Every year on May 30, the memory of fallen heroes and heroines of the Biafran cause is rightfully awakened. It is a day soaked in pain, history, and the reminder of a people’s cry for justice and self-determination. Against the backdrop of the approach of the 2025 Remembrance Day, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the pro-Biafra group that has made headlines for its unyielding advocacy, has recently announced its insistence on a total lockdown of the entire South East region in Nigeria to commemorate this year’s Biafra Heroes Day. But with all due respect to the cause and the memory of the departed, we must ask the hard question: “Must commemoration come at the cost of economic and social regression?” The answer to the foregoing question is a resounding no.
There is no doubt that the Biafran struggle remains an emotive and deeply personal issue for many in the South East. The scars of the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970) have not fully healed, and the sacrifices of those who perished should never be forgotten. Yet, the mode of remembrance should evolve beyond actions that continually hurt the same people the movement claims to defend.
At the risk of being misunderstood in this context, permit this writer to opine that there is a problem with the lockdown directive. This is as the IPOB’s latest announcement through its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, mandating a total lockdown of the South East on May 30, is a continuation of a strategy that has proven to be economically and socially damaging. This is not the first time the group has enforced such sit-at-home orders, often through threats, fear, and occasionally, violence. The result has always been the same: schools shut down, hospitals inaccessible, daily wage earners grounded, businesses paralyzed, and a sense of fear hanging over the streets like a dark cloud.
When a region that is already marginalized in all ramifications is further forced to shut down voluntarily, or under duress, the long-term damage becomes obvious. Investors shy away. Productivity nosedives. People lose their means of survival. What, then, is the benefit of a memorial that translates into a recurring self-inflicted wound?
Without a doubt, there are various ways to remember the dead. Across the world, war heroes are celebrated with solemnity and honor without disrupting the lives of millions. In the United States, “Memorial Day” is marked with parades, ceremonies, flag hoisting, and momentary silence, not with economic shutdowns. In Rwanda, the 1994 genocide is commemorated annually with a week of activities that promote peace, unity, and development, not enforced inactivity. If IPOB is sincere about uplifting the Igbo people, then it must adopt commemorative practices that foster progress, not paralysis.
Imagine turning May 30 into a “Biafra Heroes Day of Development”, a day when roads are commissioned, free healthcare is provided in honour of the fallen, scholarships are awarded, and public lectures on Igbo history and unity are organized. That is how to institutionalize memory. That is how to make the cause appealing to the younger generation, not through threats and force.
The South East is home to some of Nigeria’s most industrious citizens. From the bustling Onitsha and Ariaria markets to the tech-savvy youth of Enugu and Aba, the region is driven by the daily hustle of its people. A day without business is a day without food for many. Lockdowns do not affect government officials who collect salaries, they affect the “Okada rider in Awka”, the “market woman in Nsukka”, the “trader in Abakaliki”, and the “artisan in Nnewi”. Every time IPOB declares a sit-at-home, it is those at the bottom rung of society who bear the brunt.
The irony is painful: in trying to resist oppression, IPOB has inadvertently become a source of oppression to its own people.
Without a doubt, IPOB’s sit at home strategy is a pattern of self-destructive decisions. This is not the first time IPOB has shot itself in the foot. One cannot forget the chaotic aftermath of the regular Monday sit-at-home orders that persisted for months after their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, was arrested. Despite IPOB’s own announcement canceling the order, criminal elements hiding under the group’s name continued to enforce the lockdown through violence. Schools were attacked, teachers and students threatened, and essential services disrupted.
In 2021, a school teacher in Imo State was beaten for attempting to resume classes on a Monday. Several reports surfaced of people being burned alive for defying sit-at-home orders. These are not tales of resistance; they are tales of regression.
In 2022, businesses in Anambra, Enugu, and Ebonyi lamented losses running into billions due to these repeated lockdowns. How can a people rise economically when they are compelled, under fear, to halt productivity on a whim?
If IPOB’s actions lead to the continual impoverishment of the South East, then its stated goals of freedom and development ring hollow.
In fact, it is expedient to ask, “Who truly benefits from the lockdowns?” Certainly not the average Igbo citizen.
One must even wonder: does IPOB realize that these lockdowns provide fuel for the federal government’s narrative that the South East is unstable and unsafe? Does it not realize that such actions only widen the existing gap between the region and the center? What about the international image? What do potential partners and investors think when they hear that a non-state actor can successfully shut down five states by fiat?
Given the undeniable fact that no one builds a house by setting the foundation on fire, it is time the leadership of IPOB to adopt strategic moves in its struggle. This is as the Igbo are known for wisdom and resilience. Our ancestors were merchants, thinkers, diplomats, and nation builders. IPOB must take a cue from that legacy. If the group is serious about the liberation and empowerment of the South East, then its strategy must be one of constructive engagement, not coercive intimidation. The political leadership of the region, flawed as it may be, will not improve under an environment of fear and instability.
Let IPOB adopt legal, diplomatic, and civic avenues to advance its cause. Let it sponsor bills, engage in intellectual discourse, participate in national dialogue, and invest in regional development. Let it adopt the approach of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, or Nelson Mandela, who were no doubt leaders who pursued justice without destroying their people.
Against the backdrop of the foregoing view, it is germane to opine that Biafra Heroes Day should remain a sacred day of reflection. But it should not become a burden to the same people it seeks to honor. The South East cannot afford to be dragged backward anymore. While IPOB may claim to be fighting for liberation, it must understand that liberation is not achieved by halting progress. True freedom lies in empowering the people, economically, intellectually, and spiritually.
As May 30 approaches, IPOB has a chance to rewrite the narrative. A chance to honor the fallen without punishing the living. It is time to rethink the lockdowns. The South East deserves better. And IPOB must rise to that responsibility, not with fear and fire, but with foresight and wisdom.
