Soludo Makes Good His Threat, Floods Onitsha Main Market with Security, APCs to Enforce Closure

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has made good his threat to close West Africa’s largest market, Onitsha Main Market, for one week.

The governor had made the announcement on Monday after he paid an unscheduled visit to the market and discovered a violation of his order for them to jettison Monday sit-at-home order and open for trading.

The governor said the market will only be opened on Monday next week, and if traders failed to comply, he will close it for one month.

He said: “I don’t mind closing this market for the rest of this year, and if it gets too much, we will bring bulldozers and level this market. If you are not ready to trade on Monday, leave Anambra and go elsewhere.”

The traders had taken this for a joke and had even argued that government had no right to force anyone to open their shops, where they feel like resting at home.

A trader, Mr Mbabefo, who owns a shop at Fancy Line, said: “It is not about freedom of Nnamdi Kanu any longer, it is about the fact that we traders have found out that we need to give ourselves some rest.

“We trade from Monday to Saturday, and on Sunday we go to church, attend church and community meetings and other social events. Monday is the day we have time to rest. I don’t think the governor can stop us from opening our shop on Tuesday after resting on Monday.”

Reinforcing this belief in a different way, the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), in a press release by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, supported the traders, saying the governor has no such rights.

The release stated that the traders will on Tuesday resume trading, despite the order of the governor. It warned that there will be a clash if Soludo attempted to stop traders, while insisting that if he is desperate to see traders resume Monday trading, he should go and get Nnamdi Kanu out.

But THISDAY can authoritatively report that as at Tuesday morning, a high cache of security operatives have been drafted to Onitsha Main Market to enforce the governor’s order.

A fierce looking armoured personnel carrier (APC) was standing at the gate of the entrance, while armed police men milled around every part of the market.

This has left traders powerless as they stand outside the gate of the market, rueing their loss. 

A trader, who could not be easily identified, was heard shouting: “This Soludo is mean ooo. This is not something to flex muscle with you Sir, we are begging you as our father to please help us.”