A onetime White House counsel, Richard Goodman, once characterized a
great American, Robert Kennedy, as “a constellation of
contradictions”. And the famed author, Harry Barnes, described the
greatest of the patristic fathers, St Augustine, as a complex
combination of opposites. Like most great men, Chukwuma Soludo, the
gubernatorial candidate for the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) is
a paradoxical blend of contrasting and opposing qualities.
He was a village boy that rose from rural deprivation and drudgery to
the corridors of power; hobnobbing with presidents and prime ministers.
He is erudite, urbane, cosmopolitan and deftly discerning, but remains
inextricably bind to the customs, traditions and mores of his town
people. From the pedestal of fame and attainments, he remains “a true
home boy, deeply rooted among his age grade, village and town”. He is
a reformer; his transformation of the Nigerian economy bordered on a
revolution. He is essentially a revolutionary that operated within
conventional limits. He is a consummate insider, but, in many ways,
remains an irascible outsider; with his impulse towards the defiance of
the status quo evident. This is evinced by his humility, genuine concern
for the disadvantaged, something of a disdain for elitism, and moral
proclivity for equal opportunity for all.
Consequently, from his early days, he devoted his time, resources and
labor to provide educational and economic opportunities for the
indigent, downtrodden, and forgotten. So many people, especially, from
his hometown have benefited from his philanthropy. It was in gratitude
for what he has done for them that the people of Isuofia led by their
king honored Chukwuma Soludo. Therefore, on August 14, 2021, Isuofia,
literally, came to a standstill, a celebratory standstill, as the king,
His Royal Highness, Igwe Moghalu of Isuofia, a retired colonel in the
Nigerian Army, conferred a chieftaincy title, Dike-Udo Isuofia, on
Soludo. The title, which means the Mighty Man of Peace of Isuofia, was
conferred on him in recognition and appreciation of his service to his
people and community and enormous contribution to their wellbeing and
progress.
He has successfully lifted so many out of ignorance and poverty. He
abhors mere hand-outs because hand-outs have a tendency to breed
beggars. His approach is to establish individuals by giving them
education, and financial independence. It is an approach underpinned by
the proverbial: teach a man how to fish, and he is empowered to feed
himself for life. According to Christian Aburime, “I have watched him
spend enormous amount of his time offering advice to parents and their
children on how to grapple with, and overcome, the challenges of life,
often using himself as a case study”.
In his belief that the surest way to success is education, he has
sponsored hundreds of students to various levels of academic
attainments. After all, the building of a great society and country is
contingent on first building great men and women through education. In
2000, he instituted a scholarship scheme for his Umunna (kindred), so
that financial constraints cannot stop anyone from obtaining a
university education. In 2001, he became the pioneer chairman of his
village Education Trust Fund. He was the highest donor to the Trust
Fund, which grants scholarships and bursary to indigent students in his
hometown. Hundreds of graduates have benefitted from this scholarship
and bursary programs.
Twelve years ago, Soludo “adopted” a primary school in his village,
Amoji Primary School. At his personal expense, he provides all the 900
pupils in the school with free and qualitative education. He furnishes
them with uniforms, footwear, game wears, textbooks, and writing
materials. He employed about ten additional graduate teachers to augment
the teaching staff in the school. He furnished the classrooms, and
equipped the computer lab with 40 computers. Thus, he turned this once
ramshackle public primary into a state-of-the-art model primary school.
In addition, he assists in the running of five other primary schools in
Isuofia. He pays the salaries of about twenty five Parent Teachers’
Association (PTA) teachers in the five schools. Every year, he pays the
fees for Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) and Senior School
Certificate Examination (SSCE) for hundreds of secondary school
students, including all the students of the Holy Child Secondary School,
Isuofia.
He has been assisting widows, and the other vulnerable and helpless in
his hometown, with his interest free micro credits, to set up their own
businesses. For over fourteen years, he has operated a revolving
interest-free micro financing for Umuada, and the women organizations in
Isuofia church parishes, amounting to tens of millions of naira. He has
also built houses for the poor and elderly. Fascinatingly, he has
painstakingly shielded his philanthropy from the limelight. To him, they
are his own way of being grateful to God for His blessings, for which he
expects no thanks and no praise.
So, underpinning the pomp and pageantry, and glitz and glitter of, and
the rich, powerful and famous that graced, his conferment with the tile
Dike-UdoIsuofia, was its import. The king and the people were bestowing
an accolade to their illustrious son that has made them very proud with
his achievements and renown, and labored diligently and unremittingly in
the service his community and uplift of his people. In the words of the
king, Igwe of Isuofia, “Love Soludo or hate him, you cannot but
acknowledge his gigantic footprints in uplifting others”.
As we cast our vote for a new governor on November 6th 2021, we must
recognize that power is morally neutral. Depending on who wields it,
gubernatorial power in Anambra State can be deployed as a ruthless enemy
of the people or employed as a selfless servant of the people. We must
therefore meticulously scrutinize the gubernatorial candidates: pore
through their education, credibility, commitment to the collective good
and demonstrated capacity and capability in prior public service. We
must reject the ignorant, charlatans, and con artists. We must also
reject those out to mortgage truth, principles and social justice to
selfish and cliquish interests.
We should vote for ChukwumaSoludo. He is a man seasoned to high purpose
and noble temperament by education, training and experience. He is a
proven, distinguished public servant. He is a quintessential leader:
honorable, visionary, and courageous.
Tochukwu Ezukanma, an indigene of Ikenga, Ogidi, Anambra State, writes
from Lagos.