September 14 Sit-at-Home: How Enugu residents observed IPOB’s order

In this piece, CHUKS NWEZE in Enugu reports how residents observed the Sit-at-Home declaration issued by the leadership of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), last Friday, September 14
Compliance with order The question on the lips of everybody since Friday, September 14, 2018, is whether the sit at home as ordered by the pro-Biafra group, the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, for the people of South East and South South and indeed all lovers of Biafra, was a success or a flop.
And without wasting time, to the IPOB members, it was a huge success, but to the security agencies and some other organisations, it was a complete failure, a huge flop.
It is not surprising that the sit -at -home was given different interpretations and connotations from their standpoint as it tickles their fancy because before the D-day, there had been preconceived notion by the IPOB, security agencies and organisations that it was going to be either a success or a flop.
Biafra remembrance What gave vent to this conflicting declarations of success or failure are the efforts and the pronouncements made prior to the September 14, 2018 set aside by IPOB that those killed in Afaraukwu, Umuahia, Abia state, when the military in the Operation Python Dance II invaded the country home of their IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, where many IPOB members were killed and Nnamdi Kanu and his parents whereabouts are not known till this day, should be remembered for the world to know how that they were harmlessly seeking freedom for their people who they feel are being marginalised but were attacked by the security operatives.
Prior to September 14, 2018, the leadership of IPOB in various statements issued by their spokesman, Emma Powerful, insisted that come what may, the sit at home must hold.
Basking on the success of the past declarations, they were emboldened that this years’ activity would equally be a huge success.
They went about pasting posters at strategic positions at towns and villages with gory pictures of scenes of massacre to elicit the sympathy of the people to comply with the order to sit at home.
Security agencies The security agencies on their own did not relent as they were bent to help the government maintain peace and order, assuming anything should come out of the sit at home call.
Various police commands in the South Eastern states issued stern warning that they would brook no nonsense from any quarters who may want to cause the breach of the law in any guise.
The Enugu State Police Command, through their image maker, Police Superintendent, Ebere Amaraizu, in a release warned parents and guardians not to allow their children to be misguided by those he described as “trouble makers and unpatriotic elements” under any guise.
“The Command enjoins members of the public to go about their normal lawful business in the state without fear if any molestation in mind.
“The Command warns that anybody found fomenting trouble or creating panic in the minds of the law abiding members of the public will be punished.
The Command will bring the full weight of the law on such individual or group, “ Amaraizu threatened in the release every other police command.
Added to the police threat to deal decisively with “trouble makers,” the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, organised a demonstration of joint security forces – the Airforce, the Army, Police, Civil Defence, Customs and even the Road Safety personnel – on Wednesday, two days to the September 14, 2018 declared as a general strike as the IPOB described the sit at home call.
They marched through the major streets in Enugu to show how prepared they were to contain any possible eventually.
The General Officer Commanding the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, GOC, Gen. Emmanuel Boman Kabul who supervised the joint patrol however said that the gathering was not aimed at IPOB or any particular organisation but to prepare for possible security challenges that might occur under his Division, it was clear that the joint securing forces was to put to bay the group supposed to be fomenting trouble in the land.
According to Gen. Kabul, the joint forces was convened for a joint training of the military and paramilitary against the backdrop of a possible security challenges especially in line with the vision of the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Gen. Tukur Buratai, to ensure a responsible and responsive army capable of securing the territorial integrity of the country.
Addressing the joint security forces, Kabuk said: “I am happy to be in your midst this morning for the parade.
There are many security challenges confronting the country especially as it concerns the 82 Division.
It is good that we train together to understand ourselves.
“ If we do not train together, we may not be able to handle some of the threats when they actually show up.
It is important to tell Nigerians that government is not wasting resources on us.
We are just telling the law abiding Nigerians that we are prepared to defend them and for members of the Armed Forces, we are prepared to defend the territorial integrity of the country.
“We are not trying to target a particular group but to make sure if any group foments trouble, we handle them.
We are not targeting a particular group but when anything occurs, we tell them that we are capable to check such trouble.
“ We train together to ensure that the public go about their business without molestation but if any group go about to cause breach, we tell them that we are capable.
If we do not operate together, we may not make the necessary impact.
We want to assure the public that we are capable to tackle challenges.
“Take your time to tell your brothers that the security agencies are interested that Nigerians live in peace.
This country must live in peace and we are the ones t ensure the peace,” the GOC poured out.
Asked to comment on the notion that the Operation Python Dance 3 was organised to check IPOB against their quest for Biafra, the Army boss decline to say much other than that it was a wrong impression that the Operation is meant to curtail IPOB and their supposed excesses.
“It is a wrong impression.
That is all I have to say.” Defend territorial integrity However, going by the police open threat to deal with trouble maker and the army’s couched threat to defend the territorial integrity, it could be deciphered that efforts are being made to check the pro-Biafra group, IPOB believed to be a Federal Government bugaboo trying to divide Nigeria and must be stopped.
As if the security agencies threats were not enough, another pro-Biafra group, Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, as well as Biafra Independent Movement, BIM, seemed to put spanners in the works of IPOB at ensuring that people complied with the sit at home plea.
The organisation known as MASSOBBIM, on Thursday September 13, 2018, called on Ndigbo to disregard their sister group IPOB’s call to sit at home pointing out they don’t see the need for the many sit at homes.
According to a BIM leader from Enugu West Zone, Chief Benjamin Ekweugo, IPOB is a meddlesome group which nobody should pay heed to because their organisation was a stone through from achieving the Biafra sovereignty which he posited would not be gone by sitting at home and doing nothing.
Divergences with sister organisations “IPOB is on their own; what will they achieve with all these sit at home order.
We are coming out tomorrow; it today we have activity in commemoration of Biafra struggle; there is nothing like people not coming out tomorrow.
“I call on Ndigbo to ignore them and go about their businesses unless someone that has nothing to do.
All these sit at home and the rest of them are of no use.
Today, we are rejoicing because we already have success in our Biafra struggle.
We are only waiting for official announcement, “ Ekweugo said.
Those were daunting words from a group supposed to be pursuing the same objective to liberate Biafra from Nigeria but here they are fighting at crossroads like the Bible kingdom fighting another kingdom that will not stand.
It is this kind of stance that forced the legendary Okonkwo in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart to commit suicide because the people he thought would fight with him turned round to blame him by cutting the head of the Court Messenger called in Igbo parlance, Kotuma.
However, in spite of the efforts of the security agencies, market leaders and even the other pro-Biafra groups, to foil the sit at home order, the call did not fall flat on its face neither was it a huge success as claimed by IPOB leadership.
The sit at home succeeded in Enugu in the early hours of the morning as many shops, sheds were closed for business.
Some transport companies did not open for business and some banks did not open their main gates to receive customers.
The popular Market Road and the Okpara Avenue, that usually witnessed heavy vehicular movement were ghosts of their former selves as only very few motorists plied the roads in the morning hours.
What seemed to have cast a pall on the order is that at about ten o’clock in the morning, many people came out and started their normal business as if nothing happened while some people stayed at home.
On the whole, IPOB cannot beat their chest that people complied 100 per cent with their order neither will the government or the security agencies say that the people entirely disregarded the sit at home order because they told the people to disregard the call.