THE RETURN OF EBEANO “VIOLENCE”

No government statement could be emptier or more lifeless than the one issued Wednesday by the Secretary to the Enugu State government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia. Traders whose shops had been sealed [SIC] for non-compliance with government’s order, the statement says, resorted to self-help by removing the seals…and a confrontation between the market leadership and some affected traders “resulted in a protest, which was infiltrated and hijacked by dangerously armed hoodlums and miscreants, who broke shops and looted traders’ wares” 

Attempt [SIC] by security operatives to restore order and prevent further looting, it claims, “was violently resisted by the imported and armed hoodlums”.

The lies contained in the statement were obviously meant to give credence to an earlier “news story” that emanated from the Enugu State PDP falsehood fabrication factory being managed by one Reuben Onyishi. The “story” circulated only in PDP WhatsApp groups says  Peter Mbah’s political opponents met with the traders to plan for the protests!

The killing and wounding of several protesters in Enugu, Wednesday was an indication that the Ebeano regime is back. Mbah was part and parcel of that regime marked by endless violence and  corruption.. 

A governor who ordered ordinary people to ignore the “sit at home” on Mondays was himself accompanied by dozens of security operatives, as he supervised the sealing off of over 120 shops at Ogbete Main Market and other business premises including banks in the metropolis. 

To add insult to injury, agents of the same government Wednesday, attacked the traders and other Enugu residents protesting peacefully the illegal closure of their businesses by a government that has failed to clear ordinary garbage in most Enugu streets for the two months it has been in power.

Every law-abiding person should sympathise with the families of those killed and pray for the recovery of those being treated for bullet wounds in several hospitals. One of those felled by bullets of the state government’s agents was one Bonaventure who had just returned from a business trip to Dubai. Ebeano is back!

Ndi Enugu have the right to protest against injustice. Those who closed their shops on Mondays did so out of fear of the unknown; after all, the state government did nothing in the past to prevent attacks by non-state actors. Besides, it’s the inalienable right of every citizen to vent grievances. Therefore, agents of the state government led by Peter Mbah have no right to stop the protest or fire live bullets at the protesters. 

This is a state government that showed it’s bereft of ideas about good governance from day one. “Sit at home” enforced by non-state actors was waning before May 29, as people had started opening their shops and travelling on Mondays. Peter Mbah opened the old wound and therefore invited the little known group — perhaps a faction of IPOB, since the original IPOB has since distanced itself from the ban — to redouble its effort at enforcing “sit at home”. Mbah and the government he pretends to lead, obviously believe that words speak louder than action!

Now that ndi Enugu’s blood has been wasted so blatantly, what will the state government do to resurrect the victims? Investigation [SIC] to “unravel the circumstance surrounding the incident…is already ongoing”. Now that the markets have been closed indefinitely, what has the government achieved by forcing people to not “sit at home” only on Mondays? Enugu will still be under a lockdown next Monday. And under what law, is it an offence to close one’s shop and stay at home?

The traders and other affected Enugu residents should seek redress for this unprovoked attack through all legal means. Mbah was probably trying to punish those who rejected him at the polls on March 18. In the fullness of time, we shall put his regime behind us.

 — By Cyril Ujam in Enugu