Activities went on peacefully in South East Nigeria yesterday as Biafra agitators, especially the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) commemorated ‘Biafra Day’ in honour of those who died in the Nigerian civil war.
In Enugu, markets, including the popular Ogbete Main Market and some filling stations opened for business.
IPOB had urged residents to sit at home on May 30 to commemorate the day, reiterating that May 30 remained Biafra Heroes Day, and not Igbo Day.
In a statement by its media and publicity secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB criticised what it called a deliberate distortion of historical facts by “compromised Igbo politicians” and non-Biafrans attempting to rebrand the day for political motives.
There was vehicular movement on major roads while many shops opened for business.
It was further observed that many minibuses and tricycles offered services.
Some students and pupils went to school while civil servants went to their offices.
Unlike the previous editions, the observation of this year’s Biafra Day sit-at-home was calm and without threat to peace and security in Abia State.
Our correspondent said the state command of the Nigeria Police had deployed anti-riot personnel.
Across the state capital, banks, schools, business premises and government offices were shut just as there was free but low human and vehicular movement around the towns.
Reports from Aba, the commercial nerve centre of the state indicated that the situation was similar in addition to complete closure of filling stations and some eateries.
Speaking in a telephone conversation, a reliable source in Ohafia observed “some youths barricading the roads with whatever they could lay their hands on.”
In Anambra, government offices and economic activities were paralysed as residents observed the day.
When LEADERSHIP weekend visited the Jerome Udoji state secretariat, Awka, and old the Government House, all the offices were deserted.
The state commissioner for information, Dr. Law Mefor, said there was no public holiday and lamented that civil servants refused to come to work.
“It is a terrible thing that civil servants refused to come to work. I am in my office. I have not seen anywhere in the world where civil servants have poor attitude to work like in Anambra State,” he said.
“They are just using the Biafra Day commemoration as an added excuse for not coming to work today. Other days, you can’t find up to 30 per cent of the civil servants come to work. It is in Anambra state that you can see a civil servant who will refuse to come to work for a whole week but at the end of the month, the person will be paid salary.”
The commissioner of police in Imo State, Aboki Danjuma, urged people in the state to disregard the sit-at-home threat by IPOB and its armed affiliate, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
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