MONDAY- 16th August, 2021: Residents of Awka and Onitsha have refused to resume their normal activities even with the suspension of the sit-at-home order by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra.
Recall that the ‘every Monday’ sit-at-home protest was declared in solidarity with Nnamdi Kanu, residents of Awka and Onitsha are still unsure to venture out as streets of Onitsha are still deserted as at 8am on Monday.
A source, Mr Theophilus Omaka, a trader in Onitsha main market said that as at 8am, there were only few traders who had come to the market.
“The market opens at 7am every morning, and usually, on a Monday, after a long weekend, traders itch to come to their shops, and that means that as early as 6am, most traders are already waiting for market officials to open their shops, so they can go to work.
“But today, it is already 8am, and the markets are already open, but only a few traders have arrived. As I was coming to market from Fegge where I live, I found the whole street scanty, unlike what used to happen on Monday mornings when there is usually a rush,” he said.
In Awka, shops are still closed as at 8am. Some residents revealed that the news of the suspension was not widely circulated.
A trader at Aroma, popularly known as Oga Boss, who trades in phone parts said: “I didn’t plan to go out today because of the sit-at-home. I’m just hearing it from you that it has been suspended.”
IPOB, speaking through its publicity secretary, Mr Emma Powerful had two days ago called off the sit-at-home order, saying that the exercise will henceforth hold only on days its leader, Kanu would appear in court.
