The ongoing closure of the Onitsha Drug Market in Anambra State has caused significant disruptions, with nearly 600 students missing their terminal examinations. According to the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), the closure has had a direct impact on the livelihoods of the students’ families, who rely on the market for their income. The CLO has called for immediate action from state and national authorities to address the situation and ease the suffering caused by the market’s continued closure.
The CLO’s Anambra State Branch released a statement on the matter, highlighting the severe consequences for both students and business owners. The statement, signed by CLO Chairman Comrade Evangelist Vincent Ekwueme, appeals to Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, as well as the National and State Assemblies, to take swift and decisive action to reopen the market. The statement emphasized that the closure has affected the ability of many parents to pay school fees for their children, thus preventing students from participating in their second-term examinations.
The CLO’s statement revealed that approximately 600 students, whose parents depend on the Onitsha Drug Market for their livelihoods, have missed their exams due to financial constraints caused by the market’s closure. “Information at our disposal indicate that nearly 600 students are not taking part in the ongoing second term examinations due to the closure of their parents’ only source of livelihood,” the statement read.
With many parents unable to afford school fees due to the loss of income from the drug market, students’ education has been severely disrupted, leaving them unable to sit for exams that are critical for their academic progression. The CLO expressed concern that these students may face long-term academic setbacks, which could affect their future prospects.
In light of the worsening situation, the CLO has urged Governor Soludo and other relevant stakeholders to come together and find an urgent solution to the market’s closure. The group stressed that unusual circumstances, such as the current crisis, require innovative and compassionate solutions.
“It is of prime importance to note that unusual situations call for unusual solutions. Hence, the inevitable need for the Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Soludo, Members of National and State Houses of Assembly, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Civil Society Organizations, traditional rulers, and market leaders to immediately swing into action,” the statement stated.
The CLO also emphasized the need for a stakeholders’ meeting to discuss the future of the Onitsha Drug Market and to identify short-term and long-term solutions to its closure. The organization argued that continued delays in reopening the market could exacerbate the economic and social problems faced by the affected families, including an increase in crime rates and youth unrest.
The closure of the Onitsha Drug Market has caused widespread hardship, not only for the 600 affected students but also for the business owners and their families. According to the CLO, the closure has led to an array of negative social and economic outcomes, including avoidable deaths, increased poverty, and rising levels of crime and youth restiveness.
“The closure of the markets has brought avoidable deaths, high costs and inadequate drugs, hunger, anger, poverty, idleness, school dropouts, increases in crime rates, youth restiveness, and moral decadence,” the CLO stated.
The Onitsha Drug Market is a major economic hub in Anambra State, and its closure has put many local businesses on hold. Business owners are struggling to survive without the revenue from the market, and their dependents are left without income. This has led to a spike in social unrest, as frustrated individuals, particularly the youth, face mounting financial pressure.
The CLO’s statement calls on various stakeholders, including traditional rulers, civil society organizations, and government officials, to take immediate steps to address the crisis. The group suggested that a committee be formed to visit President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and inform him about the dire situation in Anambra, urging him to intervene and help resolve the issue.
The CLO also highlighted the importance of empathy and compassion in dealing with the market closure, stating that the situation calls for more than just strict enforcement of the law. “Mercy, love, compassion, and empathy are more rewarding than strict justice,” the CLO statement highlighted.
The group expressed concern that the federal government, particularly President Tinubu, may not fully understand the extent of the suffering caused by the closure, and that a direct appeal from stakeholders in Anambra could prompt necessary action at the national level.
The CLO also called on Governor Soludo to set up a Judicial Panel of Inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the closure of the Onitsha Drug Market. According to the organization, some drug dealers and shop owners allege that their shops were looted during the closure, with valuable goods worth millions of naira being stolen.
“There is a need for a Judicial Panel of Inquiry to unravel the circumstances surrounding the closure of the affected markets, the searching of shops in the absence of their owners, and the alleged looting of some shops,” the statement read.
The CLO cited an example of one shop owner, Eberechukwu Sophia Okoye, who claimed that goods worth 15 million naira were looted from her shop during the market’s closure. This has added to the growing frustration of those whose businesses have been negatively impacted by the ongoing shutdown.
The CLO’s statement reminded the government that its primary responsibility is to protect the lives, livelihoods, and property of its citizens. The group reiterated that the continued closure of the Onitsha Drug Market is contributing to a range of social problems, and it urged Governor Soludo and the Anambra State House of Assembly to act swiftly to address the crisis.
“The greatest essence of government is the protection of lives, livelihood, and properties of her citizens. Hence, the interventions both from Governor Charles Soludo and the Anambra State House of Assembly become ineluctable and inexorable,” the CLO stressed.
The CLO warned that the longer the Onitsha Drug Market remains closed, the more likely it is that the situation will escalate. In addition to the social unrest and crime rates, the closure could lead to a significant shortage of drugs, as many items are nearing expiration in the locked-up shops.
“There is the tendency that the continued closure of the markets will exacerbate crimes, criminality, idleness, youth restiveness, deaths, illness, school dropouts, high cost of drugs, and most of the remaining drugs in the markets may expire if the markets reopening is delayed further,” the CLO concluded.
