From Maurice Okafor,Enugu.
The people and government of Enugu state has agreed to join forces with security agencies to ensure citizens and other person resident in the state go about their normal business every Monday,without further embarrasment from miscreants on the pretext of enforcing the ‘illegal sit at home’order,which initially oriiginated from Indigeneous People of Biafra(IPOB),as a strategy to press for the release of their leader,Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,incacerated by security agencies.
The illegal’Sit at home’ every Monday has impacted negatively on the economy of the five states in the South East zone since it started on August 9,2021 and most especially Enugu state whose government is the last to officially ban the scourge.
Stakeholders cut across all sectors who participated in the town hall meeting convened in Enugu at the weekend,agreed with the new administration in the state led by Governor Peter Mbah,to adopt all measures to nip the cankerworm on the bud.
In his speech at the town hall meeting attended by Captains of industries,Coordinators of financial institutions, Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC),Amalgameted Traders Association, Heads of Tertiary Institutions, Traditional rulers, Religeous leaders, Youths associations,etc.Governor Mbah said the ‘Monday Sit at home’ has outlived it’s usefulness. He said that he is not against any genuine move to secure the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from detention and has made frank moves in that direction by visiting President Bola Tinubu.
Governor Mbah lamented that Enugu state loses N10 billion naira every Monday as a result of the sit at home menace and insisted the trend must be discontinued so as to rescue the economy of Enugu state.
His wiords,”We hsve proposed to grow our gross domestic product(GDP) from it’s current level of 4.4 billion dollars to 30 billion dollars. That growth is going to come from the private sector. And the private sector will not come to Enugu to reside their business if they know that we do not have five working days,which is obtainable everywhere.”
Governor Mbah equally lamented that the ugly effects of the sit at home extends and undermines the future of the children by tampering and unnecessary adjustment of the school curriculum whereas the pupils/students still partake on same external exams with children from other states who comfortably prepare for such examinations. He urged the stakeholders to also weigh the negative effect of the sit at home in this direction and understand reasons why it must be nipped on the bud.
Governor Mbah said,”So I am calling on us to rise to the occasion,to understand that it is about us. This is about our children,Our children’s future and we cannot afford to fail them”.
The Enugu state police commissioner,CP Ahmed Ammani,who spoke on behakf of all the security agencies in the state lamented that the entire South East zone has lost a total sum of N5.375 trillion through the observance of the illegal sit at home.
While assuring the continued efforts of security agencies in the state to ssfety and properties of the residents, CP Ahmed urged residents to always avail the security agencies vital information to act proactively.
The chairman of Enugu Traditional rulers Council, HRH Igwe Ambassador Lawrence Agubuzu said in as much as self determination is a genuine demand, but the idea of adopting strategies that are capable of strangulating the economy of same people you are agitating for their freedom is a very wrong approach.
He mentioned countries like Eritrea that eventually separated from Ethiopia, South Sudan from Sudan, Bangladesh from Pakistan, to never had cause to stir economic hardship on their people while on the struggle for their freedom
Other personalities, stakeholders and representatives of several other groups who spoke at the town hall meeting,concurred to every genuine move to end sit at home in Enugu state,every Monday.
The 12 point communique signed by 21 signatories who represented various groups supports the state government’s moves to end the illegal Monday sit at home. The meeting commended Governor Mbah’s visit to President Bola Tinubu to plead for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The town hall meeting also beckoned on the state government to resuscitate,re jig overhaul and strenghten internal security mechanisms such as community policing,Neighbourhood watch,Forest guards etc,to support the already existing security apparatus in the state.
The meeting also urged the traditional rulers to sensitise and educate their villagers on the reasons to stop the Monday sit at home.
The meeting emphasised the need for the state government to purchase special township commercial buses that would be plying in the city after 9pm when the trycycles must have gone off the streets officially.
The meeting advised that security is person’s business,as such all hands must be on deck,among other decisions.
