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Sunday Cannot Be A Sit-At-Home Day: A Prompt Response to Mazi Simon Ekpa’s Order For Sunday, December 11, 2022
By Revd Fr Prof Fidelis Agwulonu
fideagwulonu@gmail.com.
Today, I listened to the video message circulating online, as released by Mazi Simon Ekpa, making his address and instructing (with threats), that December 9, 10, 11, 12 and 14, 2022, will be Ghost-Town in Igboland.
This got me worried over the disregard for Sunday, the Day of the Lord, and the impending loss of the sense of the sacred.
Mazi Ekpa was baptized as Simon, with his patron saint being either Simon (Peter), the Head of the Apostles and First Pope, who was martyred for the sake of Christ; or Simon the Zealot, who sustained the enthusiasm of his belief in Christ and the Gospel and suffered martyrdom too.
Why would a Simon turn around to fight Christ and His Church by targeting Sunday?
Imposing a sit-at-home order in Igboland on a Sunday questions the integrity of his name as Simon, and challenges the faith of all Christians in Igboland and Nigeria as a country.
He, Simon Ekpa, will have started what the rumoured Fulani Jihadists are yet to imagine doing in Igboland, and may have facilitated the feared persecution against Christians in Southeast Nigeria, which the Fulani Jihadists had been accused of planning to do in Igboland.
It poses a question of who to trust, and whose narrative we are to believe.
Who becomes the enemy to the Igbo, the Fulani, or the Igbo man sitting comfortably in his room in Finland, shutting down socio-economic and religious activities in Igboland, including and especially Sunday worship? “If the Lord does not watch over the city, in vain do its watchmen keep vigil” (Ps. 127:1).
This handshake has gone beyond the elbows. This order is undemocratic and insensitive, coming at a time people are preparing for Christmas, the great celebration of the birth of Christ, which is a home coming moment for the Igbo, who are known as the ethnic group with the greatest number of Christians in Nigeria, nay Africa.
This time, he did not get it right, and as a test of humility and the influence of European civility where he is domiciled, one might not be wrong to expect his apologies to the Christians not only in Igboland, but universally, where Christianity is the leading religion with over 1.3 billion members.
A similar move was made in 2021, when Biafra Day happened to fall on Sunday, May 30; a sit-at-home was declared to honour the fallen heroes, but when reactions came, the sit-at-home was moved to Monday, May 31, 2021.
We want to believe that this time, the stretch of sit-at-home days will not be a ploy to achieve the purpose of downplaying respect for Sunday, which is a day sacred to the Lord, which is the Third of the Ten Commandments of God to His people.
Christians are expected to ignore Mazi Simon Ekpa if his orders are not withdrawn against the sit-at-home on Sunday, December 11, 2022.
It will be a disaster if the Igbo turn against themselves: the foot soldiers of Mazi Simon Ekpa against Christians of (and in) Igboland; who will in self defence move against any aggression from ‘godless’ individuals who will be either paid or compelled to stop Christians from Sunday WORSHIP of the ALMIGHTY GOD.
This might be an instance of the Crusades in Igboland, and the fears are that the same Fulani Military and Police who are being suspected to be either active or complicit in the killings in Igboland will be the same people who will be ‘unleashed’ on the Igbo to neutralise insurgency, a likely disaster brought upon Igboland through Mazi Simon Ekpa’s orders.
The Igboland is the heartbeat of Christianity in Nigeria, and I am aware that Christians will overwhelm Mazi Simon Ekpa’s foot soldiers, and it will be horrendous to imagine that Christians may be tempted to lynch aggressive oppressors, on the LORD’S DAY.
Not one person’s blood should be spilled further in Igboland, and in Nigeria, and let no one lead the other into temptation, and may the Lord deliver His people from evil. This is persecution coming to Christians, and they will always overcome, as this persecution is little compared to the early Christian years when Emperors, Kings and godless people had no one to challenge them.
Today, no one has a monopoly of any anything, not even violence.
It is evident that the Nigerian State has woefully failed Nigerians, especially in the security of lives and property, yet it is not enough reason to close down activities in Igboland for a week. People are returning money to the Banks, before the deadline for submission of old currencies.
What has happened in Igboland in recent times is very troubling, giving rise to calls for self defence, as reported by Tunde Adedeji, for The Daily Post of December 2, 2022: Ohanaeze youths warn of alleged impending bloodbath in Southeast. Considerations should be given for the hardship Nigerians are passing through at this time, and the already truncated economic life of the Igbo, whose businesses are attacked outside Igboland by some other ethnicities, and are attacked in Igboland by the enforcers of sit-at-home orders.
