IPOB and Sit at Home Insecurity: Cubana Chief Priest Was Right -By Obinna Akukwe

I was recently told by an Indigenous Peoples of  Biafra , IPOB Chieftain that Mr Paschal Chibuike, also known as Cubana Chief Priest  was  callous for claiming that he relocated the headquarters of his business from Owerri to Lagos due to insecurity caused by IPOB and their Sit-at Home, and my response was frank, Cubana Chief Priest was right.

After the claims made by the Cubana Chief Priest THAT INSECURITY MADE HIM RELOCATE HIS BUSINESS HEADQUARTES TO Lagos,  the leadership of IPOB claimed that Governor Hope Uzodimma and all agents of darkness are using him against Ndigbo. The IPOB Chieftains all over the globe condemned him as an agent of darkness, a traitor to the Igbo cause and made mockery of his fortune in the entertainment business, despite them enjoying the same entertainment hotspots. I dare say again that Cubana Chief Priest was Right in relocating his entertainment business out of the South East for reasons open to logical minds.

The IPOB Sit at Home has crippled businesses in the South East, since it was forcefully enforced for every Monday, since 2021. Many foreign investors plying their trade in the South East have quietly relocated to the South West and South South. Many Indigenous business owners, especially the security conscious ones,  have relocated out of the South East.

The rate at which vehicles transit to the South East have reduced drastically especially during weekends Friday, Saturdays. It reduced by half according to our findings.

In Abuja specifically, we did a survey and discovered that Fridays, Saturdays,  passenger traffic using Hummer Buses and Sienna Toyota and related vehicles amounts  to about 1700- through Jabi, Kubwa, Zuba, Gwagwalada and about 200 through Nyanya-Nassarawa –axis. This was a 2021 survey, meant for another economic calibration. In Abuja axis alone, this results to about N16 billion loss of transport revenue every Friday and Saturday.

By April 2023, during the ending days of the Buhari regime, the number have reduced to  about 1100 through Jabi , Kubwa, Gwagwalada, Zuba axis and by June  of Tinubu regime 2024, have reduced to 800 within the same period. The transporters unanimously attributed it to the Sit at Home which affects the return trip of Monday. In Lagos, the number is four times higher, and because commuters don’t want to be trapped in the South East till Tuesday, they either cancel the trip, or make frantic efforts to return by Sunday.

Transporters who ply the Adamawa, Taraba, Jos, Lafia routes and the traders patronizing various markets also complained that the Sit at Home is affecting the fluidity of their businesses.

The FRENETIC ACTIVITIES OF THE South East, Weddings, Burials, Dedication, Thanksgiving And Other Activities have been low key in many places due to fear of the activities of unknown gunmen, Sit at Home, brutal enforcement and all that.

The report of the Survey, and its economic implications for the South East will be made public  at appropriate time.

It is a disgraceful fact that a popular Nigerian musician by name  Chinedu Okoli  also known as Flavour, whose father died, could not conduct the burial rites  in his village Orumba and  had to relocate to Enugu for the ceremony because he fears that kidnappers will fleece his numerous  moneybag guests.

During the burial of former governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwueemeka Ezeife, lots of delegates who attended the events in Abuja told me that they will not follow the trip to Anambra State because some of them could be victims of insecurity. Therefore, the delegations of various groups disappeared after the Abuja events.

The entertainment business is shrinking. Many hotspots are closing up because insecurity is making guests a target for ubiquitous character. Restaurants, Clubbing, Dancing and other forms of entertainment businesses are reducing. From Enugu to owerri to Awka, the story is the same. In Enugu, the only safe spots for entertainment   especially at nights is  New Haven and parts of  Independence layout. The rest spots close early due to insecurity.

In Anambra State spots in Enugwu Ukwu, Awka, Ekwuluobia, Nkpor all disappear once it is nightfall. In Awka, apart from Abakaliki Street and its adjoining Regina axis, every other place goes dead quite early in the night

Owerri touted as entertainment and hospitality destination in the South East have lost the energy and vibrancy. Umuahia and Abakaliki are out of the equation for fear of brutal attacks.

While South East is chasing investors, Asaba, the Capital of Delta State is reaping the benefits of Senseless Sit at home with rise in Church Night Activities, hotels, restaurants, clubs in different places. Nollywood artists are seen always hanging around the city at nights without extra security. Business travelers trapped in Asaba on Sundays, prefer to lodge and continue their journeys by Tuesday.

Therefore, it is very silly of anybody whatsoever, any Igboman whatsoever, who claims to be a secessionist, to expect Cuban Chief Priest, whose business thrives on entertainment, food, drinks, dance, freedom, hangouts, and nights, to continue to booster his business in environments where the life of his patrons could easily be at risk.

These people cursing Cuban Chief Priest for removing his business headquarters from the South East have no business in the same South East.  The IPOB Sit at Home and its attendant insecurity has caused multiple uncertainties to pervade the business climate in the South East.

Many businesses have relocated to safer zones-Asaba, Port Harcourt, Uyo, while some went as far as Lagos and Abuja. The IPOB Sit at Home are enforced by some murderous gangs who kill, maim, destroy properties in the process. They also kidnap in the process.

Those who killed the five African development Bank ADB engineers in Ebonyi State, including Engr Nelson Onyemeh , constructing multimillion dollar ADB road network linking Ezza-Effium to Benue for benefit of food security claimed that the engineers flouted a Sit at Home Order. A popular IPOB Supporter and Nollywood Actor, Osita Iheme also known as Aki and Paw-Paw ‘s ELDER brother Prince Iheme ,  was murdered for supposedly flouting Monday Sit at Home. Prof Chidi Odinkalu, former Director General of national Human Rights Commission, and a supporter of IPOB, had to withdraw his sympathy, after he lost many aged kinsmen because they couldn’t access medical treatment during the Monday Sit at Home. He told the press that he has lost and buried many family members to IPOB Sit at Home .The Writer, Rev Obinna Akukwe, have insisted over time that the  IPOB Sit at Home is Senseless and is destructive to the economy and well being of Ndigbo.

Therefore, the writer, having witnessed the multibillion business decline in the South East, due to the Senseless Sit at Home, posits  that , Cubana Chief Priest and his ilk’s having built businesses that needs serenity and security to survive, was right if he takes his business to Lagos.

(Obinna Akukwe, Writer, Activist, Columnist, Cleric, profetobinna2@yahoo.com)