On the previous two occasions when the Anambra State Government urged the citizenry to start coming out on Mondays, it failed to draw the expected response. Reason? The criminals known as Unknown Gunmen, who declared Mondays as Sit-at-Home days, struck almost immediately the State Government made each call and thus, further instilled fear in the populace.
The failure of people, especially civil servants, to obey Government’s directive also stemmed from the fact that Government did not emplace the necessary security measures to protect those who would have liked to start working or doing business on Mondays. Indeed, on one of the Mondays, the President General of Abatete Community had his security convoy attacked by the gunmen who killed some of them while the PG escaped by the skin of his teeth, albeit with wounds.
That incident more than anything, reinforced the fears by the populace that the coast was not yet clear. And so, Mondays in Anambra State have remained extensions of weekends, with schools not opening and some businesses, mostly those outside Awka, remaining shut.
But that narrative seems to have changed with the Anambra State Government’s launch of “Operation Udo Ga-Achi”, aimed at fighting the criminals and criminality. This also gave birth to the security outfit called Agunechemba saddled with the task of sniffing out the criminals and dealing with them and their sponsors.
In about a month of the start of their operations, Anambra has begun to witness relative peace. In fact, for three weeks now, no kidnappings or killings have been reported as the criminals seem to be on the run, with many of their hideouts raided and destroyed.
Despite growing concerns about the failure of Agunechemba to embrace due process in some cases, leading to killing and arrest of innocent people, as seen in the Owerre Ezukala matter; as well as the controversy trailing the demolition of a hotel in Oba, the state is fast returning to normalcy as the criminals appear rattled.
We believe that if this situation can be sustained till the end of the month, the citizenry will not need to be cajoled into resuming activities on Mondays, leaving only those too lazy or deceitful to continue staying at home. The early results in the war against criminals and criminality in Anambra State are very encouraging. We however urge the State Government to quickly assess the progress being made with a view to fixing the problems already noticed and come out better prepared.
We are of the firm belief that going forward, the vexatious matter of people being forced to sit at home on Mondays by felons, masquerading as freedom fighters will soon be consigned to the dust bin of history.
