Ebonyi state governor, Dave Umahi, has warned
traders in the state that they risk the chance of
losing their shops forever if they obey the sit-at-
home order issued by the proscribed Indigenous
People of Biafra group, IPOB.
The group had called on their members to sit at home today May
30th as they honor all their members that have lost their lives in
the struggle for the creation of Biafra.
Governor Umahi made the declaration while giving his democracy
speech in Abakaliki, the state capital yesterday May 29th.
“Any trader that closes shop will forfeit the shop forever. Anybody
that flouts this order will be decidedly dealt with. I ask Ebonyians
to go about their businesses freely and peacefully. Let me say that
when we the South-east governors say that we don’t want the
activities of IPOB does not mean that we are very happy with the
marginalisation of the South-east in the affairs of our nation.
What we are saying is that IPOB is not doing it the right way. The
right thing was what Ohanaeze did in the comity of Igbo sons and
daughters. We do not need second colonisation. We do not need
distraction.
We want to strive, we want to continue. We believe in God. We
with do everything to change our condition” Governor Umahi said
IPOB in a statement released by its Deputy Leader, Uche Mefor,
titled: ‘May 30 Sit At Home, says the order is about respecting
those who fought and died for your freedom’.
The statement said it has sent out canvassers to interior villages
of Biafra land to sensitise the people on the need to obey the
order, and have gotten favourable response that compliance would
be high.
“The past few days have witnessed a remarkable public interest in
the symbolism of the May 30 Biafra Remembrance, particularly the
Sit-at-Home order.
May 30 is just one day in 366 days but it represents an enduring
epitaph that recalls many great feats, struggles and tribulations. It
is about the greatest collective self-defence against a genocide
that lasted four years from 1966 to 1970. It is about remembering
and honoring those who fought valiantly against that genocide,
and those who could not make their way safely to the East as
they succumbed to the sheer numbers and bloodlust of their
supposed northern compatriots who sought their gruesome death
for nothing except for jealousy and speaking a different tongue.
May 30 does not just remind us of the sacrifice of the soldiers,
sailors and airmen of the great Biafran resistance of 1967 to 1970,
but also of those who followed them in later conflicts-those who
in this era, stepped out to the streets of Igweocha, Onitsha, Aba,
among others to protest the resurgence of evil, those who were
murdered at the night vigil in Aba, those who were mowed down
at Nkpor, and those who, more recently, lost their precious young
lives at various locations in Biafraland, including at Afara-Ukwu,
Umuahia.
Particularly with this year’s Sit-at-Home, as we rue our fate as a
people and remember those who have died in the course of
freedom, we must think of those they left behind – their families
and their friends. We must also remember those that are missing
since 2015, those in illegal detentions and those that have
stepped forward to speak out, to lead; and despite the great
dangers ahead, have stayed the course.”
Don’t forget to comment and share
Comments are closed.