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By Pat Onukwuli
Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo returned to office with considerable goodwill, a large political mandate and expectations of substantial renewal. But a second mandate is not a coronation; it is a reckoning. It is not a decoration for past effort, but a demand for better performance. If his first term could be treated as a period of adjustment, his second must now be judged by stricter standards: humility over arrogance, consultation over command, substance over spectacle, delivery over declaration and unity over division.
Soludo’s second term should not hide behind the language of promise. A promise is cheap when performance is uneven. Vision is attractive when spoken, but hollow when it fails to alter people’s daily realities. Ndi Anambra did not renew his mandate merely to hear refined speeches or watch another round of governmental self-praise. They expect results. They expect inclusion. They expect a government that understands that power is not a private throne and leadership is not a lecture delivered to a captive audience.
Soludo has not been inactive. To his credit, his administration has implemented visible road interventions, including major dualisation projects along key corridors in the state, such as the Amawbia–Nise–Agulu–Nanka–Ekwulobia–Uga andthe ongoing Agulu–Nnewi. These road projects matter. They improve access, movement and connectivity in a commercially active state such as Anambra.
But while road construction is important, fostering a more united Anambra is even more important. Asphalt may connect towns, but only trust can connect people. Bridges may shorten the distance, but only fairness can reduce alienation. A government may build roads and still leave the civic fabric torn. It may commission projects and still fail to construct confidence. In a politically alert state like Anambra, development must not only be seen in concrete and drainage; it must also be felt in inclusion, consultation and shared belonging.
This is where Soludo’s Onitsha question becomes unavoidable.During his campaigns and public engagements, he repeatedly spoke about the need to reclaim, modernise and revitalise Onitsha, the commercial nerve centre not only of Anambra State but also of much of the South-East. Onitsha is not just another urban centre. It is one of the most important commercial arteries of Igbo enterprise, a city through which immense economic activity passes daily in trade, transport, warehousing, pharmaceuticals, textiles, building materials and informal commerce.
Yet Onitsha has not received the scale of transformation one would expect from a government that claims to understand its strategic importance. The city still suffers from congestion, urban decay, poor traffic flow, environmental stress and infrastructural fatigue. For too long, key corridors around the city have placed severe pressure on commerce, worsened traffic and reduced productivity.
Any serious Anambra development agenda must place Onitsha at its centre, not at its margins. Investment in Onitsha is not parochial favouritism; it is a sound economic strategy. This is where the multiplier effects will be most deeply felt. When Onitsha works, traders benefit, transporters benefit, importers benefit, artisans benefit, apprentices benefit, manufacturers benefit, surrounding towns benefit, and the state’s internally generated revenue benefits. If Onitsha breathes, Anambra’s economy breathes. If Onitsha is left to choke, the wider state will continue to cough.
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Soludo’s challenge, however, is not only infrastructural. It is also temperamental.There is a growing perception that the governor’s style is too combative, too dismissive and too inclined to treat disagreement as hostility. His admirers call it firmness; his critics call it arrogance. His supporters describe him as decisive; his opponents regard him as increasingly intolerant of dissent. His defenders see confidence; his detractors see conceit.
The recent controversy surrounding his London town hall meeting with Anambra citizens in the diaspora did little to reduce that concern. Reports and circulating videos suggested that the engagement degenerated into an unpleasant confrontation, with a participant allegedly maltreated or forced out after challenging the governor. Whether one supports Soludo or opposes him, that spectacle was unbecoming. A town hall meeting should be a forum for civic exchange, not a stage for gubernatorial irritation. A question should not be treated as an insult.
Soludo must adjust his approach. That is not personal hostility; it is necessary counsel. He must lower the temperature of his politics. He must listen more, explain better, consult more widely and govern with less combative energy. Anambra people are not subordinates to be scolded into silence. They are stakeholders in the Anambra project. Their votes, taxes, labour, patience and expectations form part of the legitimacy on which government rests.
The danger before Soludo is that brilliance can become a burden when it is not moderated by humility. Intelligence may win arguments, but wisdom builds trust. Intelligence may design policy, but wisdom persuades people to follow. A leader may possess remarkable capacity and still fail if he treats criticism as insolence and public concern as irritation.
Soludo still has time. He can choose to make these four years a period of correction rather than a confirmation of existing concerns. He can continue building roads while also building trust. He can modernise infrastructure while uniting communities. He can invest decisively in Onitsha, where the economic returns will travel far beyond the city itself. He can turn public engagements into listening platforms, not arenas of confrontation. He can show that confidence need not become conceit, firmness need not become hostility, and leadership need not become domination.
Soludo’s second term must therefore be judged by two tests: delivery and disposition. He must build, but he must also heal. He must modernise, but he must also unite. He must lead, but he must also listen. Anambra has given Soludo another mandate, but not an unlimited licence. What he does next will determine whether history remembers him as a leader who matured into statesmanship or as a gifted politician whose promise was weakened by pride and whose vision was diminished by insufficient restraint.
.Dr Onukwuli, a legal scholar and public affairs analyst, writes via [email protected]
