Mountain of expectations, challenges await Soludo

Anambra State Governor-elect Chukwuma Soludo, who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), will assume office in March, next year when the second term of Governor Willie Obiano will expire. The expectations of the people are high. He also has a plethora of challenges to surmount. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI captures the expectations, the challenges and what the governor-elect can do to get the job done

Though only 253,000 or 10.27 per cent of the 2.4 million registered voters turned out to cast their ballot during the recent governorship election in Anambra State, the governor-elect, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has a mountain of expectations to fulfil, considering his antecedents and the goodwill he enjoys even beyond the state.

The expectations of the people are very high and the governor-elect must not to disappoint them. As a governor, the renowned economist and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would now have the opportunity to translate his dreams into reality.

He has contested the Anambra governorship before in 2010 and must have a ready blueprint to transform the state. Many of his opponents have congratulated him, so he would be able to concentrate on getting the job done once he is sworn into office.

Soludo will not take office until March next year when the second term of Governor Willie Obiano will come to an end. Considering that both of them are members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Soludo can look forward to a smooth transition process.

The three months before his inauguration also affords him time to fine-tune his programmes and policies and plan the appointment of his commissioners and special assistants, so that he can hit the ground running towards fulfilling his campaign promises.

He ran a campaign with the slogan, “Solution”, which appeared to resonate with the people because it encapsulates how he would address the economic and sociopolitical challenges of the state.

The governor-elect has promised to carry everyone along and work for the good of his people. One of the biggest challenges he would face in the early days would be how to stem the tide of insecurity in the state, particularly the insurrection of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and restore peace. An atmosphere of fear currently envelops the state because of the frequent sit-at-home orders of the outlawed IPOB and this hurts the economy.

This was the point President Muhammadu Buhari emphasized in his congratulatory message to the governor-elect after he was declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

President Buhari urged him to rally other stakeholders to tackle the security challenges facing the Southeast geo-political zone.

A statement by the president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina reads:

“The president praises the security agencies for their determination to ensure that the election went on as smoothly as possible, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the successful conclusion of the exercise despite the initial challenges encountered. President Buhari enjoins Prof. Soludo, a member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Committee, to rally other stakeholders to tackle the enormous challenges confronting the state and the Southeast in general. The president looks forward to working with the incoming governor for the peace, security and development of not only Anambra State but the entire country.”

Although Anambra State has always experienced voter apathy in previous elections, the IPOB threat of disrupting the election was responsible for the 10 per cent turnout in the November 6 poll.

The sit-at-home order by IPOB has hampered economic and social activities in the entire Southeast and people had remained skeptical before the election, even after the outlawed separatist group announced a withdrawal of the order in Anambra two days to the election.

Therefore, it will require diplomacy and firmness on the part of the incoming administration to ensure the withdrawal of the order is not just temporary. Soludo has promised to call the separatists for negotiations but it remains to be seen how the belligerents among them would look at the wave of an olive branch.

Anambra State has the second smallest landmass in Nigeria after Lagos, but it is richly endowed with human capital.

Anambra people are known for industry and innovation. Despite the harsh business climate in the country, which discourages productive ventures, the Nnewi axis of the state has continued to position the state as the creative hub of the nation.

At a time when many auto assembly plants have left the country due to the harsh economic realities, the Innoson Group, for instance, continues to wax stronger.

Thus, Anambra people are business-oriented and so require the support of the government by way of providing an enabling environment to make their businesses grow. As an economist, Soludo should be able to take advantage of this factor in policies and programmes.

Anambra-based lawyer and politician, Afam Ilunno wants the incoming governor to do everything possible to take Anambra away from looking forward to receiving an allocation from the Federation Account every month. He told our reporter over the phone: “He should harness the capacity, both human and material resources of the state to provide the necessary things to move the state’s economic engine forward.

What do I mean by that?

Since Anambra is an oil-producing state, he should build a refinery in the state. Energy; is what Anambra needs. Anambra does not need a refinery with a fifty billion barrels production capacity; what it needs is a modular refinery with a capacity of producing 20,000 barrels per day.

“We also need a gas plant as an alternative energy supply and we also need a power plant. If he can achieve these three things, the state does not need to rely on allocation from the Federation Account. So, that is what Soludo should be working on. These should constitute the engine room; any other thing he does would revolve around these three things.

” Any other thing he does would just be like what other leaders have been doing that has made Nigeria’s economy not work. Anambra needs the engine room of productivity to start working. We have Nnewi, we have Onitsha and we have the human and material capacity to be the leading state in this country.”

