2O23: Sit-At-Home In S/East May Work Against Ndigbo, Residents Lament

With the manner sit-at-home orders are being issued in South East, the chances of Mr Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in 2023, getting maximum votes in the zone would be a mirage.

This was the verdict of some Awka residents who spoke with our correspondent on Wednesday. They suspect that such orders might be targeted at truncating Obi’s chances.

Jerome Ogbodo, a surveyor, said the failure of leaders of South East to find a lasting solution to such orders was worrisome.

In his words, “The gap between leaders of the zone and the populace is too large. There is mistrust, and that is why the populace are ready to obey such orders without complaints. The governors are just looking. South-east lawmakers in Abuja are not doing enough to bring the attention of the federal government to the realities in the South East.

“Mr Geoffrey Onyeama is Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister. He is from Enugu State. Why can’t he use his good offices to involve the government of Finland to call Simon Ekpa to order? I am afraid of 2023, especially how Peter Obi will fare because Simon Ekpa’s excesses can make our people not to vote.”

Mr John Okolo, a politician, said South East has become a place of scorn. In his view, “The federal government has seemingly forgotten us. How many interventions have you heard from the FG in all crisis-ridden areas in South East? We are now left to eat our flesh. At a time we think courts and negotiations should be going on, somebody in Finland is issuing sit-at-home orders, no more on Mondays alone but running on consecutive days.”

Princess Ada Okafor, an event manager, told our correspondent that with the way things are going, it would be possible for the emergence of a ‘Government at Large’ in the South East during the forthcoming election, and that would diminish the electorate worth of the zone.

She said, “Some day, there will be an order for the stoppage of paying levies or taxes to the government. With the way people obey the sit-at-home, and the manner security operatives disappear on those days, I doubt if the 2023 elections would hold in Igbo land.

“I suspect that there are hands behind the scenes. Some forces are trying to make votes in South East not to count. I say this because many of those supporting sit-at-home don’t have contacts with Ekpa or Nnamdi Kanu. Our youths are becoming sophisticated.

“I don’t even know if the release of Kanu will solve the problem. This is because it seems that IPOB is divided. Recall that Ekpa was suspended as IPOB leader, but he is still issuing commands which are obeyed. And the mainstream IPOB is more in danger because security agencies are after them. If care is not taken, IPOB will be horror in themselves. If IPOB is factionalized, I see danger looming.”

On the way out, she said, “Let Ohanaeze and political leaders of South East engage these people through dialogues. Kanu has a retinue of lawyers who can be used to dialogue with his men. He is visible. If the refusal to release him is because of fear, let our leaders discuss with the federal government, and assure them that the problem could be solved internally. The bottom line is marginalisation of South East by the federal government, which is glaring. But it will be disastrous if we destroy ourselves even before Biafra is achieved. It will be another kettle of fish if the federal government has a hand in this confusion.”

Recall that Simon Ekpa, former head of Radio Biafra, declared sit-at-home on December 9,10, 11, 12, and 14 in South-east states.