The actual value of Nigeria’s sit-at-home protests – DW – 06/03/2025 | EUROtoday

Monday mornings in Onitsha, certainly one of West Africa’s busiest business cities, was probably the most chaotic day of the week. But lately, they unfold in eerie silence.

The acquainted blare of merchants haggling costs has pale — changed by an unsettling stillness as many residents of southeastern Nigeria dwell in concern.

The outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) motion — which is pushing for the independence of Nigeria’s southeast — often requires stay-at-home protests to demand the discharge of its chief, Nnamdi Kanu.

Kanu is on trial on terrorism expenses within the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

While the IPOB claimed it had suspended the stay-at-home order, locals continued to conform as a result of concern of armed teams identified to assault those that defy the measure, utilizing enforcement techniques like arson, looting and focused killings.

“Mondays now feel so empty,” stated Gift Chigo, a resident in Imo, one of many hardest-hit states within the area.

“Businesses are shut down and shops locked down. And to be honest, we don’t necessarily sit at home because we support the IPOB, but out of fear. It’s not about solidarity, it’s about [protecting] ourselves. What can we do? Nothing,” she advised DW.

Tales of a proscribed group

Formed in 2012 by two UK-based Nigerians, Nnamdi Kanu and Uche Mefor, the IPOB has been on the forefront of the renewed name for an impartial state of Biafra.

Former Eastern area governor and army officer, Emeka Ojukwu, had declared the defunct state of Biafra within the Nineteen Sixties following the killing of Igbos in northern Nigeria. However, that try and secede from the nation ended with a bloody three-year civil warfare that led to the demise of tens of millions of individuals.

The agitations nonetheless stick with teams like IPOB. In 2020, the IPOB launched its armed wing referred to as the Eastern Security Network aimed toward defending the Igbos, however residents advised DW it has as a substitute inflicted extra struggling on them.

Since Kanu’s arrest, the group has break up into factions — a few of that are extra violent, exerting appreciable affect and energy, particularly in rural communities, and concentrating on authorities services.

Although IPOB has repeatedly dissociated itself from the area’s violence, authorities have continued to accuse the group of a number of violent incidents within the space. The Nigerian authorities has labelled the group a terrorist organisation.

The value of a sit-at-home order

Apart from the sit-at-home protest each Monday, the area additionally observes the order on days Kanu seems in court docket. And, it has not solely upended livelihoods and disrupted the economic system of the area, but it surely has additionally led to the demise of greater than 700 individuals over the previous 4 years.

A latest report by SBM intelligence, a Lagos-based assume tank, reveals that the protest has resulted in financial losses of over $4.79 billion (€4.20 billion) with key sectors like transportation, commerce, and micro companies taking the largest hit.

In about 332 violent incidents, the protest’s epicenter has been Imo state, the place 332 individuals have been killed, adopted intently by neighboring Anambra with 202 deaths. Many of the victims have been civilians who defied the weekly order or turned caught up in clashes between the group and Nigerian safety forces.

Public establishments like colleges and hospitals have additionally been disrupted by the protest.

“I go to class three times a week even though I teach mathematics which was supposed to be taught every single day. We’re seriously lagging behind due to the IPOB’s order,” King David, a instructor in Owerri, advised DW.

Schools undergo, economic system stalls

Dengiyefa Angalapu, a analysis analyst on the Centre for Democracy and Development, a assume tank, shared David’s concern. He famous that the academic sector has borne probably the most profound brunt of the sit-ins within the area.

“Students preparing for exams often miss critical academic days or are even forced to travel under risky conditions,” stated Angalapu. “Beyond that, students missing out on school every Monday means they only have four days to learn, and I think that’s really a very critical gap compared to other regions in the country.”

While there was a excessive fee of compliance with the order in 2021, representing about 83%, precise assist is way decrease now — about 29%.

Nigeria’s southeast is inhabited predominantly by the Igbo ethnic group who’re identified for his or her entrepreneurial expertise. The influence of the sit-ins has been substantial, and these losses should not simply contained within the southeast, stated Ikemesit Effiong, head of analysis on the Lagos-based assume tank.

“People from the Niger Delta and the South South region who are looking to transit through the South East to get to other parts of the country are also materially affected because their goods cannot move over land through the region.”

Effiong talked about that the loss in productiveness has weakened financial competitiveness and discouraged exterior investments.

“The economic loss in terms of reduced investability climate in the region is worrisome. Many projects that would have been greenlit have actually been held back or rerouted to other parts of the country because the cost of doing business has increased in the South East,” he stated.

What’s the way in which out?

Dengiyefa stated that, past financial loss, deepening unemployment and poverty, what lies forward is much more staggering.

“It’s quite sad that a generation of youth are being raised in the southeast in a climate of fear and ideological extremism,” Dengiyefa famous.

Dengiyefa added that “with the intergenerational transfer of trauma, we’re at a very big risk if this continues because we’ve a whole generation that has been radicalised and that’s a very fundamental challenge.”

Dengiyefa prompt that the Nigerian authorities ought to spend money on countering secessionist narratives, together with partaking native leaders.

“We need a non-military security presence such as community policing rather than having solely the armed forces which often escalate tensions” that may finally result in a peaceable dialogue for any political calls for.

Both analysts argued that the heavy-handedness of Kanu’s prosecution could possibly be softened via authorities transparency and honest judicial course of.

“People may not approve of Nnamdi Kanu’s tactics within the region, but his message still has deep resonance. Many people see his treatment as emblematic of how Nigeria has generally treated the Southeast. So, changing that paradigm and changing that perception will be critical,” Effiong added.

Edited by: Keith Walker