Monday Sit-at-Home: Who Blinks First Between Soludo and Onitsha Traders?

Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, recently ordered the closure of Onitsha Main Market over Monday sit-at- home, but the traders took to the streets in protest. The question is: who blinks first between Soludo and the traders? David-Chyddy Eleke reports.

Last Monday, Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo visited Onitsha Main Market unannounced and after a brief inspection, he ordered the closure of the market for one week for non compliance with his order for traders to resume trading on Mondays.

Origin of Sit-at-home and Early Warnings

For weeks prior to this, government memos and circulars have been flying around, ordering civil servants, traders, and all to jettison the Monday sit at home order earlier imposed by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a way to protest the continued arrest and detention of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. The order started in 2021 when Kanu was arrested in Kenya and extraordinarily renditioned to Nigeria, while his earlier abandoned trial commenced. The aim of the order was to use the compliance level to arm twist the federal government to free him, but it failed.

Later, when it turned out to be a huge blow on the economy of the South East rather than a gain, the IPOB was convinced to announce abolition of the order, but it seemed too late already as the people have been coerced into perpetual compliance. Much later, states across the South East reclaimed their Mondays, but this is not the same with Anambra, especially Nnewi and Onitsha where every Monday leaves both towns as ghost locations with no movements or human presence.

Closure and Protests

During his visit last Monday, Soludo pronounced a one week ban on the market, insisting the order must be complied with. The order generated lots of tension, with many questioning the authority of the governor to compel traders to come to market on Mondays. The social media was also agog with traders threatening to disobey the order.

On Tuesday however, Soludo made good his threat by flooding the entire market with security operatives, stationing armoured personnel carrier (APC) in strategic places, all in a bid to enforce the order. To counter this, traders resorted to protests, chanting pro-Nnamdi Kanu songs.

During what later became a huge protest, young people took to the streets singing “holy holy holy, Nnamdi Kanu is another saviour.”

In another video, the protesters were seen cajoling the governor, singing that he didn’t have the powers to compel them to come to market on Mondays. In a way to mimick Nnamdi Kanu, who insisted he was being tried under an abrogated law, asking the trial judge to “Omotosho show me the law”, the protesters started chanting songs asking Soludo to show them the law that empowered him to close the market.

The discourse generated much arguments, with many wondering that the protest may further break the fragile peace in the state and cause an escalation of violence.

Meanwhile, there are many who believe the sit at home was gradually fizzling out and didn’t need any harsh order that may anger non state actors into returning to the trenches. The governor was roundly blamed by such people for bringing the issue to the front burner again, but Soludo is not one to shy away from expressing himself.

Soludo reacts, remains resolute

On Wednesday, Soludo came out blunt to tackle issues during a press conference, insisting the Monday sit at home was economic sabotage and targeted at Nnewi and Onitsha in Anambra State, leaving out other states in the zone, including those where known leaders of the secessionist group come from.

During the press conference at the Light House, Awka, Soludo bared his fangs, warning the traders not to annoy him into taking drastic actions. He stated that a thorough assessment of the market showed that at least 150 security operatives work in Onitsha Main Market, which means there was enough security, and if the issue was about insecurity, then there was enough manpower to tackle it. He also traced the genesis of the sit at home, insisting that his government has done enough to ensure that all past wounds were healed, including setting up the Peace Justice and Reconciliation Committee, whose reports are still being implemented and the call for amnesty, which was heeded by over 15,000 youths. He however plainly stated that he is empowered by law to do what he did and even more, especially for those asking to be shown the law. He called on them not to run away when he eventually shows them the law.

“I want to say that the Monday sit at home is deliberate economic sabotage and would not be allowed to continue. Throughout the Yuletide the market was open from Monday down to Saturday and in most cases opened on Sundays too. For people who say the Monday decision is because of insecurity, why were there no incidences when traders opened all through the week? Now that normal businesses have commenced, they have started their Monday sabotage.  If they go for meetings on Monday, go to stadium to exercise and they do not fear insecurity, why is their target Nnewi and Onitsha? Majority of those doing it are not from Anambra. As I drove to Onitsha on Monday, all markets were open. In most cases there were street trading and it was even difficult for us to meander our way. Other markets were open and I drove through Ochanja, but the major target is Onitsha Main Market. When we got there, it was not open. We think this is deliberate and it has to end.”

