Politics
By Anthony Isibor.
AS the Monday Sit-At-Home in the South East region enters its 11th week, residents in the area may have resigned to their fate and accepted the compulsory holiday as the norm.
The order to stay at home has continued to gain wide acceptance despite the warnings issued by the state governments in the region to compel the people, especially workers to go back to their normal Monday life.
However, last week, the Anambra and Enugu state governments extended its school days to include Saturday.
The measure, according to the Anambra State government, was to ensure the safety of pupils and teachers, as well as the other stakeholders.
“We want our pupils to learn as much as possible in a safe environment. With the new measure we have taken, all the stakeholders are winners. These stakeholders are the pupils, teachers, school administrators, proprietors, parents, guardians and the host communities.
“With this, nobody loses anything for the time being. We hope that in the next few weeks, things will normalize. With the Saturday school, people who depend on sales in the schools to feed their families will still make up for the loss of Monday as they will still be providing services in the schools five days in a week,” the state government said.
According to the statement by C Don Adinuba, Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Anambra state, the teachers have already adjusted to the new measure as they believe it is a worthy sacrifice they have to make in the interest of education in the state.
“If we insist on going to school on Mondays under the present situation, the pupils and teachers might be harassed, which is what we do not want. You will recall an incident when an Anglican priest was killed because he allowed students to be writing exam on a Monday, while the motorcycles belonging to teachers were set ablaze by attackers.
“There is therefore the need to safeguard the life of everyone in the state. To us, this Saturday arrangement is a brilliant idea and it is the best alternative we have for now,” the commissioner said.
Realnews, which monitored the observance of the Sit-At-Home order on Monday, said that there was huge compliance in Imo, Anambra, and Enugu, as the people stayed indoors mostly out of fear of being attacked by those enforcing the order, and more out of resignation to the realities of the new normal.
Emmeka Nnajiofor, a resident of Nnewi in Anambra state said: “I am already used to the Monday holiday.
“We don’t bother to come out anymore, let alone open our shops, it is normal for us now.”
In Enugu, it was locked down as usual; schools, banks, markets and offices were closed.
Kingsley Enenta, a resident of Enugu said that it was as usual, but this time, the schools were locked and nobody stepped out of the house. “You should know, as usual, nobody would even dare to open or risk the consequence.
“Well in my area and almost everyone I know said they were at home and didn’t even move out. My parents did not open their shops as usual and major markets, offices, banks were all closed,” Enenta said.
However, even with these actions, the members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, have continued to call for the immediate release of their Leader, Nnamdi Kanu, while issuing fresh threats of boycotting the November 6 Anambra governorship election with a-5-day sit at home to begin on the 5th of November, following the adjournment of Nnamdi Kanu’s court case to November 10, 2021.
A statement issued by Emma Powerful, IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, disclosed that “Following the adjournment of our great leader Nnamdi Kanu’s court case to 10th of November 2021, by the Federal High Court, Abuja, we the great movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra wish to inform Biafrans, friends of Biafra and lovers of freedom that IPOB will lock down Biafraland from 5th of November to 10th of November except Sunday, November 7th, a day our people worship the Almighty God if the Nigeria Government fails to release our leader unconditionally before 4th of November 2021.
“Our leader, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi must be released unconditionally on or before November 4, 2021 because he has not committed any offense known to any law.
“Failure to release our leader Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu on or before November 4, 2021, our one week Sit-At-Home begins on November 5, 2021 till November 10.
“Unless the federal government releases him unconditionally before November 4, we shall sacrifice one week for him as a warning protest to convey to our oppressors that Nnamdi Kanu represents over 70 million Biafrans.
However, The Nation reports that monarchs and religious leaders in the Southeast yesterday urged the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOP not to disrupt the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State.
They also urged the federal government to de-proscribe the organization and free its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
In a statement by the Southeast Council of Traditional Rulers and Representatives of Igbo Archbishops and Bishops, the Igbo leaders decried the high level of insecurity and socio-economic disruption in the region.
“We urge IPOB not to do anything that would hinder or be seen to be hindering the smooth running of the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra State and to cancel all scheduled sit-at-home, as these have already caused untold hardships for our people.
“We call on all the candidates in the forthcoming Anambra State governorship election to eschew violence and commit to free, fair and credible election,” they said.
“Accordingly, we refer to our earlier request for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to the South East Council of Traditional Rulers and the representatives of Igbo Archbishops and Bishops and restate this call even more strongly.
“We are of the firm belief that this act of courage and statesmanship is not only imperative, but will speedily de-escalate the heightened state of insecurity and dislocation in the South East Zone,” they said.
While also urging President Muhammadu Buhari to de-proscribe IPOB and release all IPOB members being held in various detention facilities across the country.
Realnews reports that Nnamdi Kanu is being held by the Department of State Security, DSS, for alleged treasonable offences.
NOV. 01, 2021 @ 19:56 GMT |
A.I
Tags: Biafra C Don Adinuba Emma Powerful Emmeka Nnajiofor IPOB Monday Sit-At-Home Nnamdi Kanu
