In a matter of days, the Governor of Anambra State, Professor Charles Soludo, would be sworn in for his second term in office. There is an ongoing conversation about what is to be expected in Soludo’s second term, especially given the trajectory of his first term. However, the first duty of policy advisors, analysts, and commentators in this regard is to properly distill and situate Governor Soludo’s first term in office around his key idea of a livable and prosperous homeland. The philosophical underpinning or foundation upon which his vision rests speaks to everything else. There can be good roads in an unlivable homeland. But with law and order, nothing else can be utopian, including a livable and prosperous homeland. Yet, most people often focus on physical infrastructure like road projects and other hard infrastructures, which Soludo has delivered more than any governor before him. But to limit Soludo to infrastructure would be too ordinary and lacking in depth. Anyone can build things, but not many can build the spirit behind those things. Therefore, to be able to predict what lies ahead of the next four years, one must unravel the base that informs and carries the weight of blocks, cement, bitumen, and concrete that are easily seen.
People have defined Soludo’s first four years on the basis of infrastructure expansion. To put this in perspective, Soludo completed the Anambra State Government House and Governor’s Lodge, abandoned for over two decades. He commenced and completed the Solution Funcity in Awka. Under his watch, Anambra has a vast road network across the state, with many significantly strategic road projects. With these, the first impression by observers might be that Soludo is an infrastructure giant in Anambra State, and to that extent, his first term is defined by bold infrastructure. There is no exaggeration about this because it is the first time in Anambra’s history that significant infrastructures have been completed within a governor’s first term in office. Therefore, Soludo’s mark in infrastructure is easily seen as his major achievement in his first four years.
However, the biggest legacy of Soludo’s first term in office is the restoration of the Anambra State Government as the single and undisputed administrator of the people and resources of Anambra, under the Nigerian Federation. Simply put, Soludo restored order in Anambra State, and this is his best achievement. As an economic powerhouse with massive commercial and business activities across the state, Anambra’s proclivity to lawlessness has always been remarkably high. Disorder was normal. This is why perennial separatist agitation always thrives in Anambra State. No matter the state of origin of its leaders, it ends up as an Anambra headache. This time around, Biafra agitation under the aegis of IPOB, just like in the past, blended seamlessly, mixing with a long history of violent crime and criminality, thereby exacerbating an already bad situation of disorder. The government was weakened as securing obedience and compliance from people became increasingly difficult. People generally just felt that government no longer mattered and that they could, at will, undermine the government to any degree with no consequence. It was under these conditions that okite and ezenwanyi syndrome spiked as people lived without fear of God and government. Criminals took over public spaces as kidnapping and ransom payment became the norm. Anambra therefore dived deeper into oblivion and an overwhelming chaos with no regard for the sanctity of life. The Police and other law enforcement agencies were intimidated to the point that wearing any force uniform in public was considered suicidal. People removed any political or government insignia from their vehicles and did the best they could to deny and disassociate themselves from government and politics.
This chaos was fuelled from within by the ignorance of the masses, who were playing the IPOB script of anarchy, and simply aiding the destruction of the State without knowing. In addition, the outcome of the 2023 Presidential Election and Governor Soludo’s open letter to Peter Obi were used as tools to undermine the state and divert loyalty. Governance was, to put it mildly, an impossible task. Soludo’s infrastructure in plain sight was neither seen nor acknowledged. The government became weakened, and non-state actors assumed higher recognition and issued counter-orders. It was under this condition that the Monday sit-at-home order thrived. Soludo’s initial effort to diplomatically manage the situation by visiting Nnamdi Kanu, offering to take him on bail, and granting amnesty to “people in the bush,” did not matter to the IPOB agitators whose agenda was to destabilize a properly constituted government and become the very government administering the people. Soon after, Soludo began to face that difficult situation.
At some point, the Anambra State Homeland Security Law 2025 came into the picture to address the chaos fundamentally, as it has significantly derailed the people and threatened the fabric of modern society in Anambra State. Today in Anambra State, the full credence of the government’s influence is back. Government backs its orders with sustained action, putting the 5-year-old Monday sit-at-home order by IPOB to an end, as well as dismantling all manner of criminality across the state.
In politics, Soludo has also managed diverse ambitions and restored order in politicking, thereby reducing subterfuge and excessive monetization, while elevating values of loyalty, service, and humility. This was abundantly evident in the just-concluded nomination for local government chairpersons and deputies ahead of the August LGA election.
Without any doubt, Governor Soludo’s commitment to order and strong governance is the biggest win in his first tenure. I therefore suspect that he would build on this massively. As the second tenure kicks off in a few days, bold governance, law, and order will shape government programmes and projects. With that, the foundation of order laid will further be strengthened for any other initiatives the government intends to build upon in the next four years.
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