By Ozo Ginger Ibeneme, MBBS
The last few days assumed an atmosphere of looming war or impeding catastrophe around the East . At least in Anambra and Enugu State . The markets were busy with desperate panic shoppers trying to refill their supplies before the IPOB sit at home order , and the roads were over flowing with refugees from Anambra State seeking refuge in Enugu and other nearby states in fear of looming violence in the Anambra gubernatorial election both from competing political parties and likely clashes between government security personnel and IPOB enforcers .
By yesterday the 4th of November, the tensions came to a crescendo . Many scheduled activities and meetings were canceled till further notice .
Enugu Metropolis came to a total halt as traffic gridlock took over everywhere even street tributaries.
Commuters ended their businesses as they could not navigate the stagnant traffic. Hundreds of thousands of citizens were stranded in all bus stops. Women with children . Pupils from school. Civil servants from work . Artisans from sites . Suffering, anguish, despair , pains and exhaustion. All because of an order by a group with most of their members and policy makers living in foreign countries and comfortably living their lives without disruptions .
Many of those stuck out there are not able to stockpile because they either did not have cash or they never were able to get to markets , or both .
In Awka , as our people pushed and shoved themselves around in desperate efforts to shop , they were constantly harassed by the sounds of gunshots . A violent cult war has been raging in Awka since early this year . It peaked recently with tens of young people slayed daily . This has overwhelmed both the government and native authorities. Nobody seemed to care anymore except for citizen who are sporadically made to flee in fear of being hit by stray bullets .
A relation of mine who trades at Eke Awka called me few days ago to beg for a loan siting that they have not been able to do any businesses in a while due to constant shootings around the market ,not being able to move goods across Enugu state due to the terrible road conditions and the incessant sit at home orders by IPOB .
My friends at Onitsha markets complained that since this year they’ve not sold enough to travel for importation from China , they note that many of their customers are refusing to come to East because of the violence and sit at home orders .
South East economy is collapsing rapidly .
IPOB has allegedly called off the sit at home whereas a faction is still insisting on it .
The tactics is that IPOB would issue the order , IPOB apologists would threaten violence if one fails to comply , IPOB elements would move around to enforce the order , IPOB would deny the order , IPOB would also call off the order which they “didn’t give “. It’s a cycle of confusion, sprinkled with violence and verbal abuses .
One success recorded in the confusion is the suffering of our people.
The worst hit so far is the education. Kids in the East are so uncertain on days they could go to school or not . .. school days are now by chance .
Many people who now publicly support IPOB or identify with the “struggle “ are people we know to have violent pasts during the university days and have managed to move to other countries where they engage in criminal activities. They have money from crime , they have influence because they throw money around when they come back home , and they don’t care about the plight of those ploughing their own businesses back home , because they also need to diminish us here so that they’d be in control of cash flow and thereby influence in the region .
They’re in different social and community WhatsApp groups churning out IPOB propaganda and threatening everybody who dared to disagree or have a contrary opinion on any issues. They’re also quick to remind you about their violent pasts just so that you remember and cower to their violent capabilities.
This trend surged since the latest incarceration of Mazi Kanu . There are conflicting orders from Emma Powerful , Simon Ekpo , IPOB Lawyers and so called Directorate of State-DOS . The latest entrants into the frenzy are the violent vague Biafra Homeland Security who move around in military fatigues and rifles , maiming and looting our people at random .
Online and offline IPOB trolls are doing a hatchet job , churning out and muddling informations that are lies , half truths and figments of their imagination.
This is the worst time to be an Igbo man .
It appears however that the Nigerian Government is happy with the state of things in Igbo Land , the 5percenters that are apparently in a self destruct autopilot mode. I suspect this because Government does everything aside what could solve the problem.
Instead of finding political solutions, government would rather send aggressive and violent security forces that instigate more fears , violence , reprisals ,and deeper mistrust by the commoners . So if IPOB goons don’t get you , Nigerian security forces would . Our people are battered on both sides .
It’s heartbreaking.
I see no future , I see no end .
Our enemies are laughing at us .
