Of Anambra 2021 And The Soludo Solution -By Chiechefulam Ikebuiro

“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.” –Douglas MacArthur

I don’t know him, have never met him, and might never meet him, but when you see a true leader your gut just feels it.

True leaders possess passion, brilliance, are engaging, smart, intelligent, and COURAGEOUS! They take responsibility and work for the overall good of the society so the people can achieve full potential.

The Professor Chukwuma Soludo I watched on ARISE TV during the gubernatorial debate for the elections coming up in Anambra this weekend, possesses all if not more of these characteristics.

He stands head and shoulders above the other pretenders and is without a doubt the most qualified.

There is no disputing the fact that he has emerged as one of the leading lights of our nation, what with his feat at the CBN. Of course, the history of Nigeria will not be complete without the bravery of Professor Soludo there.

Anambrarians will do themselves a favour by not passing by this huge opportunity of being governed by one of the brightest minds to come out of not only the state, but the entire nation.

This is a man who has distinguished himself academically as an economics professor and has bagged awards after awards locally and international. This is a man who understands his job description and delivers to the tee. This is a man who did incredibly well as a public officer and rose to become Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria-A tenure whose antecedent is yet to be bested!

This is a man who as chief economic adviser noticed that Nigeria’s banking system could not sustain our private sector led economy, thus the radical change.

Professor Soludo as CBN governor declared a national emergency on the over 80 unstable banks that had depositor’s money trapped and did what needed to be done-revoke licenses of some of the banks. Cut the long story short, within a short period of time, 25 new, stronger banks emerged-some through consolidation-and Nigeria has been better off for it since then. Talk of COURAGE.

Having also gone through his manifesto one will deduce that he has a realistic plan for Anambra and electing him as governor and successor to Obiano is a task Ndi Anambra must fulfil!

Like most of us, Soludo believes oil has become more of a curse to Nigeria, thus the need to create wealth internally or create chaos. He believes, unlike most of the governors we have today, that it’s time to decongest the heavy concentration in Abuja. That it’s time to stop going cap in hand to Abuja every month and drive ‘’ development from the states’’. I particularly like the fact that his primary aim for Anambra is to go away from this norm and target wealth creation for the state such that ‘’Anambra would not need federal account allocations for his basic needs’’.

I love the fact that he sees Anambra generating 100% of her recurrent expenditure after his first 4 years in office. This is a brave call and a courageous one-sort of piece of cake for Soludo, no? Common, didn’t I just talk about the Soludo antecedent?

The economy of any nation grows post-haste when locally made goods are promoted through patronage, first by its government, it’s people then through export.

The buy and sell made in Anambra programme, if strictly enforced, will play the role of game changer. Here, Soludo promises that the government he will lead, if elected, will only patronize made in Anambra products except where it is impossible to produce such or there is no close alternative. For example, all vehicles to be purchased with government resources must be Made in Anambra. This will no doubt encourage ingenuity amongst Anambrarians.

I respect his in-depth analysis and understanding of the problem beleaguering Anambra today-from the threat of erosion threatening it’s 4884 square kilometres of land, flooding, no access to health insurance, unemployment ,per capita income to domestic and diaspora population. He understands the problems (which is the first step to any problem solving) are so complex and can be solved by breaking them (including the solutions to the problems) into specific components as can be seen in his manifesto

Professor Soludo has kept his plan simple and has summarized them into;

Economic transformation i.e. prioritizing job creation, security, Agro processing and subsidized farming, redefine youth empowerment through digital skill development, exploring renewable energy sources, leveraging the enterprising spirit of the average Anambrarian to create a more industrialized economy enabled by relevant infrastructure. There is also the zero tolerance for waste and poor quality in infrastructural delivery.

Social Agenda i.e. Provide affordable basic education, provide access to quality and affordable healthcare by investing in both personnel and equipment while also focusing on primary health facilities, youth and women inclusiveness and empowerment.

Governance and rule of law i.e. making Anambra one of the best governed states while maintain rule of law and ease of doing business

Environment-Identified as the number one existential threat to Anambra what with the problem of erosion, the Soludo government plans on the opening and clearing of drainages and flood channels to curb flooding of roads and communities .It will also explore creative ways to improve the current waste management system.

Good times are ahead for Ndi Anambra and I reiterate, Anambra must not miss this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Soludo led a revolution at the CBN between 2004-2009. It is time for Anambra to be revolutionized ‘Soludo-ically’!

Chiechefulam Ikebuiro

chiechefulamikebuiro@gmail.com