Owerri women, Okorocha clash over ancestral market

•Say Gov Okorocha hates Owerri people
•He should be ready to crush us—YOUTH LEADER
•They’re misguided— GOVT
By Chidi Nkwopara
Owerri— the capital city of Imo State, saw activities grind to a halt Thursday, July 14, as over 2,000 women trooped out to protest the planned relocation of their ancestral market, Eke Ukwu Owerri, to Egbeada in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state. Some aged men in Owerri, described the protest march as a replica of the famous Aba Women Riot of 1929.
Like what happened in the Aba incident, several security personnel were on hand to ensure that the protest was not hijacked by hoodlums. However, unlike the Aba Riot, no Owerri woman was arrested. No tear gas canister was fired. No water canon was used and no live bullet was fired at the angry women.
The protest was engineered by the ongoing demolition of business structures, residential buildings, ancestral homes and desecration of graves by the agents of the state government, in the guise of expanding the roads in the state capital. At press time, several buildings and business outfits in and around Owerri, had been subjected to varying degrees of demolition, while some were completely pulled down.
FG’s structures, too
Apart from residential and commercial buildings, some of the affected Federal Government establishments included Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri; Federal Medical Centre, Owerri; French Language Centre, Allianz Francois; some commercial banks; Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Akwakuma, and some ancestral homes.
Commercial activities were thus shut down in Owerri during the protest march, which was started the previous day by scores of artisans from the Orji Mechanic Village in Owerri North LGA. At the Eke Ukwu Owerri Market, scores of angry women were seen sporting black blouses and uniformed wrappers, as they protested the planned demolition of the ancestral market.
Some of the women lamented that Governor Rochas Okorocha was stretching his anger against Owerri people too far. “There is no doubt that the Governor is dragging his hatred for Owerri people too far. It was under his regime that our late royal father, Eze Emmanuel Njemanze, was suspended for no just cause. Government never withdrew that suspension until he died,” an angry woman said.
The woman said Owerri indigenes had lost their farmlands to government. “How can the governor summarily sentence us and our families to perpetual hunger and want, by moving the market to Egbeada, a different local government area? This is not fair at all,” the woman said.
At the Government House gate, President General of Udo Diri Ndom Owerri, Mrs. Ifeoma Anokwu, said: “Any move to demolish or relocate the market, which is our ancestral identity and heritage, amounts to a big slap on the custom, tradition and entire people of Owerri, both dead and alive.
“We are here to tell the Governor that we do not want our ancestral Eke Ukwu market to be relocated, remodelled or reconstructed. He should leave it the way it is. We reject the proposed relocation and will resist any attempt to do so.”
Owerri youths react
According to the Youth Chairman of Amawom, Mr. Chukwuma Igbozuruike, Owerri youths will resist the planned destruction and relocation of Eke Ukwu Owerri market. “The governor should be ready to crush the youths, men and women, including the aged in Owerri, when he is ready to come into the market,” Igbozuruike said.
Speaking also, the Youth Chairman of Umuoyima, Mr. Azomaukwu Anukam, wondered why the governor was bent on removing the ancestral Owerri market. It was his considered opinion that despite the development going on in Benin City, no government has ever dreamt of relocating the Oba Market, stressing that the story was the same with similar markets in Asaba and Lagos.
They're being deceived —GOVT
The Chief Press Secretary, CPS, to the Governor, Sam Onwuemeodo, said: “It is highly regrettable that a group of women could be deceived into carrying out a protest that is uncalled for. “It is equally on record that successive governments in the state had also tried to move the market out of its current location to a more convenient place, but such previous efforts had also been frustrated by this kind of protest.

“It, therefore, requires political will on the part of any government to ensure the relocation of the market to a more ideal place. It is this political will that Governor Rochas Okorocha is exercising at the moment with regard to the relocation of Eke Ukwu market. “Putting everythying into consideration, the relocation of the Ekeukwu market is long overdue, all things being equal.”

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