The Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has declared an end to sit-at-home orders in the state effective from Monday, June 6, 2023. He stated that such orders were restricting creativity, entrepreneurship, and productivity in the state. The date of implementation of the governor’s order is Monday, June 6, 2023.
However, he stated that the government is ready “to engage in dialogue with people who have genuine grievances in order to bring about lasting peace and security to Enugu State.”
This was despite the fact that he had just called on President Bola Tinubu to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in order to speed up the healing process in Nigeria, which is desperately needed.
Mbah made the declaration while listing out the decisions that were reached at the end of his first security council meeting on Thursday at the Government House in Enugu with the heads of all the security agencies.
At the meeting, which also had the Deputy Governor, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai, in attendance, the Governor reminded the people of Enugu that he had hit the ground running on the day of his inauguration by signing three Executive Orders for the good governance of the state. One of these Executive Orders was Executive Order 002 for the removal of ‘Unauthorised Street Barriers Across the State Within 100 Days’.
“We can’t afford to lose any more time. He repeated that the timer had begun to run on the mandate you had given him as well as the deliverables he had promised.
“There comes a time in the lives of a people when they must decide whether or not they truly want to move forward, or whether or not they want to remain stuck with the conditions of their underdevelopment.
“It is remarkable to witness the inventiveness and entrepreneurial spirit of the Ndi Igbo. Our genes were designed to be successful in business and we have an entrepreneurial spirit.
“If this is what we are known for, then it becomes inconsistent with reality that the spirit of entrepreneurship, commerce, and creativity is killed every Monday in our land,” said the man. Our restless spirit of industry despises sloth and sluggishness in all its forms.
“It is abhorrent and antithetical to greatness and the spirit of industry we profess to have inherited from our ancestors the idea that one should stay at home on Monday, the first working and business day of the week. This can’t be the case with us. Tufiakwa (God forbid). He went on to say that it causes a tremendous amount of harm to us.
Mbah reminded the people of the direct connection between the lofty promises he made to them and the thriving commerce in the state. He said this in order to emphasise the importance of keeping his word.
“In order for us to make the shift from an economy driven by public services to one that is driven by the private sector, we need to liberate our markets from the fetters of restrictions on commerce. If it is the case that we hope for and anticipate an influx of private sector practitioners and investors in the state of Enugu, then we need to be aware of the fact that this will not take place if people view us as unproductive people first and foremost.
“Therefore, those individuals who go on strike on Mondays and place limitations on the Igbo spirit of creativity cannot be considered to be true representatives of our people. In point of fact, they put an end to our spirit.
“We are well aware that our land is a productive environment for business. However, in order for businesses, entrepreneurial endeavours, and commerce to thrive, there must be a sizable labour force and market where a lot of people conduct business.
To achieve this goal, therefore, beginning on Monday, June 6, 2023, there will be no observance of any sit-at-home in any part of Enugu State.
This will be enforced by the government using all of the resources at its disposal.
“My charge to all of you – market men and women, the corporate world, industries, schools, civil servants, and all strata of workers in Enugu State is for us to take back our sense of industry, pride of place, and re-enact our glorious past,” I said. “My charge to all of you is for us to take back our sense of industry, pride of place, and re-enact our glorious past.”
He continued by saying, “You would have put us on the path to actualizing our mandate if you had responded to this call.”
Mbah, on the other hand, stated that the release of Kanu was crucial to the process of healing the country.
“I call on our newly sworn-in president, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to make a concerted effort to free Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. We have reason to believe that his release will hasten the process of healing that Nigeria so desperately requires at this time.
He summed up his remarks by saying, “It will also be a pointer to his administration’s extension of brotherly hands of fellowship to Ndigbo.”43
