Many traders are currently protesting the Onitsha Main Market closure by the Anambra State government.
On Tuesday, January 27, viral videos show the protesters as security officials enforce the market closure order by Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo.
Eyewitnesses also confirmed that traders were seen staging a protest walk from the Main Market down to Upper Iweka axis of Onitsha municipal and chanting solidarity songs with the lyrics, ‘Say No to Monday Market’.
However, they were not allowed access to their respective shops by armed security officers who were on the ground to enforce the government’s directive.
Soludo had ordered the market closure for a week on Monday, January 26, following the observance of the Monday sit-at-home by the traders.
Traders who spoke with The ICIR urged the government and the market leadership to find a common ground to avoid further disruption of economic activities and other possible chaotic situations.
Some of them said they did not have any incentives or insurance from the government, yet they are subjected to a forced market closure directive.
“As traders, we have sustained ourselves for years without government incentives. The government doesn’t even give us loans for business. During COVID, when governments elsewhere gave palliatives, Anambra traders received nothing. We bore the burden alone. Yet, the government continues to collect taxes, stallage fees and levies from us. Today, the government that cannot do anything for traders is now using all security apparatus to enforce sit-at-home,” a businessman and importer at the market, Ezennia Ifekudu, told The ICIR.
Ifekudu stressed that the same government that claimed it was losing N8 billion from Monday trading revenues in the state was justifying a week market closure.
“This is a private business, not civil service. Traders are not paid by the government; we survive from our own sweat,” he added.
An importer and dealer in specialised ladies’ wear, Morgan Okoye, told The ICIR that the governor’s directive had disrupted business flow.
“I have some of my clients who came in from Lagos since Saturday and are currently lodged at Hotels in Asaba. They have already incurred more debts because of the unplanned market closure,” he said.
Public affairs analysts are also speaking up and urging the government to engage the market leaders in managing the chaos in the market.
“Soludo may not understand the gravity of his actions and their consequences. The earlier he summons an emergency meeting with the market leaders, security personnel and stakeholders, the better, before this escalates to unprecedented bad reactions. The use of force may not be the best option for this kind of situation,” said a public affairs analyst, Christopher Ihejirikwe.
The governor ordered the closure of the market for one week as a warning to traders and businessmen who defied the government’s order to stop the enforcement of sit-at-home directives on Mondays.
The governor expressed regret on Monday, when he visited the market, and warned that the state was losing much revenue to the sit-at-home ritual.
“The government cannot stand by while a few individuals willfully undermine public safety and disregard official directives meant to restore normalcy. This is plain economic sabotage,” he said.
The Commissioner of Information in the state, Law Mefor, corroborated the government’s stand, noting that “The government loses N8 billion revenue weekly to the sit-at-home order.”
Notably, the Onitsha Main Market is one of the largest markets in the South-East and has trading and business links to some West African traders.
The closure comes amid long-standing economic losses linked to the sit-at-home order in the region.
The ICIR reports that Anambra generated N52.69 billion (N43,689,648,058.74) as internally generated revenue (IGR) for 2024. This placed the state 17th out of 37 states, including the Federal Capital Territory.
Also, a report by The ICIR in January 2023 showed that micro businesses in Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, and Abia lost an average of ₦4.618 trillion ($10.495 billion) in one year due to sit-at-home.
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