There is growing tension in the commercial city of Onitsha as many traders protested the closure of Onitsha market as directed by Governor Chukwuma Soludo on Monday.

Fierce – looking security operatives in Armoured Personnel Carriers were stationed at the entrance of the market, while the traders looked from a distance.

Governor Soludo had made good his threat to shut down the market for one week following the refusal of the traders to open the market on Monday.

He had also warned that if, by Monday next week they still fail to open for business, he would shut down the market for one month and also warned that he might be forced to demolish the market if the traders are no longer interested in trading in the market.

“I don’t mind closing this market for the rest of this year, and if it gets too much, we will bring bulldozers and level this market. If you are not ready to trade on Monday, leave Anambra and go elsewhere”, the governor had warned.

Surprisingly, many people moved to the streets only to see a large number of security operatives patrolling the entire area of the market.

There were however no confrontations even as the youths continued to sing praises of the jailed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

Some of the protesters said although they were prepared to open for business on Mondays, their fear was the continued threat to their lives by separatist agitators.

They also complained that even banks do not open for business on Mondays and wondered how they could be carrying cash to their houses even if the markets open for business.

One of the traders argued that the issue is not about the freedom of Nnamdi Kanu any longer, adding that most traders have become used to resting on Mondays.

“We now do business from Tuesday to Saturday, and on Sunday we go to church, attend meetings and attend to other social events. Monday is the day we have chosen to rest and we wish that our governor will see with us”, he said.

Meanwhile, a public analyst, Dr Emezie Madu has supported Governor Soludo’s decision on the issue, arguing that enforcement of Monday commercial activity is a textbook application of Developmental State Theory, where the state must act as the entrepreneur of last resort to protect productivity.

?”No trade-dependent economy can undergo a self-inflicted 20% annual contraction and remain solvent. The data is unequivocal: the ?416 billion annual loss is a developmental catastrophe that undermines the state’s comparative advantage. Economic continuity is not merely a preference; it is a fundamental necessity for survival”, Madu said.