By Law Mefor
A major highlight of the Delta State Economic and Investment
Summit in Asaba was the description of Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo as the
man who moves against the wind by Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima.
This is indeed the truest definition of exceptional and transformational
leadership — the kind of leader who is willing to break with convention in a
positive pursuit of societal development. It is in Soludo's DNA to lead the way
so that the people can follow his lead towards progressive ends. His defining
quality is disruptive change, which entails moving against the wind in the
pursuit of societal development.
It is crucial to recall that Soludo’s first assignment on
the day he was sworn in as Anambra State Governor was to go boldly into the
then woebegone slum of Okpoko in Ogbaru Local Government Area and eventually
turn the place into what is now called “New Heaven”. Soludo came to governance
well-prepared with his People’s Manifesto, alongside the report of the
80-member Transition Committee he instituted and the document of the Anambra-2070
Committee he headed.
Governor Soludo said in his inaugural speech: “I know the
lean financial base of the state. I know the limitations imposed upon a
sub-national state such as Anambra by the peculiar structure of our federation.
But here’s my promise: I will give it my all. I will work very hard every day,
with you, to make Anambra proud. Every kobo of your tax money will be deployed
to provide you maximum value.”
According to Soludo, he banks on “the plans, values,
passion, and accomplishments of some of Africa’s liberation-cum-independence
leaders such as Julius Nyerere, Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, Patrice Lumumba,
Nnamdi Azikiwe, etc.” That philosophy helps explain his willingness to
challenge established ways of doing things, even when doing so comes with
considerable political or personal risk.
In moving against the wind, Soludo has courageously waged a
war against rentier politics and politicians. Soludo rejects the so-called
“stomach infrastructure” politics and will not eat the dividends of democracy.
He sees politics as service rather than a job and preaches the old-school view
that honesty is the best policy.
Soludo remains unafraid to jump into terrains where even
daredevils fear to tread. It is fresh in the memory how he dared all dangers as
Nigeria’s central bank governor, as he reveals: “At a personal level,
undertaking the banking revolution in Nigeria came with 19 written threats to
me and my family, including physical attacks.”
The words of Soludo in his insightful essay entitled “The
Purpose and Price of Disruptive Change” ring true: “Disrupting the existing
social order is dangerous. Beneficiaries of the current order are powerful
enough to organise and fight back viciously to protect their privileges. On the
contrary, the masses who are the ultimate beneficiaries do not organise themselves
enough to act as a bulwark against the special interests.”
He further argues that politicians, because of short
electoral cycles, are often afraid to undertake the disruptive changes
necessary to guarantee long-term safety and prosperity for all. Yet, he warns,
existing trends are completely unsustainable and the system is running out of
time. “Everyone is sleepwalking to the difficult place and praying that somehow
a miracle will happen along the way,” he wrote.
The kind of disruptive change he has brought to bear on
Anambra State is akin to that wrought in Singapore, as Soludo once wrote: “I
recently re-read Lee Kuan Yew’s book From Third World to First and can’t
stop being inspired. The combination of competence and being driven by a higher
purpose produced such transformational leadership that orchestrated a miracle
in development.”
In one of his last speeches before his death, Lee Kuan Yew
observed that he and his colleagues were prepared that even if they died trying
to make Singapore great, they would have been happy to die for a worthy cause.
For Soludo, this offers a powerful lesson in leadership: meaningful
transformation requires competence, purpose, sacrifice and the courage to
pursue a long-term vision.
In Soludo’s Anambra State, capital expenditure trumps the
recurrent bill by as much as 79 per cent while a thousand roads are being
constructed, with well over 600 already delivered. Free education, free
maternal and antenatal care, massive employment of teachers and medical
personnel, construction of general hospitals, instituting the Solution
Fun-City, etc. are all the rage.
Soludo did not need to come with a prepared speech to
present at the Delta State Economic and Investment Summit in Asaba. He is, as
always, well-prepared and therefore spoke extempore. He saluted the august
gathering with “Greetings from Anambra, the Light of the Nation” and offered
apologies for being 15 minutes late.
In his words, “I was stuck in traffic in Onitsha. Today is
Monday, and experiencing traffic in Onitsha on a Monday can only mean one
thing: the Monday sit-at-home is over.” Ending the Monday sit-at-home issue is
a classic Soludo achievement, and his reference to it provided a simple
illustration of the disruptive approach he has brought to governance.
Soludo highlighted Anambra’s solidarity with “my prosperous
neighbour, Delta State” and stressed that, from a macroeconomic standpoint,
Nigeria has stabilised and is on the rise. He revealed that since becoming
governor, he had not borrowed a single dime. Soludo pulled Anambra out of an
ongoing World Bank loan, the NG-CARES programme, thus making Anambra the only
state to do so.
In conclusion, the Solution Governor stated: “Previously, we
faced a double jeopardy: we are a capital-scarce economy that, before 2023, suffered
massive capital flight. Today, that trend has reversed. Net foreign exchange
reserves now stand at a little over $40 billion, with gross reserves reaching
about $52 billion – a dramatic rise from $3 billion in 2023. The exchange rate
has become far more stable and predictable. Consequently, Delta, the broader
Nigerian economy, and sub-nationals are well-positioned to attract foreign
capital, including from across Africa, within a much more conducive
macroeconomic environment.”
“Secondly, we must work together. Delta is one of the 36
states of the federation, and while it is commendable for Delta to try on its
own, true progress requires collaboration. Delta and Anambra are like twin
cities, much like New York and New Jersey. We are actively building an economic
free-trade zone powered by an Aerotropolis, and we must continue to synergise…
Let us keep things simple and make investments a habit rather than a one-off
event. We need a national consolidated Marshall Plan that translates these
macroeconomic gains into tangible improvements, such as job creation and
poverty reduction. We cannot create the jobs we desire if we continue to
patronise foreign and imported goods.”
Soludo added that he was wearing Akwete fabric introduced to
him by his daughter in 2019 and that it had since become his daily uniform. He
said the choice had helped boost the employment and income of women weavers in
Akwete, while noting a reported ₦2 billion donation by the First Lady to
the community to scale up production. “If we all commit to wearing only
Made-in-Nigeria goods, we will create more than ten million jobs.” Only the
leader armed with the solutions can afford to move against it. Anambra and the
nation have paid heed.
Law Mefor, PhD, is Anambra State Commissioner for Information
& Value Reformation.
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