Monday, November 21, 2022

Letter To Chukwuma Soludo

 By Amanze Obi

I had thought that I would give you a little more time before inquiring into your stewardship as the governor of Anambra State. But your recent outburst about the Peter Obi presidential bid has dragged me out earlier than I wanted.

*Soludo

When your long quest for the governorship of Anambra State materialized in November, 2021, I was elated. I felt happy for you, for Anambra State and for Nigeria. I was particularly happy that the intellectual community to which I belong has got a breather through your emergence as governor.

You are certainly not the first intellectual to rise to an exalted governance position in Nigeria.

 

But I celebrated yours because you are easily recognized in academic circles as an intellectual of note. For this reason, I took more than a passing interest in your jostles in the political space. I was equally delighted to note that for the years that you stepped forward to contest for electoral position in your state, you were focused on only one position- governorship. You did not jump from pillar to post by alternating your ambition between the governorship of your state and any other elective office. That was indicative of a sense of purpose on your part.

 

When therefore you won election as the governor of Anambra State, I had, in the November 15, 2021 edition of this column entitled: “Soludo Breaks The Ice”, written as follows:

 

“The man has always brimmed with ideas. We have heard him talk about the Soludo Solution. He has talked about ADT (African Dubai Taiwan ). He has always had a burning vision. He has had to espouse all this through his governorship quest. He has been desirous of making a difference. And now, the opportunity has come. That is Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, the man who has just been elected as the next governor of Anambra state.

“Since his emergence as governor-elect last week, the entire Nigerian polity has gone torrent. A flurry of commentaries has suffused the atmosphere. Nigerians of different persuasions have found reason to congratulate a man who has won an election in a spectacular manner….

“Beyond the aforementioned factors which Soludo’s victory has rendered impotent and untenable, there was the usual feeling that Soludo would not make it after all, regardless of his sterling academic credentials. Many sneered at his scholarship. They said the contest was not about erudition. They said they had seen the likes of Soludo before. They argued that “book people” like Soludo do not usually make it at elections in Nigeria. The fact that Soludo stood head and shoulder over and above the other contestants did not impress the naysayers….

“Regardless of these familiar misgivings, Soludo emerged triumphant , thus proving many an analyst wrong over the impression that the educated and the sophisticated do not usually make it at the polls in Nigeria…With his victory therefore, Soludo has given hope to the tribe of intellectuals who have been needlessly rejected and thrown overboard by the buccaneers and manipulators that saturate the Nigerian political space. He has broken the cave of ice in which the intellectual has been caged.”


This was, in part, my reflections on your victory at that time.

Since you assumed office some eight months ago, I have keenly been observing developments in your state. So far, I am yet to see anything that comes close to your espousals on African Dubai Taiwan (ADT) and the Soludo Solution.


However, I decided to bid my time, knowing full well that the number of months you have spent so far in office is not enough to judge you. That notwithstanding, I have constantly been gripped by a certain apprehension. I always remembered the aphorism which tells us that morning shows the day. My worry has been that your early days in office do not look promising. But I chose to withhold judgement.

 

It was while I was holding on that you struck. You had queried the investments that Peter Obi made in Anambra State as governor. You wrote them off as worthless. When you did that, Obi responded in his usual tame manner. He did not betray any anger at your derision of his effort as governor. He simply explained why he invested in stocks and shares on behalf of Anambra State.

 

One thing was noteworthy here. Whether Obi’s defence of his investment made sense or not, he did not go out of his way to attack or disparage you. He made his point and left it there.

 

Naturally, matters such as this are expected to attract the attention of the public. And it did. A good many of those who interjected wondered why Obi should be criticized for saving money for his state while those who pillaged the resources of their states are walking tall. Many of us thought that the matter would just end there. But Nigerians were taken aback when you decided to pen a long essay in which you attacked and disparaged Obi to no end. Your diatribe on your predecessor was bemusing. It was difficult to fathom.

 

 Then, people began to ask: how did Obi wrong Soludo? What could have triggered the venom that Soludo poured out on Obi? I do not have answers to these questions. But many have said that you were driven by envy. But whether that is the case or not, I feel deeply embarrassed by your indiscretion. The intellectual that I held in high esteem has crashed the sacred altar I erected for him. You have abandoned intellectualism forcibly and has chosen to operate in the vineyard of street urchins.

 

My brother Chukwuma, what went wrong? How did you throw overboard the fine traditions of temperateness , circumspection and discipline which intellectualism promotes and celebrates? Why did you betray so much hate and resentment especially when none was provoked by your object of derision and vilification? These, clearly, are unbecoming of an intellectual of your standing. You have just disappointed your army of admirers who thought that you are incapable of this base display.

 

The substance or lack of it of your diatribe against Obi is even more disappointing. In your long essay, you created the impression that you are the only Igbo man that is thinking. In your omniscience, you have already seen the end of the election. Peter Obi, you said, cannot win in more than four states. You said the rating could even be worse before the elections in February, 2023. 

My dear Chukwuma , you are certainly entitled to your clairvoyance. But if I were you, I will not engage in this poor show. The bias is too telling not to be noticed even by the most undiscerning. You have, by your attack on Obi and your Igbo kinsmen, put the wrong foot forward.

My advice to you is to retrace your steps, purge yourself of prejudices and bad blood and remember that you have a job to do in Anambra State. I am particularly waiting to see the materialization of your philosophy of ADT in Anambra State. Anything short of this will amount to Nero fiddling while Rome burnt.

*Dr. Obi is a commentator on public issues


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