The Anambra market issue

RECENTLY, the governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo, ordered the closure of the Onitsha Main Market for a week following the traders’ refusal to heed his directive to disregard the Monday sit-at-home order imposed on traders and indeed the entire people of the South-East by the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) for many years now.  The order, which was enforced by security agents in the state, elicited sharp reactions from some quarters. Some people protested the one-week closure of the market, blocking the ever busy Asaba-Onitsha expressway leading to the Onitsha bridge head. The protesters  impeded and disrupted traffic flow until the police intervened to disperse them. But the governor did not budge. Actually, Soludo, a Professor of Economics, has never hidden his disdain for IPOB’s sit-at-home order, which he has always described as an act of economic sabotage in the South-East.

  The governor may have construed the traders’ defiance of his directive from two perspectives: one, that the traders are in sympathy with IPOB and two, that they couldn’t care a hoot about the economic losses attendant on obeying its order. Whichever is the true case, no responsible government permits that kind of lawlessness that suggests the existence of a parallel government. The governor’s directive to the traders is rooted in law and executed in the interest of the prosperity of the state. And at a subsequent meeting with traders from markets across the state, Soludo emphasised that the sit-at-home order is a form of economic sabotage and warned that similar sanctions would be applied to other defaulting markets, schools, and public institutions in the state.

  However, it must be pointed out that the real saboteurs are IPOB members, not the traders. The traders’ compliance with IPOB’s sit-at-home order does not necessarily indicate that they are in cahoots with IPOB or are happy with its patently counterproductive and draconian order. Rather, it is the implementation of IPOB’s orders through acts of criminality, including killings, maiming and destruction of the properties of dissenters that causes them to obey it willy-nilly. In other words, while we commend the governor for rising against the Monday market closures, he must evaluate the effectiveness of his government’s directive with a view to strengthening it. The veritable issue is security; the government needs enhanced security to stymie the illegal sit-at-home order by IPOB. It is not that the traders deliberately choose not to open shop; they are actually afraid of the consequences of disobeying IPOB operatives who have proven time and again that they can be quite brutal and savage while enforcing their illegal orders.

There had been times when certain traders obeyed the governors in the South-East zone and got killed by the gunmen. And the killers were seldom apprehended, let alone sanctioned. The outlaws have acted with impunity so many times that, in the prevailing circumstances, it would be tantamount to suicide for the traders to defy them. And the security presence in the state should not be around the Onitsha Main Market alone but also along the roads leading to the market from communities like Asaba, Npor, and so on where traders and customers reportedly come from to transact business in the market. The governor should do everything humanly possible to protect the traders. There must be visible and effective security that guarantees the protection of lives and properties everywhere. That is when the governor’s directive will be most appropriate, and obeyed with ease.

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  The preponderance of ungoverned spaces across the country is a matter of grave concern. Why should the lawful order of a governor be flouted right under his nose just because of the fear of IPOB?  Put differently, why should citizens find it more  compelling or convenient to obey the illegal order of non-state actors while defying official directives? As noted earlier, it all boils down to enforcement. IPOB operatives would seem to have an edge because it is an illegal organisation with brutal tactics. On the other  hand, security agents are ideally constrained by law. Therefore, there must be enough boots on the ground to enforce lawful orders. Truth be told, situations like this make the institution of state police very compelling. Both in terms of numbers and familiarity with the terrain, state police promises to contribute more to securing the Nigerian society.

In the interim, the Anambra State government should seek federal intervention to adequately equip the state’s community-based security outfit, Agunechemba, to cope with the special security needs of the state while it awaits  the legislative greenlight to create state police. A situation where an illegal directive by a misguided organisation has literally crippled commerce and other economic activities in one of the country’s most commercially vibrant states is intolerable. The Anambra State government, in liaison with the Federal government, must ensure a secure environment where citizens comply with lawful orders without fear of reprisals from violent non-state actors.