By Umeha Chigozie Samuel
The issue of sit at home in the south eastern part of Nigeria is alarming, one could trace the origin, from august 9th 2021 after the observation of 30th May Biafra day celebration. Since the arrest and detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the majority of south easterners normally observed sit at home every Monday and the day Mazi Nnamdi kanu is going to court. It’s important to note that all these orders are from non-state actors .
One would ask what led to the ongoing sit at home in the south east. What can we say that we have achieved? This is a question that requires an answer by well-meaning Nigerians.
Nelson Mandela stayed for 27years imprisonment during the apetide regime in South Africa .I believed that there must be different forms of agitations, probably not sit at home as it applied in the south east of Nigeria which by no record led to violence and chaos as it is being experienced now in the south east of Nigeria.
What is the difference between what Nelson Mandela agitated for and what Nnamdi kanu is agitating for?
In other words, could this be adjudged to be a sin against the Igbos or Nigeria at large, but in any case, the igbos have been known for their wide range of creativity and wisdom and should apply the same at this time. “Asi na ana eme igbo, igbo ana eme owe ha” meaning that if Igbo are crying for being marginalized, they should not marginalize themselves the more. This current sit at home is not helping matters at all. Look at the state of economy of the south east very shambolic and disastrous. Do you know we lose billions of naira each day we sit at home, for instance Enugu state alone loses 10billion naira each day they sit at home? We have big market in the south east such as main market Onitsha, ogbete main market, Aba international market etc.
These big markets are meant to boost the economy of the south east and Nigeria at large but the annoying part of it is that they are now been totally shut down during Mondays sit at home. Another instance we have main market Onitsha as the largest market in west Africa .Do you know that many of people doing business at Onitsha live or reside in Asaba , and Asaba is developing fast in terms of building structures for a large market bigger than Onitsha and in that case many people will be channeling their business towards Asaba axis because they are not sitting at home and other states and geopolitical zones are taking advantage of us by utilizing the opportunity to build and develop their economy by building of market and industries that are higher and larger than the one we have in the south east. Igbo people are known for business, both men and women do engage in it and we boast of it but, the only thing we boast of has almost been deprived of us because of the ongoing sit at home in the south east .
Those who dwell at Onitsha can easily tell that those who come far and wide to exchange their goods and services has also been greatly deprived of them because of the sit at home .People who come from different part including the whites has been decreasing in number because of the disastrous order and we cannot guarantee their safety of lives and properties .In references to that ,they reside at Asaba which already has been developing fast and as well not sitting at home and their lives being safe because there is peace and harmony .
We are complaining that there is high rate of unemployment but we are also increasing it because, investors would not even be coming because of the sit at home order and the longevity of the industries and companies to which they invest would not even be guaranteed. All over the world, Monday is the beginning of work.
But we are using it as a prolong weekend here in the southeast and the most profitable day because it is a day after weekend spending, in which some perishable goods that was not able to be sold during the weekend will be sold during that day. Any investor coming to southeast will also consider that the labour force which is the workers fair will not be stable because the worker will also be sitting at home and the aim of any business person is to make profit in that case the investors will be losing.
52 days is equivalent to two months that the labor force will be staying at Home for 2 months in a year apart from the weekend and that is improper. I don’t think that any investors will come and do business with us. Igbo’s let think sense and this is not the way to go.
We are also complaining about poor government performance in terms of provision of dividends of democracy to the people, but we are also encouraging them because 208 days is equivalent 7 months in 4 years that means that the government are not going to achieve something for 7 months in 4 years.
Look at the security rate of south east, very disastrous, other region are laughing at us and they are now seeing us as war zone or insecure society because of the sit at home, “o ukwua ka nama ga eji ruo Umuahia” or is it the way to go? Look at the last comment of Asari Dokubo saying that Federal Government should not help to solve the insecurity in the southeast and he is rejoicing because we are in total crisis caused by ourselves.
