Increasing Number Of Protests In Imo

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.

Biafra protesters
Several communities, civil servants, frail and famished pensioners,
students, commercial tricycle operators, had at various times staged
protest marches in Owerri, for various reasons.
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.

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 reports 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.

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