We regret the death of innocent people all over Nigeria, and especially of the recent reports of killings in Enugu State. May they rest in peace. The living should not die of hunger or the multiplier effects of the sit-at-home order as announced, and the ripple effect any violent incidents might lead to. God forbid a spread of violence in Igboland, already surrounded by enemies, kidnappers, ritual killers, human traffickers, armed robbers and all sorts of vendetta seeking individuals.
The Federal Government has a duty to clear itself, the Military, Police and other agencies of any suspicions of ethnic cleansing against the Igbo. Judging from the report of Intersociety (International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law), the present administration leaves much to be desired.
Two Newspaper reports of interest will be cited: Sahara Reporters, January 20 2022: Nigerian Army Reacts To Allegation Of Killing Over 1000 South-East Residents Since October 2020. (https://saharareporters.com/2022/01/20/nigerian-army-reacts-allegation-killing-over-1000-south-east-residents-october-2020).
The Army has always debunked such allegations, but the events of the past 21 days in Igboland are troubling. Vanguard Newspapers of December 4, 2022 has this headline: IPOB/ESN: Enugu GOC under fire over insecurity in S/East (https://www-vanguardngr-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.vanguardngr.com/2022/12), as reported by Nnamdi Ojiego, Chinedu Adonu & Ugochukwu Alaribe.
The allegations that the Army looked away while the Igbo are massacred by armed herdsmen, has reignited the suspicion among the Igbo people as being victims of killings by the Nigerian State through the instrumentality of the Nigerian Army.
Let there be no further bloodshed in any part of Nigeria, and let the order to boycott elections and resist elections next year not affect the dreams of many, that Mr Peter Gregory Obi may be the expected restorer Nigerians have been waiting and praying for. Biafra should come, when it will, in a bloodless negotiation.
Enough blood has been shed already: about three million Igbo men, women and children killed in the Nigeria-Biafra war (1967 – 1970); and about a million in all the crisis against Igbo people in Northern Nigeria (shrouded in religious riots), and other instances of violence against the Igbo since the end of the civil war.
Enough of the killings and social upheavals in any part of Nigeria.
May God grant us peace and joy. Amen. END
Featured
Strategic Partnerships, Diaspora Investment and Improved Workforce Critical to Industrialization-DG RMRDC
By: Stella Azi and Adaora Adibe
The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, has called for a strategic shift from the exportation of raw commodities to domestic processing, manufacturing and value addition, declaring that Nigeria possesses enormous untapped raw material resources capable of driving industrialisation, creating jobs and strengthening the country’s economic competitiveness.
Prof. Ike-Muonso made this submission in a lecture titled Unlocking Nigeria’s Raw Material Value Chain for Industrialization, Manufacturing and Competitiveness, where he presented an extensive assessment of Nigeria’s resource endowments, industrial challenges and emerging investment opportunities across agricultural commodities, solid minerals and waste-based raw materials.
The lecture highlighted a combined US$2.65 trillion global market opportunity across 30 major raw material value chains, comprising 12 agricultural value chains valued at US$932 billion, 11 mineral value chains worth US$1.352 trillion and seven circular-economy value chains estimated at US$366 billion.
According to the RMRDC Boss, Nigeria must move beyond the traditional approach of extracting and exporting raw materials to building competitive domestic industries that transform these resources into intermediate products, industrial inputs and finished goods for local consumption and international markets.
He observed that the country’s manufacturing sector has struggled to sustain its 2014 peak, with its contribution to real Gross Domestic Product declining from 9.64 per cent in 2014 to 8.05 per cent in 2025, representing a 16.5 per cent decline. He also drew attention to the increasing cost of raw material imports, which rose to US$20.5 billion in 2025, approximately six times the 2020 level.
He explained that the growing dependence on imported industrial inputs exposes Nigerian manufacturers to foreign exchange volatility, increases production costs and weakens the competitiveness of locally manufactured products.
Prof. ke-Muonso stressed that the solution lies in developing domestic raw material value chains through deliberate investment in processing facilities, research and development, technology, infrastructure and stronger linkages between producers, processors and manufacturers.
He identified agriculture, solid minerals and industrial waste as three major resource platforms for Nigeria’s industrial transformation, stating the country’s significant production capacity and the enormous opportunities available for downstream processing.
Ike-Muonso noted that Nigeria produces over 63 million metric tonnes of cassava annually, making it the world’s largest producer, while also maintaining strong positions in cocoa, cashew, sesame, palm oil and cotton. However, more than 80 per cent of agricultural output leaves farms without adequate processing, resulting in the loss of significant economic value and industrial opportunities.
