sit-at-home, stressing that the practice harms the very people it claims to protect.
The Governor alleged that those enforcing the sit-at-home were largely non-residents, who perpetrate violence and economic disruption in the State.
He described the practice as “no-work-day” rather than sit-at-home, noting that Monday remains the most important business day of the week and that its loss constitutes economic sabotage against Onitsha, Nnewi and Anambra at large.
He dismissed claims that insecurity prevented market operations, pointing out that significant security presence had been deployed around the Onitsha Main Market.
Soludo also clarified that the issue was not a human rights violation, as the market is owned by the state government, adding that the government could, in overriding public interest, take steps permitted by law if traders refuse to operate on Mondays.
Soludo said the government had shown patience since 2023 but was now determined to restore normal economic activities.
He appealed to residents to support the government in resisting criminal elements and their sponsors, stressing that the matter was about livelihoods, security and prosperity, not politics.
Even before the dust settles, it is becoming apparent that the current sit-at-home, is no longer the brain child of the jailed Nnamdi Kanu’s IPOB.
After Soludo’s directive, a statement was allegedly issued by Emma Powerful, IPOB’s Publicity Secretary, ordering total lockdown in the South-East on Monday Feb.2.
But Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, counsel to Nnamdi Kanu, in a statement urged Ndigbo to ignore the message.
He said that IPOB had long denounced all sit-at-home orders and had no connection with the purported directive.
Ejiofor said that the “ Emma Powerful platform has been fatally compromised.’’
To confirm the assertion of Ejimofor, IPOB, via a statement issued by its Directorate of State (DOS), said it has formally disbanded the use of the pseudonym Emma Powerful.
It directed that all official IPOB press releases must henceforth be issued only on the organization’s official letterhead paper.
The DOS explained that the pseudonym Emma Powerful, which had been operationally used by the IPOB Publicity Secretary for disseminating press releases, has been abused, misused and compromised, thereby posing serious risks to the movement.
The DOS said it did not authorize sit-at-home across the South-East for Monday, February 2.
The central issue for now is, whether Soludo was right or wrong to arbitrary order the closure of the market for one week. Will his approach end the sit-at- home in Anambra and by extension the South-East?
