Soludo's One Year in Office: the talk and the walk

March 17, 2022, exactly one year, the event held which saw Professor Chukwuma Soludo was sworn into office amidst the theatrics of Bianca's slap and the much ado about serving Okpa and Palmwine from Ogbu to his guests at the event. That fisticuff seems to have jinxed the atmosphere that surrounded Soludo's first year in office as it has been a case of one week, one outrage.

The Talk

Soludo made a social contract with the people of Anambra State, which social contract had all the ingredients that would put Anambra State on the path to first world status. In his manifesto, Soludo presented a cost for his plan and a realistic argument on how he intended to achieve his plan. He estimated government’s direct investment in this plan to be within the neighbourhood of 200 – 250 billion naira per annuum. Comparing this estimate with Anambra’s proposed N141.9 billion budget for 2022, it was clear that the incoming APGA government needed innovative means to shore up revenue. Apart from making revenue collection more efficient and ICT driven, Soludo proposed other sources of fund for projects – i.e. from Private Pubic Partnership (PPP) models and from Development Finance Institutions (DFI).
Soludo proposed the creation of Anambra State Development Fund (ANSDF) – a $200 million fund that would be scaled to $1 billion in order to catalyse bankable infrastructure projects with high growth and economic return potentials. Soludo also planned to deploy alternative models and technology – in collaboration with the private sector – in order to build roads. Soludo proposed a public – private sector led collaboration in order to ensure that gas pipelines are extended to Anambra State. Obviously, the large array of manufacturing plants in Onitsha and Nnewi could be ready off takers of gas and they can be used to make the business case for this investment in Anambra.

For people willing to invest in Anambra State, Soludo said he would be their chief marketing officer. He promised to create the enabling environment for businesses ready to come to Anambra. His manifest plan was to attract 2,000 small, medium and large industries to the various industrial parks/clustors it intended to set-up.

Apart from creating jobs for young people, Soludo proposed the idea of creating thousands of millionaire entrepreneurs. He planned to establish a business incubation hub and a 5-billion-naira Venture Capital Fund to incubate and provide additional growth capital for the most promising start-ups and ventures, either by way of grants or direct investments, in Anambra. The remodelling of the Igbo apprentice system – which has been extensively studied by scholars at Harvard University – presented another avenue for making millionaires and creating jobs, according his plan.

His plan did not leave out the large number of traders in Anambra, who needed to be integrated into the global world of business and e-commerce. Soludo’s government promised to partner with reputable business schools to develop and help these traders to up their game.

On agriculture, he promised to revalitise palm oil production in Anambra. (Today palm oil as a commodity is traded at an average price of $752 per ton). The plan proposed the distribution of millions of high-yielding palm seedlings to farmers. With this, farmers would be able to escape poverty and supply the raw materials required by agro-processing industries in Nigeria.

The plan seemed to want to domesticate federal government’s Executive Order 5 by encouraging the ‘’Buy Anambra’’ and ‘’Made in Anambra’’ project. Public procurement will give priority to goods and services produced in Anambra and seek tax-free/export free zone status for the designated industrial clusters within Anambra State. Obviously, this would effectively increase the dollar earning capacity of businesses within Anambra. It was believed that Anambra’s new cargo airport and conference centre would be enablers for this development.

Soludo also proposed novel ideas for the civil service, solid minerals, petroleum, education, women empowerment, health, tourism and the entertainment industry in his State. He swore to make Anambra state the one-stop destination for investment, tourism, leisure and studying in Nigeria.

On the issue of security, apart from other soft proposals required to engage all stakeholders in the state, Soludo highlighted a very important aspect many commentators had missed out in debates bordering on security. Soludo intended to amend and implement Anambra State’s Security Trust Fund Law, 2010 and amendment Law, 2018 in order to mobilize and deploy funds towards the procurement of necessary equipment and training of personnel involved in providing security in the State.

