ABSTRACT
Nigeria's linguistic, religious, and tribal diversity increased significantly after the country's 1914 amalgamation. In relation to the advancement and development of the country, national integration is a key idea that has gained prominence. This notion supports the idea that a nation's residents should be conscious of a shared identity. Yet, the nation has encountered several difficulties throughout the years that have hampered national integration, despite the efforts made to achieve this goal. The dynamics of the postcolonial era, which began in 1960 and ended in 1967 with the outbreak of the Nigerian-Biafra civil war, severely damaged the cohesiveness of the newly formed country. Five decades later, the unity of the nation is still a hard feat to achieve. The Eastern Security Network is known as ESN, and the Indigenous People of Biafra is known as IPOB. They have the same function, though. In order to restore the long-gone Biafra by peaceful means, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is a separatist movement that was created in 2012 in southeast Nigeria. Sources claim that the group emerged from two related organizations, the Biafran Zionist Movement (BZM) and the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), which, while having the same objective, conducted their operations in a less radical way. According to Ekpo and Agorye (2018), the rise of IPOB, a more extreme organization, was made possible by MASSOB's failure to accomplish its objective. For IPOB, the struggle was about defending the freedom and rights of what was left of Biafra and about the Igbo people's right to self-determination. Since its founding in 2012, the organization—led by Nnamdi Kanu and his deputy, Uche Okafor-Mefor has campaigned for the creation of an independent state for the Eastern region through referendum. The group itself emerged and acquired its beliefs in support of the breakaway Biafra, which existed in the Southeast from May 30, 1967, to January 15, 1970. 1
In an attempt to press home their complaints, the Indigenous People of Biafra have recently taken steps that directly jeopardize the nation's sovereignty. Numerous of these actions are viewed as self-destructive, damaging not just to the states in question but also to the nation as a whole, and they have ultimately impeded the advancement of national integration. A Federal High Court in Abuja decision on September 18, 2017, outlawed and classified IPOB as a terrorist organization, and they have been acknowledged as such under the Nigeria Terrorism Act ever since. The advocates of IPOB use civil disobedience to hammer home their demand for Biafran freedom. Radio transmissions are among the media, which have also played a significant role in fostering negative emotions and disagreement in people's minds, which makes achieving national cohesiveness more difficult.
The IPOB members have taken some very drastic actions, such as bombing police stations and killing security guards. Restoring law and order has frequently fallen on the shoulders of the military. The illegal imposition of a weekly "sit at home order," which is to be implemented every Monday in all southeastern states, is arguably one of IPOB's most heavily condemned actions. Consequently, firms, marketplaces, banks, schools, transit agencies, and other vital services are compelled to stay closed. These days have an ambiance akin to a conflict zone. The required sit-at-home Monday directive has had a significant impact on productivity and human resources in the fields of business, education, trade, commerce, and transportation. The group is said to have banned the Nigerian national anthem from being played in classrooms in the southeast as part of their action plans for 2022. Nevertheless, this hasn't really worked because some Eastern governors have battled to keep their states legal and orderly by avoiding turning the movement into a conflict with the federal government. The management of education in schools has been inadequate, though, as a result of pupils' inability to attend class on Mondays, they are currently falling behind in the general curriculum offered in other states. Another concerning feature of this enforced order is the massive drop in market trade and transportation. Renowned as the commercial hub of Anambra state, the Onitsha market attracts traders and commuters from across the globe every day to carry out their business. It is regarded as one of the biggest marketplaces in West Africa. Nevertheless, because of the sit-at-home policy, the market will not open until Tuesday. According to daily trust newspapers, the market loses an average of 25 billion naira and almost the same amount in other eastern regions. These reports are based on discussions about the financial hardship the market has experienced. Speaking with Mr. Chibuzor, a merchant with outlets throughout various sections of the Anambra State.2 He complains of being completely confused and frustrated, as have many other business owners, about the sit-at-home edict. As a result of some of his customers turning to other vendors in other states to conduct business, he said that his sales have substantially decreased.
