Ever since the trial of the leader of the indigenous people of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu began, the group ordered the shutdown of businesses on Mondays, declaring it as a sit-at-home which is solely carried out to stand in solidarity with the Biafran leader. Just recently, the newly elected Governor of Anambra state Gov. Charles Soludo has ordered all public servants in the state to go to work on Mondays and other weekdays, and also ordered businesses to be opened as well.
Governor Soludo, therefore, warned that absence from work will attract sanctions. In a circular that went into circulation in the state, the memo reads “following the need to reposition the service for better performance and productivity, his excellency, the governor of Anambra state, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo has directed that henceforth, all public servants should report at their places of work every Monday like every other weekday. Consequently, absence from work on Monday, or any other day without any approval will be viewed as serious misconduct, which will attract appropriate sanctions. This directive takes immediate effect”.
Recall that last year, Governor Soludo, who was not yet the governor of the state at the time he made this statement, lamented on the sit-at-home order. He disclosed that such an order hurts the economy of the state, saying that the state loses an estimated N19.6 billion every Monday. As someone who was one time the governor of the central bank, I strongly believe that Gov. Soludo is well-grounded on the implications of such an order on the state, so therefore his cancellation of the order should be strictly adhered to.
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I remember vividly during his inaugural speech, he disclosed that he was ready to engage the Ipob group in a round table discussion for both parties to come to a common agreement. He lamented that many criminals now hide under the guise of freedom fighting to perpetuate criminality in the state, such as looting, arson, harassment of people, killings, etc. This statement by the governor is indeed true as all these vices above-mentioned were evident during the Ipob movement. Hoodlums hijacked it, using it to carry out dastardly acts that don’t align with the motive of the IPOB group.
I will say the cancellation of the sit-at-home order by Governor Soludo is a welcome development, and I strongly commend him for implementing the order, not minding whose ox is gored. In one of my articles, I wrote extensively on the impact of the sit-at-home order in the South-Eastern part of Nigeria. The sit-at-home order hurts the economy of States in the Eastern Region, and it also crippled economic activities thereby incurring so many losses. You cannot say you are standing in solidarity with your leader, and at the same time inflict hardship on a large number of your people. It’s counterproductive!
This order is more like the Igbos shooting themselves on the foot, as the order has no positive effect on the release of the Biafran leader. Some people compared the sit-at-home order as akin to drinking poison and hoping that your enemy would die. Regular observance of the sit-at-home in the Southeast is not even effective for the actualization of Biafra. It has affected and killed so many businesses. Big organizations have been said to have moved out from the region because a lot of them were greatly affected by the order.
When these organizations begin to move out of the region en masse, how will the economy grow? Let’s not forget that the Eastern part of Nigeria suffered great damage during the Biafran civil war, and they have tried rebuilding it back. So, therefore, anything that will retard growth and progress in the Eastern part of Nigeria is not ideal and welcomed.