Dearest Onitsha Main Market Traders,
We stand with all of you in these trying times. What we are witnessing is clear intimidation, and there is no better word for it than tyranny and dictatorship.
To begin with, you have the right to decide whether to open or not open your shops. You have the right to stay away on Mondays, and no one—absolutely no one—has the right to force you to come out.
Is it wrong to take a stand? No, it is not. It is your right. There comes a point in life when people must use action to communicate their position, and when they do, that message is heard far and wide. That is exactly what you have done by staying at home every Monday in solidarity with Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, whom the government has been illegally holding hostage.
Your staying away is a statement. It is you saying you are against extraordinary rendition. It is you saying no to international kidnapping. It is you rejecting judicial injustice, recklessness, and intimidation. It is you declaring that you know who your leader is and who has sacrificed for you. It is also a protest against Igbo leaders who do nothing for their people, yet consistently stand with the North against their own.
Most of you in that market are graduates of various disciplines from different universities. I know you understand your rights. Do not allow yourselves to be intimidated. This is no longer just about Mazi Nnamdi Kanu—it is about every one of you as individuals. When a tyrant and a dictator, masquerading as a democratically elected governor, begins to suppress the people, resistance becomes a duty. That is exactly what the actions of His Excellency, Governor Charles Nwamgbafor Soludo, represent. If you allow this suppression to succeed, another will follow. That is how doom begins.
Come next Monday, it remains your right to stay at home. We live in a country where government agents have murdered our people on Mondays, only to falsely accuse IPOB and Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. The victims were our own people. We lost lives. We lost goods. We lost properties. You must not put yourselves in the line of fire again. You must not allow yourselves or members of your families to be used to manufacture another false narrative. We must protect ourselves and everyone we care about. We must not allow what happened in Imo State to be recreated in Anambra State, no matter how desperately the government tries to engineer it.
Come next Monday, I will stay at home. Even if I intended to step out to see a friend, I would cancel it and remain indoors completely. Governments may issue executive orders, but when they grow tired, they will stop this madness. By then, I intend to still be alive and not caught in their web of manipulation.
God bless all of you.
I am your brother,
Elochukwu Ohagi
Philosopher, Teacher, and Activist
Writing for posterity’s sake.
Dear Readers, Good and credible news reportage is tedious task and requires huge finances.
We are soliciting your Noble support for as low as N1,000 your support would go a long way in assisting us to continue to guarantee our readers quality news.
Bank transfers can be made to:
Account Name: Harvest and Commercial
Bank: Sterling Bank
Account Number: 0078627735