Soludo’s Bold Stand: Closing Onitsha Main Market to Save Anambra’s Economic Future – Maazi Tochukwu Ezeoke
Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo’s decision to shut the Onitsha Main Market for one week is not an act of spite; it is an act of leadership in a region slowly bleeding to economic death from a culture of fear, lawlessness, and economic sabotage. This closure is a painful but necessary shock therapy for a market and a city that must choose between permanent decline under non-state actors and disciplined recovery under democratic authority. Under the Land Use Act, Soludo holds the land in trust for all Anambrarians, with explicit powers to enforce order and public interest.
Sit-at-home as Economic Self-Destruction
For nearly 4 years, the illegal Monday sit-at-home order has crippled economic and social life across the South-East, turning what should be 5 working days into 4 and quietly wiping out 20 per cent of weekly legitimate trading activity. Traders in Onitsha Main Market have been among the worst offenders, repeatedly refusing to open on Mondays despite clear government directives, even after the state abolished sit-at-home and warned that the order is nothing but economic sabotage.
Soludo has publicly pointed out the hypocrisy: the same traders who “bravely” opened on Mondays during the festive season, when profits were guaranteed, suddenly rediscovered fear once the holidays ended. That tells a hard truth: what holds the market down every Monday is now less about fear of gunmen and more about a toxic comfort with lawless holidays that cost the region jobs, revenue, and credibility.
Why the One-Week Shutdown is Justified
At some point, a government that wants to be taken seriously must draw a line. Soludo’s order to close the Onitsha Main Market and adjoining markets for an initial one week is that line. He has been clear: any shop that refuses to open going forward will be sealed for another week, and if the sabotage continues, the government is prepared to lock the market “for the remainder of this year” or even level and redevelop it.
Critics quote the “losses” of a one-week shutdown, but they ignore the long-term bleeding from four years of Mondays wasted on an illegal order. If a trader loses one out of five trading days every week, that is roughly 52 lost days in a year, more than the one-week closure they are protesting. The governor’s position is simple and rational: suffer one deliberate, corrective week now to end 52 stolen Mondays every year, or keep bleeding in silence while pretending nothing is wrong.
Governor’s Legal Authority Under the Land Use Act
Soludo is not an interloper in Onitsha Main Market; he is the constitutional trustee of the very land on which that market stands. Key provisions of Nigeria’s Land Use Act of 1978 empower him unequivocally:
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Section 1: All land in the state is vested in the Governor, held in trust for the use and common benefit of all Nigerians.Section 2: Grants the Governor control and management of land, particularly in urban areas such as Onitsha.
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Section 5: Empowers the Governor to grant statutory rights of occupancy on terms he deems fit, making market stalls conditional privileges, not absolute ownership.
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Section 28: Allows revocation of rights for overriding public interest or breach of terms, such as defying lawful orders or endangering public safety.
These sections mean persistent sit-at-home defiance and safety violations are breaches justifying seals, sanctions, or redevelopment—Soludo is enforcing his statutory duty, not whim.
Restoring State Authority and Investor Confidence
Onitsha is not just a local market; it is a regional commercial nerve centre whose behaviour sends strong signals to investors about whether Anambra is governed by laws or by rumours. Soludo has warned that continued defiance will lead to revocation of shop ownership rights, government takeover, and structured redevelopment, because no serious government can allow a strategic market to be controlled by non-state actors or mob veto.
He has also framed the closure as a necessary step to “send the appropriate signals, protect law-abiding citizens and reinforce the authority of the state.” Investors will not bring factories, logistics hubs, or technology parks into a city where traders casually shut down every Monday on the orders of faceless voices on social media. By insisting that markets must operate a full business week, Soludo is defending not just his ego but the economic future of millions of young Anambra people who will need jobs beyond petty trading.
A Market That Must Modernise or Die
Onitsha Main Market is also not a victim of this government; it is one of its biggest beneficiaries in the new urban renewal agenda. Under Soludo, Anambra has rolled out a comprehensive urban renewal and market modernisation plan, for which he has already been recognised with awards such as “Governor of the Year on Urban Renewal” for aggressive road construction, city upgrades, and market modernization.
Yet this same market has a long, tragic history that demands tough reforms. Academic studies document how the Onitsha Main Market and nearby Ochanja Market suffered devastating fire disasters, notably the 1984 infernos that caused massive loss of goods and disrupted people’s daily lives. Research on Onitsha markets identifies frequent fire outbreaks driven by epileptic power supply, power surges, faulty connections, cooking gas, and fuel-laden tankers, and strongly recommends the removal of illegal structures, the provision of proper fire infrastructure, and stricter safety enforcement. You cannot enforce those safety standards, redesign access roads, or reorganise chaotic layouts if the market believes it can dictate to the government when it opens and when it closes.
Courage Today, Stability Tomorrow
Yes, traders are protesting, blocking roads, and demanding that the government reverse its decision, and some lawmakers and business groups have pleaded for dialogue instead of a firm shutdown. But leadership is not a popularity contest; it is the ability to make decisions that may hurt today but will save tomorrow.
Soludo has not left anyone in doubt: he will not go back on the closure, because he sees the Monday sit-at-home as “plain economic sabotage” and suspects that those who keep their shops locked may be hiding criminal intentions behind a false cloak of fear. In a region where many politicians tiptoe around non-state actors, he has chosen to stand on the side of law, order, and the right of ordinary people to live and trade without being held hostage every Monday.
Anambra must decide what kind of future it wants. A future built on fear, rumour, and weekly economic paralysis, or a future anchored on law, discipline, and modern markets that operate five days a week, obey safety rules, and attract serious investment. By closing the Onitsha Main Market for one week and insisting that enough is enough, Governor Soludo has chosen the harder, braver path, and Ndi Anambra should stand on the side of courage, not chaos.
Maazi Tochukwu Ezeoke is a media practitioner, an international Project Management Consultant, and a Political Analyst.