Ilunno describes what other governors have been doing as putting the cart before the horse. He said he does not expect the incoming governor to continue building roads without factoring in how such roads would be maintained. He said:

“Even if Anambra goes ahead to build certain infrastructure without having the sustainability to maintain it, the economy will not thrive. For instance, the governors that were there before Obiano built some roads, but now the roads have collapsed because their maintenance cannot be sustained due to the pressure and demand on the state’s resources. That is why I say what he needs to do is to concentrate on those things that will generate the money to sustain development.

“If Anambra under Soludo achieves the above three things, which are more or less like catalysts, providing infrastructure would be a walk in the park because the money would be there to provide it. When these happen, Anambra would start making budgets in trillions, like Lagos State, because investors would flock to the state. All these things can be done without utilizing money from the Federation account because Anambra has people that have the money to put the things on the ground; all they need is just government backing. We have industrialists that would develop the oil and develop the gas resources. We can make Anambra the industrial base of Nigeria.

“We have been running round in circles in Nigeria since 1970. We have oil and we have gas in Nigeria that we have been flaring since 1958, but all the industries that have been collapsing in the country have been due to the high cost of energy.”

The founding national chairman of the APGA, Chief Chekwas Okorie, told The Nation that expectations are quite high, not only among the people of Anambra, but Nigerians in general because of his antecedents. He said:

“With his background, expectations are that the resources of Anambra State will be better managed and utilised for development. Besides, he also marshalled out a very lofty agenda during the campaigns and many people are going to look out for the implementation of the various items in the manifesto; they are very well outlined and people are forward to them.

“Thirdly, Anambra State has not been very well managed in the area of infrastructure. All the gains made during the tenure of former Governor Chris Ngige and former Governor Peter Obi seem to have been lost under the outgoing Governor Obiano. I do not know what his reasons or excuses are, but the infrastructural decay in Anambra State at the moment is very disappointing. So, Soludo must tackle the infrastructure challenge with all energy he can muster. Anambra State does not have a huge landmass like states in the North. Thus, the state can be described as one large market; you will not realize that you are leaving one community to the other because most of the communities are contiguous.

“That is why a network of road infrastructure is very much needed to drive development. Good roads can encourage civil servants to build houses in their communities and commute to work in Awka, the state capital, and return home in good time. The farthest part of the state is just about one hour drive to Awka. So, revamping the road infrastructure is a priority for him. We saw what the governor of Ebonyi did with a minimal influx of revenue from the centre; he has transformed Abakaliki, the state capital, into a modern city.”

Okorie, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State, said given the state of the APGA, the political party that Soludo used to win the election, there is also the expectation that he would transform the political platform into the national party it was envisioned it to be at the outset. He said:

“When we founded the APGA, we did not envision it to be an Igbo party that it is being labelled today; it was intended to be a national political party that was based on Igbo initiative. That was the focus and we started well before the locust arrived. So, Soludo has the responsibility to tame the locust, so that the party can realise its full potential.”

Soludo promised to build on the foundation laid by Obiano for consolidation and continuity. But, Okorie said considering the standard set by Ngige and Obi, the achievement of Obiano is far below expectation. He added:

“So, one would expect the incoming governor not to use Governor Obiano’s template as a yardstick to set goals for himself; he should look back and try to do better than those achievers who were there before the outgoing governor.”

From the comments that trailed his declaration as governor-elect by INEC, many residents voted for Soludo to keep out both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) from the control of Anambra. Many of them said they see the APGA as their party, despite Obiano’s alleged poor performance and that they would prefer the party continues to run Anambra, the only state under its control. One of such commentators said:

“Professor Soludo, the expectation of Anambra people from you goes beyond the moon. We want a new Anambra, simple. We want our own Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Lekki, Asokoro, Maitama etc. We want our malls like Dubai Malls and the likes. Make Onitsha a real business hub. We want durable, expanded and dualized roads. We want flyovers where necessary.

” We want security and electricity, quality educational facilities, healthcare etc. We want you to give us first-class bus terminals and taxi ranks. We want a first-class state. I believe you can do it. Congratulations!”

Soludo’s foray into public service started as Chief Economic Adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Chief Executive Officer of the National Planning Commission of Nigeria in 2003.

His delivery in this role was commendable, and by the next year, he was appointed Governor and Chairman of the board of directors of the CBN. (The Nation)