Ben Ezechime, Enugu
The recent ban on sit-at-home in Enugu State by Gov. Peter Mbah appears to have worsened the situation as the whole state was on Monday June 19, 2023, locked down completely.
Ikengaonline investigation shows that the coal city state is now a ghost of itself as business activities are paralysed with Banks, Schools, Markets among other public and commercial areas remained closed.
Also, intra-state and inter-state transportation are not operating as all roads leading in and out of Enugu are deserted.
A visit to the New Market Enugu, revealed total lockdown and also the bubbling Holy Ghost/Old park, the commercial hub of the ancient city, deserted.
A Banker, Mr Ikechukwu Edeh, told Ikengaonline that the situation had not called for opening of banks now.
“We have to observe the situation first and see how people respond to the ban.
“We don’t operate in isolation; we have to know if people are complying with the directive before we can start with skeletal services,” he said.
A trader from Nsukka town, Martin’s Obetta, also told Ikengaonline that the situation in the town does not call for people taking the risk.
“The issue goes beyond issuing directives, the governor should think of another strategy because I don’t think giving orders can work,” he said.
A driver with Eastern Gateway Mass Transit, Mike Mbah, also said they were yet to commence Monday movements in line with the governor’s directive because “life is precious.”
“As a poor man, if anything happens to me on the road, will the governor know that I exist?
“So, we have decided to sacrifice Mondays but it doesn’t mean that if things normalise, maybe if Nnamdi Kanu is released and everything starts going normal we will not resume movement on Mondays,” he said.
A Primary School Teacher, Mrs Ngozi Ugwu said it was too early to ask children to report to school on Monday because nobody knows what will happen.
“Nobody knows this criminals and where and when they will strike; so, we cannot risk the lives of our wards because of what the governor said.
“Yes, we will like to call the children back to classes on Mondays but we have not seen any security around our schools,” she said.
It would be recalled that after two weeks of the directive, Mbah met with stakeholders in Enugu where he was assured of support.
