By George Ewulum
The question of continuity in Anambra State is not about personality cult, but about protecting a template of governance that is finally working. Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo came with a clear philosophy of building a livable and prosperous homeland, moving Anambra from a trading hub to a smart mega city. To truncate that vision because of a change of calendar would be to return to the era of politics without progress. The reforms he started need consolidation, not abandonment.
Soludo’s good governance is visible in fiscal discipline and infrastructure that touches the grassroots. He met a state with huge arrears and insecurity, yet he refused to borrow recklessly while embarking on over 500km of roads across all 21 local government areas simultaneously, employing local contractors, clearing pension arrears, recruiting 8,000 teachers and over 1,000 health workers, and digitizing governance. This is a model of doing more with less, and any upcoming governor must sustain this culture of prudent management and people-focused distribution of projects, not elite capture.
Security and human capital are the strongest arguments for sustainability. Before Soludo, Monday sit-at-home and unknown gunmen crippled Anambra’s economy. Through kinetic and non-kinetic approaches, he restored confidence, reclaimed eight local governments, and brought back business to the South-East. His free education policy, free antenatal and delivery services, youth empowerment through 1Youth 2Skills, and support for Made-in-Anambra products show governance with a human face. These social investments must be sustained because they directly fight poverty and capital flight.
Anambra is now being positioned beyond Nigeria. The Chinua Achebe International Airport transformation, the Solution Innovation District, the new Government House, and the proposed aerotropolis city are long-term economic catalysts that will outlive this administration. Soludo is not building for four years, he is building for the next fifty.
If the next governor abandons this master plan for political vendetta or populist projects, Anambra will lose its competitive edge to neighboring states that are already copying its model.
Therefore, sustaining Soludo’s good governance is a duty for every progressive Anambra citizen, regardless of party. The upcoming governor must not see governance as a new empire to demolish what was built, but as a relay race to continue and improve upon. Ndi Anambra should demand from any successor a public commitment to sustain the Solution Agenda — fiscal transparency, massive infrastructure, secured homeland, and industrialization — because Anambra cannot afford to return to Egypt.
George Ewulum is of the Ministry of information and Value reformation, Anambra State
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