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From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has condemned the commencement of sealing of shops at Onitsha Main Market by Governor Chukwuma Soludo over non adherence to his earlier directive of opening their shops on Monday.
Spokesperson of the group, Emma Powerful, in a statement described the governor’s action as “economic punishment” capable of causing setbacks to their businesses.
He said, “This action is deeply troubling, reckless, and authoritarian. Our leader, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has repeatedly and publicly called for an end to the sit-at-home and the violent enforcement of it by any individual or group. That position has not changed.
“The sit-at-home, where it occurs, is a voluntary civil expression of solidarity by ordinary people who are pained by the continued illegal detention of our leader. It is not a policy of coercion, and it is certainly not something that can be reversed overnight by threats, intimidation, or punitive state action.
“Governor Soludo, as an economist and self-professed intellectual, should understand basic human behaviour. Societal patterns and public responses do not change at the snap of a finger simply because a governor issues threats from a podium or moves around with a long convoy. People are not automatons. They are citizens with fears, experiences, and memories of past injustices”, Powerful said.
He continued: “To seal the shops of hardworking traders because they did not open on a particular day is not governance; it is collective punishment.
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“Even under a simple landlord-tenant relationship, a landlord cannot lawfully lock out a tenant for not sleeping in the house on a particular day. Such an act would amount to unlawful eviction. How then can a governor, who is merely a trustee of public authority, attempt to seal shops belonging to citizens who have committed no crime?
“IPOB wishes to make it clear that intimidation, threats, and economic punishment will not produce the normalcy Governor Soludo claims to desire. Instead, such heavy-handed tactics risk provoking unnecessary tension and deepening mistrust between the government and the people.
“We strongly advise Governor Soludo to immediately reverse this ill-advised action and unseal all affected shops. Leadership is not about issuing threats or demonstrating force against one’s own people. Leadership is about patience, persuasion, justice, and respect for the rights and dignity of citizens.
“It is particularly disappointing that a governor of Igbo extraction would adopt tactics that mirror the humiliation and economic destruction our people have suffered in other parts of Nigeria. The duty of an Igbo governor is to protect his people, not to traumatise them with the same instruments of intimidation used elsewhere.
“IPOB remains committed to peace, lawful conduct, and a negotiated political solution. We have consistently warned that actions capable of provoking the people should be avoided. Those in authority must act with restraint and wisdom, not with authoritarian impulses.
“Governor Soludo should tread carefully and act in a manner that promotes healing, unity, and respect for the rule of law”, Powerful advised.
