By Nairaland Forum •Work days reduced to four, sometimes three days
Today, August 20, 2022 makes it exactly one year and eleven days since the Indegenous People of Biafra, IPOB, imposed the sit at home on the entire South East geopolitical zone to protest the arrest and detention of it leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu by the Nigerian government.
Kanu is standing trial before the Federal High Court, Abuja, for alleged treasonable felony.
At its inception, the leadership of IPOB made it clear that the weekly sit at home would continue until Kanu was released from detention. Later, the organization declared that the sit at home would also include days Mazi Kanu would appear in court.In the region, therefore, markets, schools, transportation, banks and government offices are forced to be under lock on Mondays. Also, if there is a public holiday, the number of days for transacting business is further reduced in the region.
Initially, many people thought the sit at home would just last for few weeks, not knowing that it would turn out to become a norm. As if that was not enough, IPOB began enforcement of the order and those found outside their homes on Mondays had unpleasant stories to tell.
The resultant effect was arresting people and sometimes killing the defaulters. Indeed, the enforcement brought fears in the region, thereby forcing people to comply. Since then, the South East has become a ghost region on Mondays and the days Kanu would appear in court, with all commercial activities shut down.
Perhaps IPOB thought that the introduction of the order would put pressure on the federal government to release Kanu unconditionally as soon as possible, but this was not to be. Kanu has stayed in detention for over one year.
It was indeed in an effort to enforce the sit at home that unknown gunmen surfaced in the region and in addition to killing people, the gunmen have contributed in no small measure in destroying the economy of South East.
As it stands in the region, work days have been reduced from five days a week to four days and sometimes three days if Kanu was to appear in court. What this amounts to is that the South East unofficially now operates the four market days in Igbo land, instead of the normal five days working week, no thanks to the sit at home.
Although IPOB said it has officially suspended the sit at home following complaints by the Read MoreSource:: Nigerian Chatter
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