By Chuks Eke
The United Igbo Elders and Stakeholders, UIES (Worldwide), an offshoot of Alaigbo Achievers Legacy has advised Southeast Governors, particularly Governor Mbah of Enugu state to stop locking up traders’ shops on account of their failure to open their shop for businesses during Mondays sit-at-home exercise.
They described as quite undemocratic a situation where Mbah just woke up recently and started locking up traders’ shops for observing Monday sit-at-home without first of all liaising with Southeast Governors, other Igbo stakeholders and even the Ohanaeze Ndigbo to ensure that the detained leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB, Nnamdi Kanu regained his freedom from the detention.
Reacting to the controversies sorrounding Mba’s recent steps, in a press statement jointly signed by its Acting President-General, Justice Anthony Iguh (CON, JSC); Chief Simon Okeke, National Chief Security Adviser/former chairman, Police Service Commission; Justice Godwin Ononiba , chairman, National Advisory Council; Prof. Donald Okoli, Acting SecretaryGeneral and its Coordinator-General, His Lordship, Justice Alpha Ikpeama, UIES insisted that since it is obvious that continued detention of Kanu is the root of all the sit-at-home brouhaha in the Southeast zone, the best solution is to first and foremost secure his release before delving into locking up business shops and closing of banks.
They therefore warned that if anything untoward happens to any Igbo citizen in the a southeast zone, the united Igbo elders would hold the Governors responsible as fillers have it from the grape vine that the unknown gunmen and sit-at-home enforcers are threatening fire and brimstone if by subsequent sit-at-home days, the traders failed to comply as a result of Mbah’s actions or inactions.
According to them, “there is no difference between sitting at home and closing of Igbo businesses as all of them are pointers to civil disobedience, sabotage and economic losses since there is no provision for them in Igbo agenda”.
Mbah and other Southeast Governors should liaise with Igbo stakeholders, working closely with Ohanaeze Ndigbo ably led by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu to ensure that Kanu is released as soon as possible as it will automatically end the sit-at-home”.
“Forcing Ndigbo to ignore sit-at-home and open their businesses is like beating a child and at the same time stopping him from crying and we will soon convene an emergency meeting of Igbo leaders and Stakeholders to map out strategies on how to release Kanu which is the major bone of contention”, said United Igbo Elders.
