By Don Peter Okoro
Now that the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Candidate for the Anambra State Governorship election, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo has been declared the Winner of the election that took place on the 6th of November 2021 with supplementary election on the 9th of November 2021 at Ihiala LGA, it is expected that all should be calm and every candidate and aspirant accept the outcome in good faith and begin to plan on how to move the State forward.
What we want to look at here is how Soludo is going to run the State? Will he tow the path of his predecessor and consolidate on his achievements or is he going to take a different turn and follow an untested and uncharted path? Will he hit the ground running or will he first of all, sort out his political adversaries and become vindictive? Will he assemble his Cabinet as soon as he is sworn in or will he dilly-dally? So many questions waiting for answers. As one who has always boasted that he is not coming to learn on the job, given his wide experience and intellectual acumen, it is hoped that he will live up to expectations. For us to have an idea of what we hope to get from his regime, we must find out what he promised his people.
During the period of the campaign, Soludo came up with a Document which he tagged: “My Contract with Ndi Anambra” in which he promised to offer himself as a vehicle for selfless, servant leadership to the people of Anambra State in the search to build a liveable and prosperous smart mega state. In his words:”It is a vision of a homeland that is the preferred destination in which to live, invest, learn, work,relax and enjoy. It is an Anambra that aspires to be the best in every possible way, not only in Nigeria or Africa, but in the world.”.
During the campaign, Prof Soludo stated that his primary target if voted in as Governor, would be in the area of Wealth Creation. He promised he would create jobs, jobs and more jobs. He promised at least 130,000 Private Sector jobs per annum for the youth and 1,000 Youth Millionaires per annum. But there are those who believe that these are mere political rhetorics as Prof. Soludo. Despite holding very high positions, it is not on record anywhere that he has ever lifted a Youth from poverty. Not even from his village.
In fact, the day he gathered the youth of his village for a Town Hall meeting during his campaign, there was a pandemonium which left three of his Police Orderlies dead. It was a very tragic event. A more youth friendly politician would have gotten wind of such impending danger.But we move! We expect Soludo to look at the possibility of building an Industrial Hub in Anambra State which will attract Visitors to the State just as he has promised.
Prof. Soludo hopes that upon being elected as Governor, he would embark on Digital Skills Acquisition and Empowerment Programs that will train and support up to 10,000 youths annually so they can work across board from the comfort of their homes. He also promised to establish a Business Incubator Hub and make available #50 Billion Venture Capital Fund to incubate new Businesses or provide additional growth capital for already existing ones.. He even promised Free Wi Fi Hotspot in public places for Internet Users, so that the people of Anambra can quickly and easily enter the Information Superhighway. Can we take a bet that he will live up to his promises?
In terms of Agriculture, he has promised to support cluster farming operations across the three Zones and empower both women and youth to take Agriculture more seriously.
As Showbiz/ Entertainment Buffs that we are, the area that tickles our fancy is what Soludo has promised to do in the Entertainment Industry. Hear him: “Our goal is to develop Africa’s largest safe and entertainment leisure resort. The African equivalent of Disney World. We envision a 1,000 to_ 2,000 hectares World that will showcase a blend of rich Anambra- Nigeria- African – International Culture, Entertainment and Leisure. This will metamorphose into the dream Anambra/ Dubai Leisure, where people can come from all over the world with their families for holidays”. Soludo as an elected Governor, promised not to steal Government money or waste resources, but to make sure that every Kobo of Anambra money is devoted to working for Anambra people.
It is hoped that he will develop the solid mineral resources of the State which has a large deposit of bauxite, ceramic, kaoline, clay, bentoline, white sharp sand etc through which jobs can be created and the State and Federal Governments made to earn revenue.
Another vital area Soludo must focus on is in the area of revenue generation. Soludo being an Economist and Financial Manager may likely think out of the box and tinker with the economy of Anambra State in ways never seen before. In order to ginger the Anambra economy and generate more funds,we may see Soludo cause a lot of controversies and tension in his Economic Policies. He is likely to increase taxes and embark on aggressive Internal Revenue Drive to supplement the revenue from the Federation Account. With the money generated from all these quarters,it is expected that Soludo will be able to make judicious and prudential use of it to beef up and upgrade the Health Sector, Education Sector, Transportation Sector, Housing Sector and Sports Sector, and of course strengthen the Security Architecture. Not forgetting the newly commissioned Anambra State Passengers/ Cargo Airport.
Given his depth of knowledge and breadth of contacts, we expect Prof. Charles Soludo to disappoint the naysayers and excel on this job.
Born on the 28th of July 1960 to late Mrs. Mgbafor Soludo and Nze Nwankwo Simeon Soludo of Umueze Village, Isuofia, Aguata LGA of Anambra State, he obtained his WASC with Distinction in 1980 from Uga Boys Secondary School. He proceeded to the University of Nigeria Nsukka where he made a First Class Degree in Economics, went for his Masters and Doctorate in the same field of Economics and became a Lecturer.
By 1998, he was already a Professor, though he actually met all the requirements by 1994 at the age of 34 years. He has held many positions both in the Academic and Corporate worlds, within and outside the country.
The one that brought him to National and Global limelight was when he was appointed as the Chief Economic Adviser to President Obasanjo (July 2003—May 2004) and eventually as the Governor/ Chairman of the Board of the Central Bank of Nigeria (31st May 2004—–1st June 2009) during which time he embarked on bold Policy Reforms which culminated in the merging of Banks and minting of Nigerian Currency at home instead of overseas.
Prof. Soludo even though is not a member of the President’s Party is a Member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and Chairman of the Anambra Vision 2070 a 50 Year Development Plan.
Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo is happily married to Nonye Queen Frances Soludo and they are blessed with children. Again the question: How is Soludo going to run Anambra State? Will he run the State very well or will he run it aground? Time will tell.
Discussion about this post