There was also the promise to conduct Local Government elections within his first year in office. In his braggadacious manner that has since made him more enemies than friends, he said about his manifesto; "This manifesto is one that envisions Anambra as a five-star destination to live, work and relax in. We want Anambra to be livable. My manifesto with ndi Anambra is my contract with them.

“I’m not going to learn on the job. I will hit the ground running. We will build a land where no child born here will go out to look for a better future in Lagos or Abuja.

“After this speech, my manifesto will be shared and uploaded online, and this is my contract with you. I have looked at the people contesting, and with every sense of humility, I don’t think they can match me." Well, the website where the manifesto was uploaded, www.the so ludo solution.info has since gone moribund and what we have on the public domain of the manifesto are the records kept by various media houses.

The Walk

The issue of security was the first that tried Soludo's administration on assuming office. There seemed to be an increased spate of kidnap cases, albeit that of high profile individuals. It was said that the governor lost his grip of the situation after he made one of his many unguarded statments which certain militant groups of the IPOB saw as a direct insult on them. Anambra State became a dread to live in. People were getting kidnapped almost on a daily and it got so bad that the member representing Aguata (Soludo's LGA) at the State House of Assembly became victim. It was said that Soludo handled the negotiation process poorly and all that was found of Hon. Okechukwu Okoye were his decapitated head in one location and his dismembered trunk on another. Many more heads rolled before, with the increased allocation to local vigilante service and introduction of private security outfits as well as the recent radical implementation of the cashless policy by Buhari Government, the crime wave waned.

Another area that also got the good Prof stuttering was his promise to digitalise revenue collection in the state and end the reign of 'agbero', the thugs that had hitherto been giving nightmares to road users in the state. Well, after several months of trying without success to digitalize revenue collection, the governor re engaged those revenue contractors he had sacked. He had to resort to the same old system of revenue collection and it took him another series of protests and bloodletting on the part of Keke Napep operators and Shuttle bus operators before things came back to relative normalcy. No explanation has been given for the return to analogue after digital revenue collection system was promised.

One year after, Soludo's government is yet to conduct Local Government elections but still took the path of transition committee system which keeps local government administrators as stooges to the state government much to the chagrin of right thinking politically conscious Anambra people.

Yes, there was employment of thousands of teachers. The process was fraught with many controversies. The streetlights, which were previously powered by electricity generating sets which sapped lump sums to fuel and maintain, are being changed to a more pocket friendly solar powered streetlights. The flyovers at the state capital also got a facelift with the pictures of past governors and political leaders painted all over them. Several roads have been commissioned for construction. Work is ongoing on several of them. The standard of the roads still leave much to be desired as they are still a far cry from the Dubai Taiwan standard we were promised. However, Soludo's government is still adamant that the contractors have given 10 years guarantee on the roads. Time shall tell.

A show was also made of waste management in the state. Okpoko slums were attacked head on with the deputy governor seemingly making it his prerogative. However, after many months of outcries from Anambra people at the high rate of wastes getting dumped on the major roads and streets, causing serious eye sores, the state government decided to call for private partnership to curb the menace.

This first year of Professor Soludo in office has left Ndi ANAMBRA with mixed feelings. The loquaciousness of the governor and undiplomatic statements he has continued to make without restraint has worsened his popularity amongst the electorate. Though he did not fall out with his predecessor like his predecessor fell out with his, Soludo has not helped matters in the way he handles political matters and this is why the APGA, which had hitherto been the party to beat in the state, is now gasping for breath as the YPP and Labour Party of the Obidient Movement chokes it from all sides. There is no evidence that Soludo is not learning on the job, contrary to his boast before assuming office. One will only hope he will use the remaining three years he has in this tenure to redeem his image before Ndi Anambra and avert the impending one tenure plan many Anambra voters have for him.

By O'star Eze
@ostareze

SOLUDO one year in office has achieved more in good governance than peter OBI 8 years as governor. NGIGE and OBIANO all did very as governor of Anambra state