Following the cancellation of the South-East’s long-running Monday sit-at-home, some transporters have asked governments to tighten security to restore confidence and revive interstate travel.

In separate interviews in Abuja, the transporters urged the federal and state governments (from the South-East) to improve road security in the region. According to them, greater collaboration among security structures will reduce criminal activities, allow traders and students to resume fully, and, in turn, facilitate the restoration of normalcy in the transportation sector.

The Monday sit-at-home order, which began in August 2021 to protest Mr Kanu’s detention, had disrupted transporters travelling from Lagos, Abuja and other cities into the South-East and vice versa.

Many passengers avoided trips due to safety concerns, leading to low patronage, cancelled journeys, revenue losses, and occasional attacks on interstate vehicles. Drivers faced roadblocks, intimidation, and uncertainty upon arrival, as markets and parks were often closed.

The disruption had raised fares, strained logistics operators, and created hardship for travellers dependent on Monday interstate travel.

Reacting to the pronouncement, Kanayo Frankly, the branch manager of ABC Transport, Utako, Abuja, said it is a welcome development, but there must be deliberate efforts by the governments to make it functional. He advocated an advanced security structure in the eastern region to boost the confidence of transporters and travellers.

“Presently, people prefer to travel on Tuesdays to be alive than to travel on Mondays to lose their lives. Everybody will be thinking of their own safety. I would rather travel on Tuesday, be alive, and avoid the Monday movement. Many have witnessed the burning of buses with passengers, and they would not want to take the risk.

“However, if the government can put the necessary security in place along the highways to prevent attacks, people will have the confidence to begin to travel on Mondays,” he said.

Similarly, Chike Okoro, the general manager of Jokinma Motors Ltd in Jabi, said improved security would restore normalcy to the southeastern region. He said he had yet to receive a directive from his company’s management to start operating from the East to Abuja on Mondays.

According to him, operating on Mondays from the eastern region might not be automatic or immediate due to the fear already instilled in the people.

“I am from the South-East. Looking at what is happening in the country today, some people from the region feel marginalised, and the government must try to address their agitations,” he said.

In the same vein, Ikenna Opode, Utako terminal manager for First Anambra Comfort Line, affirmed that boosting security must be prioritised by governments to convince passengers to travel on Mondays, particularly from the South-East. He said the move would significantly restore economic activity and safety in the region.

Mr Opode, however, explained that some transport companies operate from Abuja to the South-East on Mondays, even when the sit-at-home directive is in effect. According to him, the curfew is relaxed at 5:00 p.m., about the time vehicles that left Abuja would reach the South-East.

He said the major challenge is operating from the southeastern states to Abuja and any part of the country on Mondays.

It would be recalled that the Anambra State government restored Monday markets after prolonged sit-at-home disruptions that crippled commerce in the state and the entire South-East region.

Governor Charles Soludo deployed security forces, engaged traders’ unions and assured residents of protection to revive economic activity and public confidence. Major markets in Onitsha, Nnewi, and Awka reopened under tight security.

Subsequently, the IPOB leader directed “total cancellation” of sit-at-home across Nigeria’s South-East. IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, had said lynchpin Nnamdi Kanu announced that the directive had been officially and permanently cancelled with effect from February 9.

While the cancellation offers hope for economic revival, transporters insist that only visible, coordinated security measures will restore confidence and guarantee safe interstate movement.

(NAN)