The declining fortunes of Anambra

By Bright Ezimorah

With hindsight Professor Chukwuma Soludo is better off a teacher than a politician. Saddling him with governing Anambra– the very dynamic state east of the Niger – has proved to be a very difficult task. It has been a lot of struggle for him, governing and playing the politics necessary for the well-being of the state. At best, he has brought a governance model that pays no heed to the people and takes no advice from stakeholders.  The great teacher of economics has failed to draw the line between governance and winning barn burners of debate against notable economists.      

Like ex-President Muhammadu Buhari whose emergence removed all doubts about his famed statecraft, Soludo’s election as Governor of Anambra State has shredded the myth of his economic wizardry and urbane disposition. He probably would be pontificating in the media today on how he would turn the fortunes of the State around had he lost the election. But his victory has exposed the soft underbelly of his government and laid bare his highfalutin ideas that are inconsistent with governance, especially of a state as vibrant as Anambra. Without intent on insult everybody, including this writer, who presumed on his ability to deliver, got disappointed by Soludo’s unmitigated failures.  

It is sad how the Governor has fared – how he has yet to fulfill on any of the promises he made on the stump. From insecurity through high taxation and poor quality infrastructure to micromanagement of government businesses, nothing has changed to suggest any hope of improvement. What defines the Soludo administration is a reign of triumphalism that shuts him out from reality. The state under him is going through a difficult patch and needs a lot of effort to break free from the stranglehold. The administration carries on with an omniscient mentality, scoffs at advice and pays no mind to consultation.

Maybe only the mentally weak and a tiny clique of the politically imprudent have yet to bother with the declining fortunes of the state. It needs no crystal ball to see that the hope of the people has been dashed through unbridled ego and unconcealed pettiness of the Governor.

Writing about this pettiness of Soludo in the Vanguard newspaper of January 20, 2024, Ugo Egbujo opined thus:

“Soludo’s fixation with small things might signal frustration.

When a man has no big projects, he quarrels with his wife over bathroom slippers.” Soludo has quarreled with almost everybody in the state, including those who sponsored his election. He tramples on imagined and real enemies. The list of those who have gone through his jackboot, especially the hapless citizens of the state who depend on daily toil for their survival is endless.

“When Soludo leaves office, he might discover he wasted time pursuing shadows. At a time he needed to weave social cohesion and focus state energy on the vampires terrorizing the state, he couldn’t even play elementary politics”.

Few weeks ago, Soludo went viral on the net for dancing Gwo gwo gwo ngwo the popular song by the great minstrel, Mike Ejeagha. It should not have mattered what music he danced to and how he did it. But like the infamous Emperor Nero of Rome who “fiddled while Rome burned”, Soludo was dancing while kidnappers were running riot in the state. On the day of this indulgence, kidnappers carted off three hapless victims at the Aroma intersection of the state capital, few meters away from the Seat of Government and the Jerome Udoji Secretariat. He gave no whimper of protest and offered no hope to the forlorn citizens. He was busy dancing not because he is fond, but he was merely gloating over the successful sealing of political offices of his rivals. Arbitrary sealing of offices, pulling down shops and unleashing mayhem on ndi Anambra by Soludo’s motley army of tax collectors is not news. Many have had their shins broken in the process. Others have had their skulls cracked. Yet a lot more have had their limbs shattered by pestle-wielding Soludo boys. 

It is not known that Soludo who is not shy of long speeches has addressed these issues. Rather he carries on unconcernedly, leaving many to wonder if his government is not an affliction on the state. He refuses to deploy half of the energy he dissipates on tax collection to crime-fighting. It is common knowledge in Anambra that people no longer organize ceremonies in the state because of insecurity even of events considered too essential to be conducted outside the state. Soludo’s Anambra has become breeding ground for insecurity with its twin disadvantage of divestment. Many have questioned the use to which he puts the princely security vote he collects while others blame him for the failed security situation.  

It may be important to state that security in Anambra was not on the nadir when Soludo became governor. However, everything started going south shortly after his assumption of office. He committed the first faux pas by decreeing security without working out the details. He pronounced the Monday-sit-at home order illegal. Just before he was done with the pronouncement the state began to witness samples of violence never seen before.

The little peace prevalent in the state was lost through the Governor’s one moment of loquacious indiscretion. He immediately ran to Kuje prison to confer with Nnamdi Kanu for possible mitigation of the blunder. But the mistake has been made and it has not been well with the state since. He acts before he thinks. Few weeks back he announced the sacking of

the Managing Director of the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) only to come back and tell ndi Anambra that he has redeployed him to nowhere in particular. 

It can be safely said that Soludo administration is all-knowing and does not consult anybody. It sets the cart before the horse and is leading the state on a bumpy ride to nowhere. The Governor behaves like an all-conquering emperor whose caprices must be accommodated by the people. He talks and acts at will and lectures everybody, including his exco during session. He hardly runs any ideas up the flagpole for input, but expects topnotch performance from his team. Soludo has not weaned himself off the mentality of a teacher and sees Anambra as his class. But he needs to be reminded that the state has little patience with patronizing instructors. And it may not hesitate to heave off any load that is exerting undue burden on her.  

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Quote: “It may be important to state that security in Anambra was not on the nadir when Soludo became governor. However, everything started going south shortly after his assumption of office. He committed the first faux pas by decreeing security without working out the details.”