A group, Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, an umbrella body of all the youth organisations in the South East has condemned the leadership of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), for ordering a sit-at-home exercise on Thursday, despite having held one on Monday.
The group also called on IPOB to reconsider its next week’s two-day sit-at-home slated for Monday and Tuesday.
IPOB had in a press release said to have been issued by IPOB Spokesperson, Emma Powerful said the southeast zone would on Tuesday 14th September hold a sit-at-home in commemoration of the invasion of The home of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu in Umuahia in 2017.
But COSEYL in a press release signed by its President-General, Goodluck Egwu Ibem, and the Secretary-General, Comrade Kanice Igwe described the directive as insensitive.
The release said: “This is because of our students that will be writing their English Language in the ongoing WAEC examination and its adverse economic effect on so many families in the South East who depends on day to day menial jobs to feed their families.
“It is not a hidden information that our SS3 secondary school students will be writing their English Language subject on Monday being 13th September, 2021 and it will be the worst self injury for anyone to ask these students whose most parents did some menial jobs like pushing wheelbarrows, assisting people remove weeds in their farms and other menial jobs to raise money to enroll their children for the said examination.
“Some of the parents are widows who have nobody to help them pay their childrens school fees and other sundry payments.”
The group said asking the students to sit-at-home on Monday when other students all over the country and other West African countries are writing the same examination is the worst disservice anyone can do to our students.
“Lest we forget, some of these students have written their Jamb exams, scored good grades now wanting for the WAEC results to continue their education in higher institution of learning.
“Some business men and women in the zone took loan from banks or other private financial organisations to finance their businesses and in most case, some of them used their residential buildings which might be their only hope as collateral to secure the said loan.
“It is grossly insensitive to ask such a business man or woman to stay at home on Monday and Tuesday leaving him or her with only three days in the week to do his business which is grossly insensitive,” the group said.
The group added people sat at home on Monday and Thursday this week, and that sitting at home again on Monday and Tuesday will be disastrous.
