‘Otu Oka-Iwu Nigeria,’ a group of Igbo lawyers based in Lagos, has called on the governors of the South-East to join forces and address the recurring sit-at-home directive observed on Mondays in the region.

The President of the group, Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu, made this plea during their first-ever news conference held on Tuesday in Lagos.

Unegbu expressed concern about the adverse impact of the sit-at-home order on the economy of Igboland and stressed the need for the governors to collaborate and devise strategies to address this issue.

He emphasized that the sit-at-home practice has become a norm, causing people to fear for their safety when venturing out on Mondays.

“The sit-at-home conundrum in Igboland on Mondays is now a norm, and people believe that if you go out on Mondays, you are on your own as there is no guarantee of your returning home safe,” Unegbu remarked.

He also lamented the security challenges in the country, particularly in the South-East, which have been hampering economic growth and development in the region.

Unegbu noted “Igboland has been turned into a killing field where no person, old or young, is safe. It is the responsibility of the government, both at the center and the regions, to secure the lives and property of the inhabitants,”

The group expressed sorrow at the decline of economic activities in Igboland, which was once a vibrant and bustling region, notably along the Onitsha-Nnewi and Aba-Orlu axes.

Unegbu urged a collective effort to restore the days of economic prosperity and growth.

“We must all do something to bring back those days of old where the young challenge nature to a wrestling contest for ideas where the young in our communities will surely come out victorious. We should go back to the drawing board and discover where we got it wrong before it is too late,” Unegbu stated.

Mrs. Nneka Chris-Asoluka, 1st Vice President of Otu Oka-Iwu, echoed the call for peace and unity in the country, expressing hope that the South-East governors would work together to address the region’s challenges, irrespective of their political affiliations.

“What we want is peace in the country; we don’t have any other country. We are sad over the developments in the South-East; we only hope the governors will work in this political dispensation, irrespective of their parties they belong to,” Chris-Asoluka said.

Unegbu stressed the group’s commitment to the unity of Nigeria, emphasizing that they have no other country to call their own.

The President of ‘Otu Oka-Iwu Nigeria’ also decried the declining interest in education among Igbo children.