For the residents of the South-East geopolitical zone, crippling economic activities which has spiralled hardships have become worse as the sit-at-home enforcers continued to dominate, forcing activities to the lowest ebb.

Residents of the five states in the zone have been forced to obey the Monday and subsequent sit-at-home orders imposed by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN).

Even as Governors Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra state and Peter Mba of Enugu State, tried to enforce a rejection of the order, the inability of security agencies to protect lives and property of people in the zone against the enforces and other hoodlums like herdsmen kidnappers, forced people to keep to the IPOB instructions than take the risk of getting killed or maimed and abandoned by government. 

monday, all major roads and streets were deserted throughout the day in the commercial cities of Aba, Umuahia in Abia; Owerri, Orlu and Okigwe in Imo; Enugu, Nsukka, 9th Mile and Oji River in Enugu; Awka, Onitsha, Ekwulobia and Nnewi in Anambra and Abakiliki and Afikpo in Ebonyi states respectively. 

Business activities grounded to a halt while both commercial and private vehicles were off road for fear of the unknown. 

Both private and federal government-owned schools in the five states were closed on Monday just as residents stayed at home to monitor the situation. 

Recall that Enugu Governor Peter Mbah recently threatened to deal with those who are observing the sit-at-home order of IPOB.

The governor, like his counterpart in Anambra state, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has been threatening to punish their residents who obey the sit-at-home order of IPOB without much success.

People who chose to deft the Governors say they do so because there is no guarantee of protection or even provision of succor or treatment for any victim by the two Governors should they be harmed or even killed by the sit-at-home enforcers.

The residents accused all arms of the nation’s security of refusing to perform their statutory duties of protecting lives and property, but had increased the tempo of extortion of the residents at their numerous check-points across the zone.

They wondered why it is only rogue elements in uniforms who are posted to the South-East, wondering why successive leaderships of the Police, Military, DSS, Civil Defence, among others engage in the same nefarious extortionist tendencies for over 10 years in the zone and have also been seen to be aiding and abetting crimes and criminality in the zone.

Even as people in the zone hope to resume economic activities Tuesday, there is rumours that the IPOB has imposed week-long sit-at-home, fuelling speculation as to the social and economic consequences on the people. 

The total neglect of the Federal, state and rural roads across the zone is not helping matters as the hoodlums had always waited for people at the numerous bad portions of the roads and carried out their wanton killings and other nefarious activities without letting of a finger by the security agencies, in spite of the hoodlums adopting same pattern in their attacks.