OPINION…Soludo: Truth To Power!

Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, the former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor and winner by landslide of the Anambra gubernatorial election of late last year, cannot be described here as a professional politician but a technocrat. He would be sworn-in on the 17th of March this year thus ending the 8-year purposeless governance of the out-going Gov. Willie Obiano. Obiano came in as a technocrat and almost messed up governance with allegations of corruption, drunkenness and ineptitude mounting. Like Prof. Soludo Obiano was a retired banker and manager of men and resources.

The man from Aguleri parted ways with his benefactor, former Governor Peter Obi with the duo trading accusations of funds left behind or looted from the treasury. But from all indications Obi outperformed Obiano as Governor! The godfather-godson political feud is not synonymous with Anambra State. It had happened in Lagos, Edo, Enugu, Kano, Abia and elsewhere across the federation.

Prof. Soludo has promised to take Anambra state to the next level changing the way and manner leadership operates in the state. That is, introducing a well-articulated paradigm shift into the way leaders relate with the led. He had changed the traditional practice by refusing to spend a dime on his inauguration.

The Governor-elect had reportedly disagreed with the out-going Governor over the budget for his inauguration running into millions of Naira. He promised to hit the ground running from day one! A Transition Committee chaired by the former Education Minister, Oby Ezekwesili, had been inaugurated, charged with the task of ensuring a smooth transfer of power come March 17.

Soludo made a huge point last weekend. He had said that politics had become a big business in Nigeria adding that many drug barons and Internet scammers had flocked into politics to avoid being arrested! Calling for a new liberation movement in Nigeria in particular and Africa in general the former apex executive banker noted the failure of leadership in Nigeria and the need for selfless service in the broken system.

“As the noose tightened globally on other rentier/criminal enterprises such as drug trafficking or internet scamming, many of the barons flocked into politics as the next easy alternative”, Soludo reasoned. Of course politics Nigeriana has been poisoned to the extent that money now ‘wins’ elections for criminals instead of the people’s choices or will.

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Power no longer belongs to the people as democracy is globally defined but to the godfathers and godmothers and other criminals with financial war-chest with which to prosecute electoral ‘wars’. To be able to win the presidency in Nigeria then you must be a billionaire in Dollars!

Prof. Soludo told truth to power by saying that criminals (drug barons, swindlers etc) had taken over leadership in Nigeria. They are everywhere one turns to: at States’ Government Houses, Senate and House of Representatives, States’ legislative chambers etc. You encounter them at the corridors of power clutching exorbitant moblie phones and laptops looking for contracts.

You see them around big men and women of power playing roles of sycophants or ‘otimkpus’ often assigned with special duties to eliminate political opponents or play the role of stooges or fronts in fraudulent banking transactions. They use and dump thugs having bought over their ignorant conscience.

The problem with Nigerian politics is legion. But the primary cause of our constant failure to hit greatness at the national level could be linked to the enthronement of mediocrity and corruption. With the advent of petro-dollars merit is no longer respected or rewarded. Rather, the mad rush for illicit acquisition of wealth became a parameter to measure our steady national decline and degeneration of morals.

Besides, the complicit failure of the security services to nail aspirants with dubious antecedents had led to crooks ‘winning’ elections and occupying positions of trust they never merited in the first place. Pray, why would a retired fraudster be allowed to contest for elective position when his past records ought to be unearthed to disqualify him from seeking elective position of any kind? Or did they normally pay for their ‘qualification’ nay, security clearance?

Again, apart from the security incompetence our justice system needs radical reforms to accommodate swift dispensation of justice. Why must an economic crime perpetrated by a former Governor or a legislator be allowed to continue indefinitely on technicalities? Or were the Judges bribed to offer soft-landing or technical grounds for indefinite postponements?

Prof. Soludo had spoken well. But it remains to be seen, upon taking power, if he himself would not fall for the same ‘criminality’ he had railed against. The allure of power has this devastating effect on bearers of same that monstrous transformation is just a matter of time before it is observed.

Let Soludo transform Anambra and make it an industrialised state as he had promised and see how posterity would forever remember him. His stewardship must bear witness to his capacity to match action with word, if he is going to be taken seriously, going forward.

We wish Prof. Chukwuma Soludo the best of luck as he seeks to turn our dear Anambra state around.

AUTHOR: Ozodinukwe Okenwa

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Articles published in our Graffiti section are strictly the opinion of the writers and do not represent the views of Ripples Nigeria or its editorial stand.

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