Increasing number of protests in Imo

By Chidi Nkwopara

OWERRI —TO say that Imo is unique in several ways, including bouts of protests, is stating the obvious, especially since Governor Rochas Okorocha came on board in 2011.   There is hardly any week that runs out without one group or the other taking to the streets of Owerri, to protest against one issue or the other.

However, the one that was not only all-embracing but also shook the economic foundation of the state was the combined protest of loyalists of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, and the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.Several communities, civil servants, frail and famished pensioners, students, commercial tricycle operators, had at various times staged protest marches in Owerri, for various reasons.

Government and economic activities in Owerri, the Imo State capital, were grounded for two consecutive days, following the peaceful procession of thousands of pro-Biafra agitators in the municipality. The MASSOB, and IPOB, protesters started the four-kilometre peaceful march from Naze Roundabout in Owerri North Local Government Area and marched through major streets, grounding vehicular and economic activities.

South East Voice gathered that most of the protesters came in hired vehicles from the neighbouring states of Abia, Rivers, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi and Enugu. The crowd was unprecedented. The long but slow march into Owerri municipality engineered traffic gridlock along the ever busy Owerri-Aba federal highway, even as security operatives kept close watch as the large crowd trooped into the town.

The protesters who carried the Biafran flag and other branded insignia, chanted songs and danced to the rhythm of their music. Expectedly, some traders who were not too sure of the intentions of the protesters, quickly closed shop and scampered into safety, while some others stood-by hoping that the protest would end peacefully.

A trader, who simply identified himself as Ikechukwu at his Douglas Road store, wondered why the group suddenly decided to disrupt the peaceful business climate in Owerri.

“Owerri has been very peaceful since the current protest started sweeping across the South East and South-South states. Although they have been very peaceful, my fear is that hoodlums may buy into it and cause unimaginable harm to the society,” Ikechukwu  and appealed to the government to find a way of assuaging the feelings of the demonstrators.

Some other demonstrators told South East Voice that the protest was mainly to urge the Federal Government to release their colleague and Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, unconditionally as well as force it to conduct a referendum on the independent Biafra.

They faulted the Federal Government and its security agencies for arresting, detaining and prosecuting Kanu for his belief and support for an independent Biafra. The protesters were equally unhappy about the way Governor Rochas Okorocha had been castigating MASSOB/IPOB in the media, for agitating for self-determination.

“It is sad that Okorocha takes delight in giving us various derogatory names. He has deliberately decided to ignore the plight of Ndigbo in Nigeria. If Okorocha is anti- Biafra, he should peacefully leave this place for those of us that want Biafra,” Mazi Ekene Uko said.

While saying that they were not really shocked at Okorocha’s utterances, Uko also said that they did not expect anything less, but added that the groups decided to be peaceful to prove to Okorocha that “he can have his say but cannot sustain any fight against the wish of the majority of Ndigbo.”

“We will hopefully extend this exercise to other towns within the Biafran territory, until we achieve our dreams,” Uko said.

It was not clear a press time if any of the protesters was arrested at the end of the day as all efforts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Andrew Enwerem, failed as his mobile telephone “could not be reached.