Editorial

The South-East and IPOB’s sit-at-home conundrum

THE Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) introduced a sit-at-home order in August 2021 as a means of putting pressure on the Nigerian government to release its leader, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, who is standing trial for alleged treasonable felony and terrorism. Since then, Mondays have become public holidays in the south-eastern states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Imo and Enugu. Apart from Mondays, IPOB also declared any day Mr. Kanu appears in court a sit-at-home day. It could also declare any day a sit-at-home day anytime it deems fit.

Initially, citizens obeyed the sit-at-home order in solidarity with the cause. However, the pains and deprivation that came with it and the sheer economic cost on businesses and the livelihoods of individuals and households over a long period of time have rendered it insufferable. Besides, citizens, residents and businesses in the states have endured the resulting pain and hardships without any assurance that their sacrifices have had or will have any impact on the Federal Government. As citizens began to resist IPOB’s order, enforcers, often referred to as unknown gunmen, started killing people, maiming others, and destroying properties in the bid to enforce compliance. These have rendered the South-East one of the most unsafe and insecure regions in Nigeria. Besides, law enforcement agents are being killed regularly and government properties burnt. Public examinations have been disrupted, with adverse effects on the education sector.

Gunmen have attacked traders and commuters who flout the order across the region. They have killed scores of people and set goods being sold or transported ablaze. Many Igbos visiting home have been murdered in cold blood. Hotels, restaurants and related businesses have been invaded, looted and shut down. The group has held the entire region to ransom, with the governors apparently helpless. Professor Chukwuma Soludo, Anambra State governor, said an estimated N19.6 billion is lost in Anambra alone during sit-at-home days. It seems that IPOB is committed to ruining the economy of the south-eastern region.

Several initiatives have been made to persuade IPOB to revoke the sit-at-home order to promote peace, save lives and rescue the economy of the region. These include efforts to secure the release of Kanu from detention unconditionally. The Ohanaeze Ndigbo has, on several occasions, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to release Nnamdi Kanu with the assurance that he would maintain the peace. But the president has insisted that Mr. Kanu should have his day in court and that he cannot interfere with the judiciary.

We recall that the South-East Governors’ Forum, at a meeting in Enugu in October last year, condemned the spate of killings in the region and committed to establishing a regional security outfit, Ebubeagu, before the end of 2021 to join hands with federal security agencies to stop the trend. Not much has been done in that regard. Furthermore, the Anambra State government under Professor Soludo and the Anambra State Traditional Rulers’ Council have appealed to IPOB to end the sit-at-home decrees and embrace dialogue to pave the way for peace. Indeed, Governor Soludo had called a stakeholders’ meeting involving IPOB to negotiate a path towards peace and called workers to return to work and observe Mondays as workdays from April 4, 2022. He also visited the IPOB leader in prison and joined Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other groups to appeal to IPOB to no avail. The killing and abduction of government officials have continued unbated.

We commend the spirited efforts by Professor Soludo and various groups in Anambra State to douse tension in the region, build peace and restore normalcy. These efforts by the Anambra State governor should be extended to the entire region by convoking a summit of the South-East governors and other leaders to address the issue. We urge the Federal Government to soft-pedal and dialogue with IPOB. The crisis has gone on for too long. It is time to reach a compromise on the issue. No stone should be left unturned to ensure that there are no further sit-at-home orders and people are allowed to move about freely.

IN CASE YOU MISSED THESE FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

Revealed! Details Of South-West APC Leaders Meeting With Presidential Aspirants

MORE revelations have emerged about Friday’s meeting held by South-West leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with aspirants from the zone, whose main objective, was on how to avert a crisis that will create a fractured party as it prepares for primary on May 30 and 31, Sunday Tribune has reliably gathered…

Supreme Court Has Cleared Civil Servants To Participate In Politics, Falana Tells FG

NIGERIAN workers are constitutionally-free to participate in politics, lawyer, Mr Femi Falana has said. He was responding to the warning from the central government to civil servants to stay off politics…

Our Reporter