:#biafra: AFTER ONITSHA MAYHEM: Pro-#Biafra Activists In Fresh Mobilisation

                                       

THE business community of Onitsha, Anambra State has started recovering from the effect of last week’s pro-Biafra protests that left nine people dead and property worth millions of naira destroyed. After the

Wednesday’s mayhem in the city, indication emerged that members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, were regrouping on Thursday to begin another round of protest.

This was, however, aborted following the beefing up of security in the area. For instance, several truck loads of soldiers, from the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, were seen heading to Onitsha on Thursday and this, perhaps, scared the organizers of the protests. Hundreds of the IPOB agitators, who gathered at one location in Onitsha, had to hurriedly disperse for fear of arrests

The suspension of the protest, however, does not mean the agitation is over

Many traders in Onitsha were, at the weekend, still counting their losses since the protests began following the arrest and detention of Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, the Director of Radio Biafra, by security operatives. Mr. Maximus Okafor, a trader at the popular Bridge Head drug market, Onitsha, said his customers, who were coming to make purchases that Wednesday, could not enter Onitsha because of the activities of the pro-Biafra group. Okafor, who resides in Asaba, Delta State, and has had to cross the River Niger everyday to reach his shop, said he too could not enter Onitsha on the said day

According to him, though people were trekking to Onitsha from Asaba, he saw no need to do so since the markets were closed. He added that his customer, who had already transferred money to his account, had to stay in a hotel outside Onitsha until the following day

Travellers to other parts of the country could not make their journey and were trapped between Upper Iweka Road and the Bridge Head as the IPOB activists controlled the highway for the better part of the day. Some of the boys that organized the protest came from Aba, Abia State after embarking on a similar protest in Enyimba the previous day. They were joined by their colleagues in Onitsha who provided logistics. Some of the protesters said they were looking forward to when their leaders would lead them to march on the streets of Abuja to make “the impact concerning Biafra Republic”. One of them, who gave his name as Uche and who claimed to be 26 years old, said he became interested in the Biafra project after listening to Radio Biafra for several months

“Listening to Radio Biafra opened one’s eyes to what Igbo people are passing through in Nigeria and the best thing that can happen to us is to have our own country. If it happened in Southern Sudan, why can’t it happen here?”, Uche said.