In the solid minerals sector, he identified more than 44 commercially viable minerals across over 500 locations, including lithium, gold, barite, bitumen, iron ore and high-grade limestone, describing them as strategic resources capable of supporting steel production, energy storage, electrification and advanced manufacturing.
The DG further drew attention to Nigeria’s industrial and agro-waste resources, noting that the country generates over 32 million tonnes of solid waste annually. He explained that agricultural residues, cassava peels, scrap metals, plastics and electronic waste could serve as important feedstock for bio-fertilisers, industrial chemicals, recycled polymers, energy production and other manufacturing applications.
In the agricultural sector, the DG identified cassava and industrial starch, cotton and natural textiles, natural rubber and elastomers, oil palm and oleochemicals, maize derivatives and cocoa processing as priority areas requiring increased investment.
He explained that processing agricultural commodities into industrial starch, sweeteners, textiles, technical rubber, specialty fats and other intermediate products would enable Nigeria to capture more value from its agricultural resources while reducing dependence on imported industrial inputs.
For the minerals sector, he highlighted crude oil-to-olefins and petrochemicals, lithium and energy storage, iron ore and steel, rare earth elements, bauxite and aluminium, and copper and electrification as strategic investment opportunities.
He particularly emphasised the importance of moving beyond mineral extraction into beneficiation, refining, battery precursors, industrial chemicals, metal fabrication and advanced materials production.
On the circular economy, Prof. Ike-Muonso identified electronic waste recovery, scrap metal recycling, plastic waste processing, agro-waste valorisation and battery recycling as emerging industrial opportunities.
He explained that transforming waste into productive industrial feedstock would not only reduce environmental pollution but also create new manufacturing industries, generate employment and reduce the importation of valuable industrial materials.
He noted that to address the structural challenges confronting raw material-based industrialisation, the DG highlighted the strategic interventions of the RMRDC, particularly the proposed 30% Value Addition Bill and the Nigeria Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products (NISSRAMP).
He described the 30% Value Addition Bill as an important policy instrument designed to encourage domestic processing of raw materials before export, strengthen local manufacturing capacity and guarantee access to essential raw materials for Nigerian industries, and NISSRAMP as a critical data infrastructure that would improve access to verified information on the availability, location and quality of raw materials.
According to him, the combination of appropriate policy instruments and reliable resource data would help de-risk investments, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s raw material sector.
He emphasised the importance of collaboration among government, academia and industry in developing bankable projects, sharing investment risks and accelerating the establishment of processing and manufacturing facilities.
Professor Ike-Muonso called on Nigerians in the diaspora and other local and international investors to take advantage of the opportunities available in Nigeria’s raw material sector.
He identified industrial processing parks, mineral beneficiation and refining, agro-industrial platforms, circular-material processing, industrial input manufacturing and enabling infrastructure as viable investment platforms.
He noted that diaspora investors could contribute beyond financial capital by bringing technology, international business networks, governance standards, technical expertise and access to global markets.
He maintained that Nigeria’s industrial transformation requires coordinated investment across the entire value chain, from raw material sourcing and aggregation to processing, manufacturing, certification and export development.
Professor Ike-Muonso stressed that the country’s industrial future would depend not merely on the volume of raw materials extracted but on the capacity to transform them into competitive products that meet domestic and international market requirements.
He maintained that developing local value chains would stimulate industrial growth, create employment opportunities, diversify exports, conserve foreign exchange and deepen Nigeria’s technological capabilities.
Through its strategic interventions, the RMRDC is positioning itself as a critical bridge between resource availability, investment opportunities and industrial competitiveness, with the ultimate objective of transforming Nigeria from a predominantly raw material exporting economy into a strong manufacturing and value-adding nation.
Ike-Muonso has demonstrated this since assumption of office as the Director General/ CEO RMRDC in the area of capacity building, improved working conditions, promotion of merit, and maintaining a conducive environment that rewards excellence, innovation and dedication. This is evident in his institution of RMRDC training school, reward for winners of the RMRDC innovation challenge among others.
His commitment has brought recognition both nationally and internationally: Al-Jazirah double honour awards as Public Servant /Government Agency of the year 2024-2025 and the recent election as the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Representative on the Board of the World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organisations (WAITRO) is a attestation to his commitment.
Concluding the lecture, the DG charged staff, researchers, manufacturers and investors to see themselves as nation builders in the new era of raw materials-led industrialization.
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