…’We don’t want another python to dance in Igboland’
For the three days the #EndBadGovernance protest has swept the country, so far, there has been calm in all the South-East states, amid indications that the peace will continue.
While that is not a surprise to other Nigerians, considering the insecurity situation and the agitations, it intrigues the South-East governors, who are baffled by the calmness.
Sadly, some of the governors, especially Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, are claiming that it was their interventions and plea to the people that made them not to join the protest.
But investigations by BD Sunday revealed otherwise.
It would be recalled that days to the commencement of the protest on August1, 2024, leaders of the South-East, including governors, political and traditional leaders, had several meetings and engagements with people from the zone, calling on them to shun the protest.
According the investigations, the people from the zone would rather comply with the direction of Indigenous Peole of Biafra (IPOB) or Eastern Security Network (ESN) than the governors, who they insisted are only in office to better their personal interests and for favour from Aso Rock.
What seems a consensus reason for many residents of the five South-East states is that Igbos have refused to be used as scapegoats.
According them, the bad experiences of the #EndSARS protest still hunt the Igbos, who were wrongly accused of sponsoring the protest then, by their detractors, despite the fact that their businesses were destroyed.
“Before this protest, the Bola Ahmed Tinubu government had accused Peter Obi of sponsoring it. But Obi is not the only opposition. They did not point to Atiku Abubakar. That accusation is against all Igbos and we and our businesses are the target, whether you like it or not,” Amanze Ezeokoye, an Awka-based lawyer said
For Chijioke Umelahi, a former Abia lawmaker, the Igbos are not participating as expected because they did not vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) government and cannot protest against it.
“The Igbos protested with their votes during the 2023 presidential election against the poor governance of the APC government, but other Nigerians supported the party and that is why we are here today. So, there is no need to protest again, when your authentic protest with votes did not count,” Umelahi explained.
Again, many concerned Igbos think that the current security situation in some communities in Anambra, Imo and Abia states, do not need additional protest, because it could be hijacked by government-sponsored hoodlums.
It could be recalled that there was a heavy deployment of soldiers and armoured patrol vehicles (APVs) in the zone, especially in Aba, few days before the start of the protest.
The earlier deployment, according to many in the zone, suggested that Ndigbo were the target of the protest.
Read also: Nigeria counts the cost of #EndBadGovernance protests
“So, our withdrawal is tactical and not weakness. It is wisdom, because our people have been killed since the Civil War and the government does not care,” Ezeokoye said.
He strongly refuted the idea that the governors influenced the decision of the people to shun the protest in the zone.
“We are wiser now. The governors cannot influence us because they don’t equally care about the interest of Ndigbo. Is it Uzodinma or Soludo, who are seeking for favour from Aso Rock, or the one Dave Umahi planted in Ebonyi. It is only Alex Otti that seems to have the Igbo consciousness in him,” Ezeokoye lamented.
In line with Ezeokoye, Idika Arunsi, a retired top government official in Abia State, acknowledged the advice from Igbo leaders, governors, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, parliamentarians and others in the private sector, but thinks that the action today for the protest is based on the realities of Ndigbo, who he described as an endangered race in Nigeria.
“No matter what you do, Nigeria will not appreciate the contributions of Ndigbo. We have always been their target, so why present ourselves to be slaughtered. Wisdom is more important than the protest,” the soon to be crowned traditional ruler in Abia State, said.
However, Ndigbo also commended, Benjamin Kalu, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, who openly cautioned them not to join the protest, as they would be made scapegoats since the protest has been revealed to be targeted at them, for the destruction of their means of livelihood and for setting them up before the security agencies.
Although Kalu called on Igbos to show weakness rather than their usual strength and abstain from the protest, the compliance, according to many, is not in obedience to Kalu’s advice, but wisdom from their past ugly experiences.
“Ndigbo do not want another python to dance in the zone,” he said.
For instance, in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, the signs that the national protest will not hold in the city was obvious some days before the start of the protest, as many residents expressed no interest in the plan.
Unlike other cities where designated places were mapped out as gathering centres, there was none in Aba, no group stood out as the organiser, unlike what was available elsewhere.
While people protested in most parts of the country, Aba residents sat at home, while youths converted roads to emergency football fields.
