Sit-at-home: Tension in Anambra as Soludo’s order begins

THERE is apprehension in Anambra State following Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s order that the Monday sit-at-home must end on October 15, 2024.

During his visit to the commercial city of Onitsha, the governor threatened to seal any shop or plaza closed on Mondays in the name of sit-at-home.

Many traders who spoke yesterday said they will obey the order, provided adequate security is put in place in the markets.

Soludo had lamented the continued boycott of work on Mondays in the South East, arguing that the zone loses an estimated N19.6 billion every Monday.

Recall that the leadership of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, had in August 2021, introduced sit-at-home order every Monday across the South East to pressure the Nigerian government to release its detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. The group later suspended the order, in preference for it to be implemented only on days Kanu would appear in court.

But despite the suspension, residents of the five South East states of Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Abia and Anambra have been forced to observe the Monday sit-at-home order out of fear.

Although IPOB had repeatedly disowned the Monday sit-at-home across the region, saying that those who still enforce the order were criminals attempting to blackmail the Biafra agitators, a faction of the group led by Finland-based Simon Ekpa, has continued to declare the sit-at-home in the region, with threats to kill and maim the violators.

Since then, enforcers of sit-at-home had caused markets, schools, banks, transporters, and other businesses to remain closed every Monday, and some people who violated had ugly stories to tell.

State governors in the zone who attempted to end the sit-at-home order in their states by government fiat also met some resistance, although with time, skeletal services began to take place in some cities.

When Governor Soludo visited Onitsha main market last week to assess the level of commercial activity in the face of the lingering sit-at-home order, he was worried at the near-total closure of the market and continued lockdown of the city.

Worried by what he saw, the governor said: “From now on, every Monday, the main market must be open for business. If you fail to open, your shop will be sealed for one week, and if necessary, for up to one month. When you are ready to open, it must be from Monday through Saturday.”

ASMATA, UDWAAS back Soludo

He assured the traders that adequate security measures would be put in place to protect them. The leadership of Anambra State Amalgamated Traders Association, ASMATA, and the executive members of Urban Drivers Welfare Association of Anambra State, UDWAAS, have vowed to support the governor’s move to end the Monday sit-at-home order in the state.

President General of ASMATA, Chief Humphrey Anuna, and the executive members of UDWAAS, after a meeting in Onitsha, promised that drivers and traders, as critical stakeholders, would end the exercise as directed by the governor.

The leader of the drivers said: “The adverse effect of the sit-at-home on the people of Anambra and the entire South-East, especially as it concerns trading activities and logistics, had become worrisome. And as drivers, we have realized we are critical stakeholders in ending the exercise.

“Therefore, we have advised that drivers and traders should resume their normal business activities, and we assure residents of the availability of transportation to convey them to their business places every Monday. We know that when commercial vehicles are available, people will start coming out.”