Anambra guber: Soludo as consensus candidate

It is no longer an issue of whether Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, will win the Anambra state gubernatorial election slated for Saturday, November 8. The question now is: by what margin? Analysts and pundits generally agreed that the re-election of the hard-working governor is a done deal.

The Solution Team of supporters backing Soludo is now looking beyond winning in all the 21 local government areas of the state, that is, 21/21. The team is looking at winning in the 362 wards and possibly stretching victory to the 5720 polling units to make it a national record.

The clear and observable factors that make these milestones achievable are Soludo’s invincible stature; his sterling performance by way of infrastructure and human capital development in just three years without borrowing; and, of course, the quality – or lack thereof – of his opponents, who are generally anonymous.

Governor Soludo stands on solid ground as a first-class, world-renowned economist who has proven his mettle nationally and internationally before scaling additional heights in his governorship of his beloved Anambra State. Nigerians from all over the states are forever grateful to him for saving the Nigerian economy from collapse when he undertook the revolutionary recapitalisation of Nigerian banks as the Central Bank governor, which earned him the title of Central Bank governor of the year on the global stage back to back. He has carried his Midas’ touch to light up the state celebrated as the Light of the Nation.

None of his opponents in the gubernatorial contest has any clout to crow about. As a group, they rank as what Igbo people will tag as “achikota ekwe onu”, which translates to “ill-assorted goods gathered together for bargain pricing”. The mismatch is so glaring. For instance, in a boxing bout, a heavyweight champion can never ever be matched up with a no-hoper flyweight wannabe.

It is remarkable that Soludo has taken the enviable course of not bandying words with the overmatched contestants who are desperately trying to catch his attention with wanton noisemaking. Mr Governor only has his eyes on the ball. He is still bent on doing his work, which speaks volumes as a campaign strategy.

Just the other day, he awarded the contract for the construction of the Ekwulobia-Nnobi dual carriageway, which completes the beltway linking the entirety of Anambra State with interconnecting ring roads, particularly the four major cities in Anambra State.

Detailing all the infrastructural feats of Soludo in a three-year span would amount to overkill. It just suffices to stress that Anambra state has never had it so good, given his breaking the jinx with the successful construction of the ultra-modern government house and lodge, now known as Light House, Awka; the grand delivery of the epochal Solution Fun-City; the unprecedented transformation of Awka as a capital city; the swooning revitalisation of the sum of Okpoko as a now coveted New Heaven and signature of urban regeneration, etc.

As our people say, a good market sells itself. No canvasser needs to lie or propagandise to sell Soludo. There have been endorsements galore from the high and mighty and the poor and lowly for the working Governor Soludo, who has been bestowed with the title of “Oluatuegwu”, to wit, “one who is unafraid to take on any project”. Even the stalwarts of the supposedly opposing parties are singing Soludo’s praises.

As I write now, more endorsements are waiting in the wings, including non-indigenes living in Anambra state. The avalanche of endorsements has all but killed the spirits of the other aspirants who had thrown in their towels. Anambra north stakeholders have also endorsed Soludo at a mega rally. Anambra Central will do the same on the 26th of July, and Anambra south immediately after.

Truth be told, Soludo stands tall as the consensus candidate of all Ndi Anambra. His inclusive governance has brought the three senatorial zones together alongside the 179 towns and communities.

Can any of the contestants angling for Soludo’s seat, for instance, travel to the riverine Olumbanasaa in Anambra West local government, where Soludo has been the only Anambra state governor to visit? It was on Saturday, November 25, 2023, that history was made when Governor Soludo visited Olumbanasaa, hitherto categorised as one of the unreachable areas of the state.

Soludo demonstrated uncommon courage and unprecedented hands-on leadership that his ill-assorted challengers cannot match. He clearly showed through this rare venture that he is the governor of everybody and not just those whose locations can be conveniently accessed through well-paved roads. He proved to the world that he is indeed the herald of the voiceless and MIME type and the standard-bearer of a forgotten people. It is obvious that the current contenders challenging Soludo for the governorship seat can never forego their comfort zones to make the obviously dangerous journey into remote places like Olumbanasaa.

The journey to Olumbanasaa for Professor Soludo was an emotional one as he wrote in his personal account: “…my heart brims with emotions so profound they transcend the scope of language.”

Let’s do a quick recall that Mr. Governor made the voyage to Olumbanasaa from atop the treacherous River Niger. The journey started at the Marine Jetty, Onitsha, and lasted for over one hour on the Nigerian Navy speedboats. The Governor’s boat finally moored at Igbedon waterside to meet large numbers of ecstatic locals who thronged the place to catch a glimpse of the Governor. He was quite at home with the people as he was being driven in a keke tricycle and an Okada motorcycle by the locals.

As re-election is almost guaranteed for Soludo, his next big steps when he returns in his second term will include his power project, Awka 2.0, Onitsha 2.0, railways, Marriott Hotel, etc.

Indeed, the solid foundation for turning Anambra into a destination of choice has been laid by Soludo, and the actual building has started. With Soludo in the saddle, Anambra ‘hasn’t seen anything yet’, as the Americans would say.

Law Mefor, PhD, is the Anambra state commissioner for information