The Five Sectors Most Affected By IPOB’s Sit At Home Orders

For the past few months, the South East, Nigeria, has been subjected to a series of lockdowns and sit-at-home orders imposed and enforced by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). According to them, this is to press home their demand for the unconditional release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who was arrested in diaspora and currently being held in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).

On Thursday, the 21st of October, 2021, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was arraigned before the court where he pleaded not guilty to the seven-count charges leveled against him and the hearing was further adjourned to the 10th of November. This has indefinitely led to the continuation of the sit-at-home order in the South East zone.

IPOB is threatening to go one full week at home in the week leading to the November 10th case.

While all this is being enforced, we will be taking a look at five sectors that are mostly hit by the sit-at-home order of the Indigenous People of Biafra in the South East.

The Economic Sector

The South East people are known for their business-mindedness and contributions towards the growth of the economy. An average Igbo man does not depend on the provisions of the government to provide for his family, he profitably makes use of the days in the week to provide income through economic activities such as trading, manufacturing, business meetings, supplies, and economic movements, etc.

The constant lockdowns and sit-at-home orders are halting the economic activities of an average Igbo especially the one who depends on daily incomes to make a living. This, if not checked, might end up bringing a negative effect on those who depend on daily income and on the economy of the entire South East as a whole.

This will also lead to a reduction in the influx of investors into the region as investors won’t want to lose a day’s worth of profit to sit-at-home orders.

The Educational Sector

The educational sector is one of the most affected sectors in the South East region due to the sit-at-home orders. This means that the normal five days of schooling is reduced to four thereby affecting the school curriculum.

read this – How much longer can IPOB’s order go unchallenged?

Note that students writing the West African Examination Council (WAEC) exams were once disrupted and prevented from writing their exams due to the enforcement of the order.

This has put the South East educational sector behind other regions in the country in terms of schedule and coverage of their schemes and outlines.

The East east has consistently outperformed every other region in WAEC results year in year out. Time would tell if they can keep this consistency going to school only four times a week. Public holidays and Nnamdi Kanu’s court appearances sometimes shorten these to two days.

The Banking Sector

A subsector of the economic and financial sector, the banking sector is one of the most hit sectors in the South East following the sit-at-home orders being enforced in the South East region.

Banking institutions are known to be raking in millions in profits per day and due to the sit-at-home orders being enforced every Monday in the South East, banks are made to shut down, thereby recording numerous losses in capital and also in investment.

The Transportation Sector

Another sector being affected by the sit-at-home orders of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is the transportation sector. During the sit at home, the transportation industry in the South East is shut down and they make losses upon losses resulting from the inability to operate within the days of the lockdown.

This is also preventing the transportation companies located in the South East from properly competing with the other transportation companies located outside the South East geopolitical zone.

The Agricultural Sector

Another area that is drastically affected by the sit-at-home orders of the Indigenous People of Biafra is the agricultural sector. The people of the South East who engage in subsistence agriculture and few that engage in commercial agriculture miss the opportunity to market them on market days that happen to fall into the days being designated as sit at home days.

Given that agricultural products are perishable items and are not properly preserved to last for a long time, farmers record significant losses as their hard work and farm produce get damaged. This alone is enough discouragement for anyone who is planning to walk the rough road of investing in the agricultural sector in the South East, Nigeria.

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Written by Prince Chime, Nsukka