South-East after the sit-at-home: a painful lesson in disunity

For more than five years, the South East lived under the shadow of a crippling Monday ritual. What began as a political protest mutated into an instrument of economic strangulation, fear and criminal enterprise. Now, as Charles Soludo, governor of Anambra State, declares that the region may have lost over 20 percent of its economy yearly during the crisis, the moment demands more than celebration but also calls for sober reflection.

Twenty percent yearly economic loss is not a statistic to gloss over. It translates into closed shops in Onitsha, deserted markets in Aba, silent classrooms in Owerri and stalled factories in Nnewi. It means lost jobs, reduced incomes, declining tax revenues and deepened poverty. For a region already battling infrastructure deficits and capital flight, the cumulative impact of five years of paralysis is staggering.

The tragedy of the sit-at-home order was not merely economic; it was political and deeply institutional.

Read also: Sit-at-home: South-east lost 20% annually as criminals held region hostage for five years — Soludo

The sit-at-home directive was rooted in long-standing grievances – perceived marginalisation, distrust of federal authority, and agitation linked to the detention of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). In its early phase, many residents complied out of sympathy or solidarity. But what started as civil disobedience gradually degenerated into coercion.

Enforcement slipped from agitators’ hands into those of armed gangs who weaponised fear, as businesses that opened were attacked, vehicles were burnt and citizens were assaulted, making the line between political protest and organised criminality dissolve. And this is where leadership failure became glaring.

The five Southeast governors rarely spoke with one voice. There was no sustained, coordinated regional strategy; instead, responses were fragmented. One state relaxed enforcement while another remained cautious; one governor issued threats while another sought dialogue; one leaned heavily on security operations while another treaded carefully. The absence of a unified front emboldened criminals and confused citizens. A crisis that demanded regional solidarity was treated as an isolated state problem.

In federations, governors are the chief security officers of their states, but insecurity does not respect state boundaries. Criminal camps connected forests across borders, while enforcers operated, often lightly, from one state to another. Without intelligence-sharing, joint operations and harmonised messaging, enforcement gaps widened. And this is the vacuum criminals eagerly fill.

“Criminal camps connected forests across borders, while enforcers operated, often lightly, from one state to another. Without intelligence-sharing, joint operations and harmonised messaging, enforcement gaps widened. And this is the vacuum criminals eagerly fill.”

It took years before there was a serious dismantling of camps, such as the 62 reportedly neutralised in Anambra. That effort, commendable as it is, raises a difficult question: why did it take so long for coordinated security architecture to emerge?

Moreover, beyond hard security, there was a messaging deficit. The region lacked a unified political communication strategy to persuade citizens that the sit-at-home had become counterproductive. Silence or contradictory signals from leaders allowed fear to masquerade as consensus. It was a case where legitimate authority appears uncertain, making illegitimate authority thrive.

Security crackdowns alone cannot guarantee that such a disruption will never recur. The sit-at-home crisis fed on three underlying vulnerabilities.

First, political alienation, where many young people in the South-East feel excluded from national power structures. The perception, whether fully accurate or not, has emotional potency. Unless federal appointments, infrastructure projects and economic policies visibly reflect inclusiveness, agitation narratives will find fertile ground.

Second, economic fragility in a region heavily dependent on small and medium enterprises is especially vulnerable to disruptions. Informal traders and daily earners cannot absorb repeated shocks. Diversifying the regional economy, investing in industrial clusters, and strengthening digital commerce could build resilience against future disruptions.

Third, youth unemployment and criminal opportunism, as idle hands, were easily recruited into enforcement agents. Tackling cultism, arms proliferation and gang networks requires sustained social investment, skills training, apprenticeships, microcredit and rehabilitation programmes – not only raids.

We believe if the end of the sit-at-home enforcement is ending, it indeed must mark the beginning of structural reforms, such as:

Institutionalised regional cooperation: The South-East Governors’ Forum must evolve from a ceremonial body into an operational security and economic council. Joint intelligence task forces, shared surveillance infrastructure and harmonised security legislation are critical. Regular joint briefings would also project unity and deny space to misinformation.

A political engagement strategy: ‘Dialogue’ does not mean submission, meaning governors, traditional rulers and civil society leaders should sustain structured conversations with non-violent agitators and community influencers. Where grievances are constitutional, they must be channelled through lawful advocacy. Where actions are criminal, they must be clearly separated and prosecuted.

Federal-regional partnership: President Bola Tinubu has emphasised national security as a priority. That commitment must translate into actionable collaboration (better funding for regional security initiatives, faster judicial processes for terror-related cases, and concrete economic investments in the South-East). Also, visible federal presence, such as in infrastructure, industry and appointments, will help counter narratives of neglect.

Read also: Insecurity: Northern leaders pledge support for peace in South-East, South-South

Economic shock recovery plan: After five years of economic disruption, the region deserves a coordinated recovery package. Tax incentives for affected businesses, credit facilities for SMEs, and investment summits showcasing improved security could help restore investor confidence. The Christmas surge in activity described by Soludo is encouraging, but recovery must be institutional, not seasonal.

Civic education and narrative reset: The psychological grip of fear must be dismantled. Public campaigns emphasising the cost of compliance to schools, hospitals, and markets can reinforce the understanding that collective self-harm benefits only criminals.

It is easy to blame criminal elements. Harder, but necessary, is admitting that leadership hesitation and regional disunity prolonged the crisis. The South-East is historically entrepreneurial and resilient. It should never have been held hostage every Monday for half a decade.

The lesson is clear: insecurity thrives where coordination fails.

If the governors maintain unity, invest in economic resilience, engage constructively with dissent, and collaborate robustly with Abuja, the region can transform this painful chapter into a turning point.

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