- Group says IPOB order would stifle Igbo businesses, inflict more hardship and reduce quality of education
The South East Coalition of Civil Society Organizations (SECSOs) says the ‘order’ by Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) that beginning from next week, every Monday is declared ‘Ghost Monday’ in which there would be no business or movement in the South East geopolitical zone is pure punishment for Igbos who have no hand for the detention and trial of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
IPOB had last week declared that all businesses must close and there would be no movement in Igboland every Monday beginning from next week until Kanu is released, warning of “severe consequences” for anyone who flouts the directive.
The group said that to ask painters, bricklayers, electricians, bus conductors, commercial drivers, palm wine tappers and market women who deal in akara, fried yam, potato and plantain and the millions of young men and women who are unemployed or underemployed but go out every day to eke out a living to stay indoors for a whole day every week is “inconsiderate.”
Saying that the “purported directive will end up stifling businesses in the Southeast which already has more than its fair share of national problems,” the group in statement by its President, Dr Livinus Onwuteaka and Secretary, Comrade Michael Aham Orji, noted that “it will make the Southeast less competitive, forcing existing businesses here to leave.”
The full statement reads: “The South East Coalition of Civil Society Organizations (SECSOs) has received reports claiming that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has directed the people of the Southeast to observe every Monday, with effect from next week, as a work-free day till its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, is released from detention. Persons who fail to comply strictly with the directive, according to the reports, will face severe consequences. We have waited for the IPOB leadership to respond to the reports to ascertain the accuracy, but it has yet to do so.
“It is difficult for the people of the Southeast, nay Nigeria, to process the essence of the directive. They are not the ones who arrested Nnamdi Kanu, nor is he in their custody. Why should they be punished? There are millions of people in the Southeast, as in other parts of the country, who barely eke out an existence. They include painters, bricklayers, electricians, bus conductors, commercial drivers, palm wine tappers and market women who deal in akara, fried yam, potato and plantain, to say nothing about millions of young men and women who are unemployed or underemployed. To ask this category of people, who are still smarting from the effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns, to stay indoors for a whole day every week is inconsiderate.
“Even Nigerians with fairly good paying jobs are managing to live. The national economy is rough. Inflation, for one, is at an all-time high. These are really times which try men’s souls. What is more, the purported directive will end up stifling businesses in the Southeast which already has more than its fair share of national problems. It will make the Southeast less competitive, forcing existing businesses here to leave. As has been noted several times, finance is a coward; it goes to places where it is not likely to be threatened easily.
“The threat of violence complicates the scenario. The statement that sever consequences await any person who fails to comply fully with the directive not to leave his or her house every Monday invokes the spectre of Igbo on Igbo violence. This kind of fratricidal violence is the last thing the Igbo want, especially at this critical point in our history.
“The directive ascribed to IPOB is most likely to affect educational development in the Southeast most adversely. If pupils and students and their teachers go to school only four days in a week whereas other parts of Nigeria study for five days, the quality of learning in the zone will collapse dramatically. If our detractors have not been able to slow down our fantastic educational advancement in the last couple of years, why should an Igbo group spearhead a campaign which will make us lose our cherished competitive edge in education?
“We wish to advise any group which wants to take a decision that will have long-term consequences for the Igbo to consult extensively with Ohaneze NdIgbo, among other stakeholders in the Southeast. Unilateralism is not the way to go.
“In conclusion, we advise all our people to go about their normal business every day of the week. It is in their interest to do so. We are delighted that adequate measures have been put in place to guarantee our people not just their freedom of movement but also the freedom to improve their welfare and general condition.”