The decision by Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Charles Soludo, to shut down the popular Onitsha Main Market for one week and impose sanctions on traders and civil servants who observed the sit-at-home order is not just heavy-handed, it is deeply disconnected from the lived reality of insecurity in Anambra State, further questioning his government’s approach to security and civic compliance. In the same vein, the Governor threatening traders with license revocation does not restore economic confidence; it merely shifts the cost of the state’s security failures onto ordinary citizens struggling to survive.
The state government claims the move is about asserting authority and reviving economic activity. But authority that relies on punishment rather than legitimacy is fragile. People are not staying home out of defiance or laziness. They are staying home because they do not feel safe. Ignoring this reality does not make it disappear. Even more alarming is the governor’s insistence that schools must operate on sit-at-home days, despite widespread insecurity nationwide. At a time when kidnappings and killings of students in northern Nigeria have dominated headlines, ordering children back to school without visibly strengthened security arrangements is reckless. Parents are not irrational for prioritizing their children’s safety over government directives; they are being responsible
Incidents as such question why the state can swiftly mobilize sanctions but struggles to deploy adequate security personnel to protect its citizens. This imbalance reveals a government more comfortable policing compliance than guaranteeing safety. The broader political context cannot be ignored. The continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu remains a major driver of unrest in the South-East. Pretending that sit-at-home protests exist in isolation from this unresolved issue is either naïve or deliberately evasive. This again, calls for a need for meaningful political engagement and dialogue between the South-East governors on the release of Nnamdi Kanu. Governor Soludo needs to adopt a more consultative and collaborative approach to Governance, in a bid to pursue lasting and more adequate solutions. Threats, and market closures, may compel short-term obedience, but they also deepen resentment and widen the trust gap between the government and the governed. With his background in economic policy, Soludo is expected to lead with nuance, empathy, and strategic thinking. Instead, his approach increasingly reflects an “I-know-it-all” posture that leaves little room for listening or consensus-building. Leadership is not demonstrated by how harshly a governor can punish citizens, but by how effectively he can make them feel protected and heard.
Until security is visibly improved and public confidence restored, calls for normalcy will continue to ring hollow. You cannot bully a frightened population into feeling safe. And without safety, no amount of enforcement will bring genuine compliance.