All the major markets in the commercial city, including; Ariaria International Market, Eziukwu Market, Ahia-Ohuru, Ekeoha Shopping Centre, Ehere Market, Alaoji Spare Parts Market, GSM/ Computer Village, St Michael’s Phone/Accessories Market and Uratta Integrated Market, were all closed.
Commercial banks, schools and all public facilities were also shutdown.
This was the same situation in Anambra, Imo Ebonyi and Enugu states. Most people choose to sit at home, while a few went about their normal businesses.
Some residents, who spoke to BD Sunday said that they would have loved to join the protest, but could not do so following the bad experience of the October 2020, #EndSARS protest that almost crumbled
Aba and other cities in the South-East zone.
They said that the current security situation in the city, which has recently seen police and soldiers attacked and killed in different locations made the protest a difficult one in Abia, Anambra and other parts of the zone, as it could create an ugly situation that no one anticipated.
Gerrard Akunna, a resident of Emelogu Road, in Aba, said that he would have loved to come out in the streets, but because of the security situation and how security agencies treat protesters in the South-East, he prefered to sit at home.
“We are not immune to the hunger and poverty, experienced all over the country, but it will be stupid for one to go out to protest against hunger and poverty and end up dead,” Akunna said.
For Okereke Uzochukwu, another resident, embarking on such a protest, would be suicidal, due to the current security situation in Aba.
“We have seen and heard the calls from different political and traditional leaders, our resolve to stay at home today should be seen as wisdom and not cowardice. What we did today shows that we have become wiser and smarter.
“No need to die recklessly. You will hardly hear of killings in this protest today from Lagos to Abuja, but any move here will end badly. So, I like what our people did today.
“It is not that we love the current government and what they are doing, but we want to remain alive because nobody obeys any law in this country including fundamental human rights.
“Since 2017, we have seen blood flow in peaceful protests here and we are simply tired of that,” he said.
Chukwu Kalu, a trader, who decried the high cost of living in the country, observed that Aba residents decided to stay indoors, to avoid being tagged members of the Indegenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
According to him, “it is not that we are happy with the state of our economy, but we do not want to lose lives, as any protest by Igbos at this moment, would be misconstrued to be sponsored by IPOB.
“You can see soldiers everywhere, any little thing now, they will start shooting at people and we don’t want that to happen,” he said.
Ngozi Osaji, a trader in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, still makes money as customers throng her medium-sized grocery shop to buy things since August 1, the protest started.
But the trader wished that residents of the state would join the protest as high cost of living has impacted her business and may likely see fewer customers in coming days as the hardship persists.
Onyemachi Ikedinobi, a resident of Enugu, noted that people are going about their businesses, except government and public institutions like banks, which closed for fear of attacks.
“If there is any reason to protest, it should be for the emancipation of Ndigbo because Nigeria don’t like us. They send jet fighter and soldiers here because of IPOB, but will tell us Boko Haram is tactically defeated and even celebrate repentant Boko Haram and bandits, while people in the South-East are branded terrorists. It is unfair and that is why the streets are calm. We are wiser now,” Ikedinobi, said.
Coming from an entirely different angle, Olisa Akanite, a member of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, noted that Ndigbo are in mourning mood now and cannot protest.
“We lost three prominent Igbo personalities; Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, president-general of Ohaneze, Ifeanyi Ubah, a senator and Onyeka Onwenu, our distinguished daughter. So, let others protest on our behalf for now because Ndigbo are mourning our huge loss,” Akanite said.
While peace reigns in Owerri, Emeka Onwulia, a lecturer at the Federal University of Technology Owerri, is not happy that the protest is not happening in the city.
“We are Nigerians too and are feeling the harsh impact of the economic policies of this government. We should not shun the protest. I see some people joining from next week in Owerri, no matter how the government wants to stop them,” Onwulia said.
Despite the mourning mood, Akanite fears that some Igbos, especially youth, will join the protest if it is not disrupted for the 10 days it is meant to last.
“We call them Gen Z, they will likely break the calmness and hit the streets in the South-East if the protest last longer than this Monday because they are feeling the economic impact the most. Many are unemployed, no money, no food and what do you want them to do,” he decried.
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