Ebonyi state governor, Dave Umahi, has warned traders in the state that they risk the 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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