Majority of the residents of the South East have defied the five-day sit-at-home, although in some parts of the region, gunmen are violently terrorizing people into submission.
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Finland based self acclaimed spokesman of Biafra, Simon Ekpa, has termed the five days sit-at-home he declared in the South East as a revolution. This is even as residents in the region have defied the shutdown saying it is akin to economic suicide.
Ekpa has through his Twitter handle, boated that the shutdown of the South East has largely been successive, claiming it is the forerunner for the full declaration of Biafra in March 2023.
Hear him: “When the time come, we will declare our exit & defend it. I am hinting this to those who may think that Nigeria made them through corruption & they want to fight against our freedom. You better remain silent & allow the revolutionary movement of Biafra freedom in 2023 to free Biafra people from over 100years of bondage & slavery.”
But majority of the residents of the South East have defied the five-day sit-at-home, although in some parts of the region, gunmen are violently terrorizing people into submission.
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On the first day of the sit-at-home on December 9, the gunmen killed Prince Iheme, the older brother of Nollywood star, Osita Iheme, popularly known as Pawpaw. They also attacked the village of Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer, Alloy Ejimakor, burning homes and business premises.
Despite the violence, reports indicate that commercial and social activities are going on in many parts of the South East.
In Anambra, a Punch report revealed that the major cities of Onitsha, Nnewi, Awka, and Ekwulobia on Saturday were beehive of activities.
A market leader at the Nnewi Autoparts Dealers Market, Chief Stephen Asoh, said it would have been suicidal if the said five-day sit-at-home was allowed to stay, adding that the South-East is losing a lot of revenues as a result of the situation
Asoh said, “We thank God that the sit-at-home did not hold otherwise how are we going to cope with it as we approach the Christmas season?
“The South-East is losing a lot of revenues to other regions as a result of the Monday sit-at-home already being observed, so, asking us to lockdown for a whole five days at this critical period will mean bringing down the economy of the region to a halt. It is a welcome development that IPOB has clarified their stand on the matter.”
A member of the Board of Trustees, at the Mgbuka Autos Market in Onitsha, Chief Bernard Osiwu, called on relevant security agencies to beef up security around public facilities and markets on the said days to forestall any breakdown of law and order.
“Over 70 per cent of revenues in the South-East come from trade and commerce and the Monday sit-at-home is already hurting our economy, and then asking us to go for five days lockdown on a stretch in this Christmas season, would have been a suicide mission.
“We can only appeal to the security agencies to beef up security around public facilities and marketplaces to enable people to go about their normal businesses on those said days. We have been wondering how we are going to survive the five-day lockdown when the video came out, but it was a relief to us as IPOB has dissociated itself from the video. So, we urge the police and other security outfits to be on the alert on those days,” Osiwu added.
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