This is a clear warning to Igbo leaders—Ohaneze Ndigbo, technocrats, political elites, and so-called respected elders and groups—whose silence in the face of injustice has become a betrayal of the people they claim to represent.

The closure of Onitsha Main Market, the pride of Igboland and the largest market in West Africa, is not a minor policy decision. This market predates many governments. It was built by the sweat, resilience, and enterprise of Igbo people—without government assistance, long before today’s political actors were even born. Yet, today, it is being crippled while those who should speak remain quiet.

Where are the Igbo “big names”?
Where are the voices of Ohanaeze?
Where are the technocrats and political elders?

Instead, what we see is cowardly silence—a pattern that has defined Igbo elite behaviour for decades. These leaders avoid speaking truth to power, not because they do not know what is wrong, but because they are protecting personal interests:

• friendships with those in power,
• contracts they expect,
• appointments for themselves and their children.

When governors misbehave, figures like Arthur Eze, Orji Uzor Kalu, Cletus Ibeto, Benedict Peters, Emeka Offor, Tony Elumelu, Allen Onyema, Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma, Cosmas Maduka, Pat Utomi and others, these are men who understand what business is, suddenly become blind and deaf—not out of ignorance, but out of selfish calculation, don’t want to offend the governor. At the same time, ordinary Igbo traders and families suffer.

Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s actions against the Onitsha Main Market have crossed a red line. Closing, threatening demolition, and making careless remarks about a market that feeds thousands is an attack on Igbo economic survival. The claim that this is governance is unacceptable.

The shutdown of Onitsha Main Market and other markets:

• Has, crippled businesses,
• destroyed livelihoods,
• violated fundamental human rights guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

These include:

• right to personal liberty,
• freedom of movement,
• human dignity,
• freedom from forced labour,
• right to economic development,
• freedom of expression and association.
• Governor, you did not open those shops for them; they have the right to open or close them at will.

This act of Governor Soludo is illegal—it is about survival, dignity, and the limits of government power.

FINAL WARNING

Igbo leaders must understand this clearly:
Silence is no longer neutral. It is complicity.

History will remember who spoke and who kept quiet while the economic backbone of Igboland was attacked. The people are watching. Traders are watching.

Enough of the fear.
Enough of the selfish deals.
Enough of sacrificing Igbo lives and livelihoods for personal gain.

The time to speak is now. Governance is for the people, not against the people. You speak as a Governor,  to manage the situation, not to be making sitution worst.