It is well-nigh impossible keeping pace with the man who stressed from the very beginning that he was coming with “disruptive change”. Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, came as a leader in a hurry. The ink was yet to dry up upon his swearing-in as Anambra State Governor when he set off to the Okpoko suburb of Onitsha, arguably the worst slum on surface earth. Okpoko qualifies as the perfect example of Dante’s Inferno: “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here!”
Soludo went into Okpoko with uncommon hope and set to work. The place has since received a new lease of life with paved roads, covered gutters, street lights – and a hospital to boot!
It’s as though Soludo sees the word “impossible” only as a stepping-stone. In this regard, history was made on Saturday, November 25, 2023 when Soludo achieved the feat of becoming the first sitting Governor of Anambra State to visit Olumbanasaa in Anambra West Local Government Area, a place hitherto categorized as one of the unreachable areas of the State. Soludo demonstrated singular courage in a journey that was for him an emotional one, as he wrote in his personal account thus: “…my heart brims with emotions so profound they transcend the scope of language.”
Olumbanasaa can only be accessed by travelling atop water. Soludo’s voyage on the River Niger started at the Marine Jetty in Onitsha and lasted for over one hour on the Nigeria Navy speedboats. The boats finally moored at Igbedor waterside to meet large numbers of ecstatic locals who thronged the place to catch a glimpse of the Governor. Aside from motorcycle (okada) and tricycles (keke), there are no other means of transportation in Olumbanasaa, except on foot and boat. After a brief address at the river’s shore, the Governor and his entourage boarded the kekes and okadas to head for one of the main aims of his visit which was to mediate in the fratricidal conflict between Allah-Onugwa and Odekpe communities the outcome of which was fruitful. Governor Soludo committed his government to establishing a Primary Health Centre powered by solar energy, illuminating Olumbanasaa with solar lights, providing boreholes, and revamping the educational institutions. The once-in-a-lifetime appearance of the majestic hippopotamus masquerade climaxed the dance and joy of the people of Olumbanasaa.
It needs stressing that before Governor Soludo came into office, criminals had all but taken almost complete control of eight local governments in Anambra State, namely: Aguata, Ihiala, Ekwusigo, Nnewi North, Nnewi South, Ogbaru, Orumba North and Orumba South.
The criminals had built idolatrous camps from where they operated. The camps had the full complement of shrines where people were sworn to a conspiracy of silence. The situation was dire and demanded an uncommon solution. Soludo’s security set-up smashed the camps and the criminals.
The war on insecurity exposed the fact that the so-called unknown gunmen were not spirits but people known in their communities and neighbourhoods. In a creative approach to deal with the intractable problem Governor Soludo created special telephone numbers for Ndi-Anambra to call the authorities to divulge information on the criminals.
Mr. Governor pointedly stated: “If you see something, say something!” And informants’ information got treated with utmost secrecy.
With the establishment of workable security, Governor Soludo got into good stead to set up the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) that conducted the successful recent local government elections. Grassroots development of Anambra State can now go in tandem alongside Soludo’s drive.
Anambra State has definitely travelled a long time from during Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju’s dispensation when schools and workers were in limbo for a whole year to the present-day of Governor Soludo that there are guaranteed monthly salary payments and free education in primary, junior secondary and senior secondary schools. Nearly ten thousand teachers have thus far been recruited by Soludo, and bountiful incentives are assured.
The Anambra State Government has made bold to start paying the new minimum wage of N70,000 from this month of October.
There was the earlier mention of Soludo uplifting the Okpoko slum with a hospital, but let’s add that the three General Hospitals he met on ground in the State have been upgraded and re-equipped. Some five new hospitals have been built and well over one thousand healthcare professionals such as consultants, doctors, pharmacists, nurses, technicians and medical laboratory scientists have been recruited. Mr Governor has guaranteed free antenatal and delivery services all over Anambra State.
Soludo has written his name large in the history of Anambra State by being the Governor to break the jinx of constructing a Governor’s Lodge and Government House. The edifices are marvels to behold in an expansive and well-structured terrain.
In the sphere of roads and bridges, Anambra State throbs like a vast construction site. In the capital city of Awka, a flyover is under construction to connect the Ifite section of the town via Arroma junction with the main town.
A strategic landmark objective of Governor Soludo’s tour of duty in Anambra State is the construction of the ultra-modern flyover with bus terminus in the fast-growing Ekwulobia urban city in Aguata Local Government Area.
The grand appeal is that a boulevard is concomitantly being constructed from Amawbia, past the Ekwulobia flyover, to the Anambra State junction at Akokwa in Imo State. It’s a breath-taker!
I was in a discussion the other day with a potentate of the opposition PDP who insisted he would vote for Soludo of APGA for a second term because of his many dimensional works.
It is indeed quite difficult to keep pace as a reporter with Soludo’s many dimensions such as the construction of a fun-city, the institution of regenerative farm-to-feed agriculture, the Think-Home projects, the One-Youth-Two-Skills programme, the Clean and Green environment etc.
Let’s end with the words of Anambra’s new Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor: “Governor Soludo has a very rich blueprint to transform Anambra State.”
