An industrialist, Chief Rommy Ezeonwuka has commended the leadership of Anambra State Market Amalgamated Traders Association (ASMATA) for proscribing daily prayers in all markets in the state.
He described the ban as a welcome development, stressing that the prayers were detrimental to the state economy as it scared visiting traders from the markets.
President General of ASMATA, Chief Ikechukwu Ekwegbalu, had on Wednesday, announced the ban on prayers during a meeting with Chairmen and Secretaries of all markets in the state.
He said the proscription became necessary following alleged extortion and convertion of the spiritual exercise to a political jamboree.
Addressing newsmen in Onitsha, Ezeonwuka, who is one of the patrons of ASMATA, maintained that the prayers not only constituted noise pollution, but a nuisance in the system.
He said, “Market prayers is not only time consuming which irritate and frustrate visiting traders but also constitute noise pollution and other elements of nuisance in the system.
“It also scares visiting traders from the neighbourhood and across the country from coming to the commercial city of Onitsha in particular to buy or sell goods to the detriment of the economy of Anambra State.
READ ALSO: Anambra traders ban daily prayers in markets
“Market daily prayer is a fallacy. The best form of prayer is to work hard and to be honest. To work is to pray. You are as good as praying when you are working tirelessly.”
According to the businessman, the time the traders devoted to prayers were better channeled to clearing and cleaning the market environment.
“Cleanliness is next to godliness. These traders don’t know this, that is why they spend much time on prayers and end up scaring away those willing to patronise their businesses.
“Market prayers on daily or weekly basis is harming the economy of the state because a lot of people who normally come to Onitsha to do businesses have diverted to other places.
“If you budget two hours for a trip and end up spending five hours won’t you be irritated and frustrated? Won’t you find alternative?”
Commending the ASMATA boss for the ongoing reforms in the market, Ezeonwuka however regretted traders’ mismanagement of the markets, saying they were only interested in milking the revenue of the state.
Leave a Reply