Impact Of The Sit-At-Home Order On South Eastern Nigeria

Ever since the trial of Nigerian pro-Biafran political activist Mazi Nnamdi Kanu began, there was an order given to people in southeast Nigeria to observe every Monday as a sit-at-home. This act was done to stand in solidarity with the Biafran leader. Although it was done with positive intentions, there were frequent lamentations from a lot of people residing in the South East especially the Ndigbo. Senator representing Abia-South in the district of Abia, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe also lent his voice strongly criticizing the effects of the sit-at-home on the Southeastern region.

According to him, he stated that the sit-at-home is killing the economy of the southeast as most businessmen are moving out of the region. He said he was perplexed to discover that the sit-at-home order was never given by the Biafran leader  Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, after having a conversation with him. He claimed that it was time for the sit-at-home mess to stop so that the crumbling economy can be built back. He urged the stakeholders to emulate the people of Bavaria in Germany and Catalonia in Spain for jettisoning everything about ruling the countries but concentrated on making their regions an economic hub of their countries.

In my opinion, declaring Monday a sit-at-home in the South East was a very wrong move. Mondays are usually the start of the week, and it is a known fact that Igbo people being business inclined do not joke with Mondays because it is the first business day of the week. It is believed that what happens on the first day of the business would go a long way to determine the shape of things that week. Usually, most Igbo traders always look forward to doing good business on Mondays because there is usually an influx of traders from other parts of the country to transact businesses in cities such as Onitsha, Aba, Owerri, Umuahia, etc.

Aba is known for bringing and opening containers of imported goods on Mondays. So with the enforcement of the sit-at-home people were forced to go to other regions, like Calabar, Port Harcourt, you, etc, to open containers leaving the southeast. One of the shortcomings the sit-at-home had was that it never discussed with its citizens to agree upon Monday as the set day, but rather it was imposed on them, of which many had issues with it, but had no choice than to obey.  The sit-at-home indeed had a toll on the economy of the southeast and also crippled economic activities thereby incurring so many losses.

Some people depend on daily work to feed their families but were left hopeless with the sit-at-home order, which wasn’t fair on their part. This act might push some into crime or other vices in society. The sit-at-home motive was not a good strategy at all because it caused more harm than good. According to ipob, one day hunger would not kill anybody. This statement reeks of incompetence because a day hunger can force one to carry out dastardly acts.

Ipob ought to have avoided anything that would inflict economic pains on Ndigbo. A few groups compared the frequent and economically strangulating sit-at-home as akin to drinking poison and hoping that your enemy would die. The sit at home had no trigger effect to the release of the Biafran leader, but rather it impoverished and made life difficult for its people. Asking people not to go about their business is a wrong strategy to get Nnamdi Kanu out of detention. If schools, markets, banks, etc, are closed down, it doesn’t in any way affect the presidency. From whichever angle the issue is analyzed, the southeast was on the losing end.

After much deliberation and intervention from some Igbo influential bodies, the sit-at-home decision was later rescinded which ordered the people in southeast to only sit at home when the Biafran leader appears in court. In my own opinion, the Monday sit at home was a miscalculated action. Many losses were incurred during that period. Taking any action that affects your people to me is counterproductive.