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From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo in this interview at the Awka Light House, talks about developments in the state as Anambra marked its 34 years of existence and also prepares for the next governorship election in November this year.
What are your reflections and remarks as Anambra marks 34 years of its creation? How do you see the journey so far?
Anambra at 34 calls for not only celebration but for effective rededication. We mark the 34 years anniversary of the creation of Anambra State which is divine project for the Light of the Nation, and it is remarkable in the sense that this year, it was celebrated at the New Government House, named Light House Awka that was started 34 years ago since its creation in 1991.Over these three decades, Anambra has consistently punched above its weight from the first military administration of Navy Captain Joseph Abulu, to the last military administration of Wing Commander Emmanuel Ukaegbu. From the first civilian administration of Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife to my immediate predecessor, Chief Willie Maduaburochukwu Obiano, Anambra has been on the trajectory of remarkable progress.
We have produced some of the nation’s brightest minds, successful entrepreneurs and visionary leaders. From our bustling commercial houses to academic institutions; from our innovative industries to our rich cultural heritage, Anambra has remained on the rise.
The journey has not always been smooth. From the fundamental efforts of those who came before us, we have built and have faced challenges that have tested our resolve in countless setbacks that could have broken our spirit and navigated from things that would have dimmed our light. Against all odds, the indomitable spirit of Anambra people has shone brightly and I say it time and time again, Anambra is destined for greatness and we stand on the shoulders of giants grateful for their contributions and focus on the potentials that lies ahead. Thirty-four years on, our mission is clear and today I want to say that that mission have been redefined, sharpened and even been given greater focus under this current administration.
Under this administration, we redefined and focused our mission and vision for the state on the land mark projects that we have defined as Anambra Vision 2070 which is a 50-year development plan and it is there that we derived our own manifesto.
Our vision is to build Anambra to become a liveable and prosperous smart mega city where every resident, every visitor feels at home and a preferred destination to invest, to live, to learn, to relax and to work. It is equally noteworthy that the last 19 years of Anambra State has been significant and managed by Progressives and that is under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and that progressivism is being sustained and is being taken to a higher destination.
Your administration is being criticised as one lacking human face or to put it straightforward, an administration without provision for stomach infrastructure. How do you react to that?
Our administration is the one actually providing what should be the real stomach infrastructure in its real sense. Our own aspect of what you call stomach infrastructure is not what most people think and because the pictures in their minds when it comes to stomach infrastructure is about sharing money to some very few individuals and hangers on. To us, this is not financial responsibility and you don’t just give people money to put in their back pockets or go about sharing money to people who do not and have not added any value to the development or growth of the state. My picture of stomach infrastructure is the network of roads that are Criss-crossing Anambra State and those trunk A roads that are being dualised. We embarked on the free education programme from the basics to the tertiary education and you can imagine how much money that parents and guardians have saved by not paying school fees. The free antenatal heath programme for pregnant and nursing mothers is still on and people are saving money from not going to pay for medical services, and also, we have five newly built and completed general hospitals and people who before do not have access to medical services can now exploit that opportunity and that is what I call stomach infrastructure.
The low-income earner pensioners that are now non-taxable and we also added N10, 000.00 to their pension and also the increase in the minimum wage of workers as well as the employment of 5,000 teachers and 3,000 health workers.
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We had backlog of pensions for state civil servants of about N7.6 billion and that of local government workers of about N14 billion and their last payment would be done by the end of the month. That is what I call stomach infrastructure. We do not have that kind of resources to throw about and we spend funds on what would impact positively on the lives of Anambra people not for those that do not add value to the state and we are deliberate about it.
Of late, there has been the clamour for the scrapping of the Agunechemba Security Squad. Also, what is the fate of the native doctors that have been in custody in the state?
On the fate of the native doctors promoting money rituals, we have made it clear that what they are doing is not helping our youths. You see a young man or a young woman and you tell him or her that they can become rich and successful by doing nothing but to sit down and you do Oke- Ite for them and they become millionaires.
That is the type of ideas and indoctrination that they are fed with, and that is the bane of our society. When they don’t make it, they go into kidnapping for ransom and they also add more coloration by going to do charms from the so-called native doctors so that they cannot be killed while they are operating. So, we said if you have all these powers show us and we can now engage you with government to do more for the state. The ones we arrested have been charged to court and so it is beyond us now because their matter is to be decided by the court.
We have the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary and that is the court. Once it gets to the court, the case is between the person and the court and we do not have the powers to go and bail and it is up to them to carry out the forensic investigations about the Oke – Ite. On the issue of scrapping Agunechemba Security Squad, it is like scrapping the police because of the issue of EndSARS. Ever since, we have not scrapped the police or other security agencies. During EndSARS they protested that the police killed some people and indeed some people were killed. It happens in foreign countries where police kill some people and they would even strangle them to death in public glare yet the police in the United States of America have not been scrapped.
The point is that everywhere in the world, you find some abuses just like what played out between the Agunechemba and the female corps member and we condemned it in its entirety and the operatives are being made to face the law because it is against the operational roles of the outfit and we said no!
They have been under training and retraining, and wherever we find excesses we ensure that the practice is followed to the letter. But you cannot throw away the baby with the bath water and it is not done anywhere. Anambra is safer far; far safer than it was before and that is through the instrumentality of the Homeland security operations. Even if you don’t like Soludo, you must have known that the Agunechemba Security Squad is doing well and making sound contributions in keeping us safer. Go to Awa town and you would see what the Agunechemba Security Squad did recently by taking over the camps of the so-called unknown gunmen. That town is enjoying peace now and that is the product of the Agunechemba Security Squad. Go to the roads and see security operatives working and they stand under the rain and the sun to keep others safe and you think it is easy.
You once described what is happening about insecurity as politically motivated, how do you mean?
Politicians cannot end their speech without finding something to say about the incumbent and what they do during every election is to find something to say and because they have nothing to campaign with, they cash in on one thing to say scrap Agunechemba. Once there is an election, things like this happen and you remember that during the last governorship election there were some local government areas that you cannot visit on a campaign and the gunmen said they do not want you there and it was a campaign tool. Today, the election is by the corner and they have started again and everything is politics to them and none have been able to provide a way out for the issue of insecurity. You don’t play politics with security of lives and property because if you do that, how does it help you? Agunechemba was not there when we were contesting election and when the eight local government areas were taken over by those criminals. Agunechemba was not there when they came for me at my home town to take me out.
They were not there when my colleague, a fellow contestant, was brought out of his car after stopping the convoy and was killed, and today nothing has been heard about his whereabouts. Agunechemba was not there when it happened and these instances preceded my administration. Those kicking against Agunechemba are doing so for transient personal political gains. During that last election they also talked about Agunechemba and they thought that our people can be fooled by that and they keep boasting that they are going to show capacity. This is an election that you know that you cannot win and people have made their choice and it is APGA. All that they want to do is to disrupt the peace that Anambra people are enjoying.
The recent by-elections was a test case, a mock examination or mock election and the hypothesis was tested and the results are there because the people have experienced good governance and you think that you can win? The particular governorship candidate of the APC before now was boasting that the by-election would show that he has capacity. But he could not win his polling unit; he could not win his ward and he could not win his local government. He was boasting that this is his town when he met the Deputy Governor and we ask, did he say that when his area was taken over by those boys and even the governorship candidate that was kidnaped is from his local government and almost his town? We know their game and they simply assemble truck load of thugs and they go to collect election materials and write the results but the people rejected them, and this is something that used to happen in those days, but we are in 2025 and they think that they can continue in this way. It is no more possible this time around and the earlier they realise that the game is up, the better for them.
