Having emerged on the strength of the popular demand of the people, Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, elicited high expectations from within and outside his state. He made a number of promises and gave hints that there would be disruptive change in the way the state is governed. In his state-wide broadcast to mark his first 100 days in office recently, Soludo confessed that he was not a fan of marking 100 days in office but preferred to give annual reports. The first of these annual reports will come in March 2023. While we wait for this annual report, it is imperative to note that though 100 days may not be ideal to evaluate an administration, it is enough to showcase where a regime is going. So far for Soludo, it has been bumpy and challenging.
It was also bumpy and challenging for the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who pioneered the ‘100 days in office’ concept. Roosevelt came to power on March 4, 1933, during the Great Depression and within his first 100 days in office, he pushed 15 major bills through Congress to speedily address the bad situation.
On assumption of office on March 17, 2022, Soludo hit the ground running. He held a series of meetings soon after his inauguration. The following day, he went to Okpoko, a slum in Ogbaru Local Government Area (LGA) of the state, to assess the state of the place. Unlike many other state governors who wait for months before appointing their commissioners, Soludo appointed his commissioners and some special advisers within two weeks of his assumption of office.
He goes to office everyday and takes charge of the implementation of most of the policies of his administration. The Amansea section of the Awka-Onitsha Expressway, which had been in a state of total disrepair, has been rehabilitated. The governor has also mapped out a number of dilapidated roads in the state, which he intends to fix in the next one year.
The efforts of the state government to recruit 5,000 teachers are also a step in the right direction. Although the recruitment process was mired in controversies, it is noteworthy that the contentious issues are gradually being resolved.
By far, the greatest challenge the Soludo administration faces is insecurity. Soon after he took over, the so-called “unknown gunmen” became a torn in the flesh of the administration. They kidnapped for ransom and killed many innocent citizens.
In May, the gunmen kidnapped a lawmaker representing Aguata 2 Constituency in the State House of Assembly, Hon. Okechukwu Okoye, and his aide, Cyril Chiegboka. One week after their abduction, these people were decapitated even after ransoms were paid to rescue them. Last month, a former lawmaker, Mr. Nelson Achukwu, was also kidnapped from his home in Ukpor community in Nnewi South LGA. Achukwu, who was physically challenged, was later beheaded. This was after the killers had collected the N15 million ransom.
However, we laud Soludo for his efforts to stamp out these criminals from the state. Security agents have constantly raided and dislodged them from their camps. Some of them have also been arrested. Currently, Anambra is becoming too hot for them and it is expected that such criminal activities will become history soon. As Soludo put it, no bush or forest or home would accommodate criminals anymore in Anambra State.
Soludo also promised that the Monday sit-at-home phenomenon would also be a thing of the past soon. How he intends to do it is not certain considering that several appeals to the people to disregard the sit-at-home order and go about their normal activities every Monday have been rebuffed. People are usually reluctant to come out because of the fear of being attacked by the “unknown gunmen.” This phenomenon alone has cost the state and the entire South-East billions of naira in revenue.
Incidentally, the revenue of the state is in a sorry state as the current administration reportedly met only about N300 million in the state’s treasury. It also inherited hundreds of billions of naira in debt from ex-governor, Willie Obiano.
We commend Soludo for being humble and forthright in admitting his challenges and urge him to continue the good work he is doing. He should concentrate on the five pillars upon which his administration is built. The issue of security, which is the first pillar, is already being tackled. The realisation of other pillars rests squarely on the successful implementation of the first pillar.
History will only remember him for the legacies he will leave behind. Some of his predecessors did set a high bar in governance. He should take it a notch higher by doing more and talking less.