The governor traced the history of the sit at home order on Mondays to 2021 to protest the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), but said he visited Kanu in prison and he was unhappy about the decision and called for an end to the order. He said: “I visited Kanu and he was unhappy about it. I confronted him with the question (sit at home order) and he told me it was wrong. We later met with the stakeholders, constituted the Justice Peace Committee which was headed by Prof. Chidi Odinkalu and they have submitted their report and we have been implementing it. We also discovered that the people outside are the ones fueling it and we have held town hall meetings to tell them they are killing the homeland. You cannot distort the growth of people and education, the same people you said you are fighting for. We announced amnesty programme and 15,400 youths came out and we have rehabilitated them. We are working to give young people a life and other people are there working to give them pain.

“The rest of the world cannot adjust to our own calendar, we cannot operate a four-day economy and hope to compete with people operating six days of the week. So we must stop. This is not because of fear of insecurity because we have over 150 security personnel working in the main market only. In terms of revenue, the cost is much, but not about government revenue, but about the economy of the poor people and the overall stability of the state. The cost is much and not as a result of loss in taxes because Onitsha generates pittance. I’m talking about the larger economy which is more on the traders themselves. Monday is the most important day of the week and if we continue, our economy will continues to come down. We can’t train our children in a school system that runs four days a week. I’m concerned because you gave me the mandate to be your Chief Servant. If not, what do I lose? I can as well shut down and use my Mondays to sleep too.

He went further: “Some politicians are involved and they think it’s politics. It is not about politics, it is about security, the interest and future of our state. It is about our prosperity, it is about our security, it is about the poor people who must go out before they can feed. For now, we will not name the politicians who are sponsoring them. At least for now, but very soon we will name them. They are doing this because they think they can score political points by sponsoring this.

“This economic sabotage must not continue. In 2022 and 2023 we were busy strategizing on how we will deal with the insecurity in our land. In 2024 and 2025, we used it to launch onslaught on criminals, and today I can say that Anambra is the safest state. Even if our enemies do not agree, they will count us among the safest states in Nigeria. This 2026 is for fighting sit at home. It is either they open their shops or we revoke their ownership. If it gets to this point, we will ask them to come and show us their documents of ownership of the shops, and I will personally scrutinize it myself. Most of those documents, we know how they came about.

“For those shouting “show me the law where you can close our shops”, I want to say that they should be ready when I show it to them. I will also show them the law that empowers me to revoke that market and use it for whatever is better for the state. I can revoke that market, pay compensation to people who have private structures there and use it for even an annex of Agunechemba Security if I like. I hope that push will not come to shove, but in the next two weeks, we will start recertification. A lot of people want shops in that market, so if you are not ready to open shops, go elsewhere. We will revoke your shops and give it to people who are willing to open,” a defiant Soludo stated.

As the scenario unfolds, Soludo seems to be having the upper hand over the traders.

At a meeting he held with market leaders on Thursday and Friday, Soludo presented two  options before the leaders, insisting that they will either resume full trading activities on Mondays, mark attendance as required, while he regenerate and reorganises the market, demolishing all illegal structures and plazas and create proper spaces and car parks.

The second option include to continue with Sit-at-Home on Mondays and risk the demolition of the market and use two-year for its reconstruction to restore it to its original master plan.

It was gathered that the traders chose the first option, which will involve them opening on Monday, and giving the governor the go ahead to remove illegal structures to make way for wider roads in the market and restoring its parking spaces. He also told the traders that a committee will be set up to recertify all occupants of shops in the market, and that it will commence work soon, insisting that government needs to know those who are trading in its market.

Plea by the traders to be allowed to commence trading on Saturday  having accepted the conditions fell on deaf ears as the governor insisted it can only be opened on Monday, when their compliance will again be re-accessed.

IPOB Threatens

Meanwhile, in a bid to instil fear in the traders and cajole them into disobeying the governor, the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has declared Monday a day of lockdown in the South East, insisting it is in solidarity with the traders who were locked out of their shops. It is however unclear how this will push the traders into jettisoning Monday trading, especially as there seems to be a crack in the leadership of the group, as its legal counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor has dismissed the order from the Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful describing him as already compromised. As this continue, it is left to be seen who between the governor and IPOB will be obeyed by the traders on Monday.