”Participate in IPOB sit-at-home today and lose your shop forever” Ebonyi state governor, Dave Umahi, warns traders
chance of losing their shops forever if they obey the sit-at-home order issued by the
proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra group, IPOB.
The group had called on their members to sit at home today May 30th as they honor
all their members that have lost their lives in the struggle for the creation of Biafra. Governor Umahi made the declaration while giving his democracy speech in
Abakaliki, the state capital yesterday May 29th.
“Any trader that closes shop will forfeit the shop forever. Anybody that flouts this
order will be decidedly dealt with. I ask Ebonyians to go about their businesses
freely and peacefully. Let me say that when we the South-east governors say that we
don’t want the activities of IPOB does not mean that we are very happy with the
marginalisation of the South-east in the affairs of our nation. What we are saying is
that IPOB is not doing it the right way. The right thing was what Ohanaeze did in the
comity of Igbo sons and daughters. We do not need second colonisation. We do not
need distraction. We want to strive, we want to continue. We believe in God. We with
do everything to change our condition” Governor Umahi said
In a related development, the Anambra state governor, Willie Obiano, has also warned
civil servants in the state to resume work today or risk having a sack. The order
contained in a statement issued by the Anambra state Head of Service, Harry Udu, is
to ensure that the reisdents of the state do not comply with the directive of the
proscribed group.
”The Governor of Anambra State has directed that work resumes on May 30 after the
public holiday on May 29. All public servants must therefore report to their duty
posts on Wednesday and the rest of the week. Permanent Secretaries and Heads of
MDAs should monitor and report compliance unfailingly. Please circulate to all your
staff.” the Anambra state government said
IPOB in a statement released by its Deputy Leader, Uche Mefor, titled: ‘May 30 Sit At
Home, says the order is about respecting those who fought and died for your
freedom’. The statement said it has sent out canvassers to interior villages of Biafra
land to sensitise the people on the need to obey the order, and have gotten
favourable response that compliance would be high.
“The past few days have witnessed a remarkable public interest in the symbolism of
the May 30 Biafra Remembrance, particularly the Sit-at-Home order. May 30 is just
one day in 366 days but it represents an enduring epitaph that recalls many great
feats, struggles and tribulations. It is about the greatest collective self-defence
against a genocide that lasted four years from 1966 to 1970. It is about
remembering and honoring those who fought valiantly against that genocide, and
those who could not make their way safely to the East as they succumbed to the
sheer numbers and bloodlust of their supposed northern compatriots who sought
their gruesome death for nothing except for jealousy and speaking a different tongue.
May 30 does not just remind us of the sacrifice of the soldiers, sailors and airmen of
the great Biafran resistance of 1967 to 1970, but also of those who followed them in
later conflicts-those who in this era, stepped out to the streets of Igweocha, Onitsha,
Aba, among others to protest the resurgence of evil, those who were murdered at the
night vigil in Aba, those who were mowed down at Nkpor, and those who, more
recently, lost their precious young lives at various locations in Biafraland, including
at Afara-Ukwu, Umuahia. Particularly with this year’s Sit-at-Home, as we rue our fate
as a people and remember those who have died in the course of freedom, we must
think of those they left behind – their families and their friends. We must also
remember those that are missing since 2015, those in illegal detentions and those
that have stepped forward to speak out, to lead; and despite the great dangers ahead,
have stayed the course.”
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