The threaten part of it is that miscreant have hijack it and start to enforce it, “ogini mere ede jiri bee wii and ooke no na ulo kwara oke nona ofia na azu di na ngiga”. How do we allow all this thing to happen to us very, very unfortunate? Last time I was in Enugu on 5th July when people started running for what they don’t know and that’s the condition we find ourselves here, what the criminal normally use is fear, if the criminal succeeded in imposing fear as form of intimidation to people that means people are gone because the people will be fearing every time even when something is not happening.
I blame the government of this day most especially the past government in the southeast, because when the non-state actors are giving this order, they all kept quiet and lost concern because it doesn’t concern them forgetting that what goes around comes around. Now south east is turning into anarchy and lawlessness society because non-state actors are controlling the affairs of the south east instead of the people that have the right to do that and that what you are going to get when people controlling the affairs don’t know what government is all about. Remember that the primary role or duty of a responsible government is to protect the life and properties of its citizens.
Finally, on the effect sit at home, other regions are seeing us as lazy people who doesn’t want to go out on Monday to do their normal business, who now rest three times in a week. In all this they will be high rate of health challenges in southeast in the future because a lot of people in Igbo land is using this opportunity of Monday sit at home as a day of their meeting in which a lot of alcohol is being consumed and this leads to diabetes, liver and kidney problem in the future.
SOME MEASURES NEEDED TO BE ADOPTED FOR THIS SIT AT HOME TO END.
NOW THE POSSIBLE MEASURES:
South East Governors should come together and work for the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu through diplomatic act such as dialogue and political solution. Hon. Francis Nwifiru of Ebonyi state, Hon. Peter Ndubuisi Mba of Enugu state, Prof Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra state, Hon. Hope Uzodimma of Imo state, Hon. Alex Otti of Abia state and other southeastern leaders such as Apex Igbosocial cultural group, Ohaneze ndi Igbo should appeal to the Federal Government to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu because of court of competence jurisdiction have done their part discharging and acquitting him.
If eventually he is released, then sit at home but I am not trying to say that we should continue be sitting until he is released.
South east governors should also use town hall meeting to ask the people in south east which way to go because we are in democracy and it is the government of the people ,all the aggrieve members should be called to order so that it will reduce the miscreant attack operation in the south east ,remember that former president of Nigeria Musa Umaru Yaradua of the blessed memory use town hall meeting and diplomatic act to control the agitation and insecurity in south-south when the people of Niger delta was vandalizing government property because they are not given what they should give and former president solve all these through granting them amnesty but I am not trying to promote criminals that they should continue with what they are doing until amnesty is being granted to them. If the southeast governors will have a round table meeting with the aggrieved, never can tell all this sit at home and insecurity will end in southeast, if the government eventually apply this possible measure.
They should be adequate security here in southeast because the reason why people are still sitting at home is the fear of unknown or their enemy utilizing the opportunity to attack them and the fear of being killed or the destruction of their properties by criminals who are hijacking the sit at home. In terms of security I don’t think the governors have lived up to expectation despites being chief security officers of their various state. If government can provide adequate security through the use of intelligent gathering, putting necessary measure into place and being prepared enough because this miscreant normally gorilla system of attack which is “o nuo onaa”, so that they can counter this attack with the intelligent, technologies should also be used and remember that we are in the 21st century where technologies is used to strengthening the security why can’t our government in the southeast use drones and camera to apprehend the people enforcing the ravaging sit at home and reduce the insecurity.
Finally, the government should create a lot of employment opportunity because those people enforcing this sit at home doesn’t have any work they engage and an idle man is a devil hand’s workshop and if the government can be able to do it, then the youth will be engage rather than being criminals.
In conclusion there is one popular lyric that says wake up collect your money then Igbos should rise up and go back to their normal business. This sit at home has caused more harm than good to us, if all the measure will be considered, then the sit at home will end. Shall we continue in sitting at home that laziness, poverty and insecurity will abide with us forever. God forbids.
Written By
Umeha Chigozie Samuel
Radio Senator [Government]
Student, from St. Paul College, Eke
