There have been lots of comments as should be expected following the recent Anambra Elections Debate. The winner of that debate by a long shot is known to everyone who watched the debate. But really if you ask me it was an unfair contest except for those who did not know any better. Nobody who knows Soludo as I do and for the records he is my friend, was waiting for any debate to know that Soludo is a class act.
Speaking experiential I believe the Igbos are short changing themselves by allowing Soludo to go for the Governor of a State when there is a yawning gap as there are not many others who enjoy visibility as Soludo does who are as prepared as he is and who is certified to offer the quality of leadership which we all yearn for at the centre. And the imperatives of an Igbo President is urgent if we must return peace and tranquility to our troubled land.
May be before I continue with this conversation I need to give some details regarding my relationship with Soludo. After Soludo was appointed the Economic Adviser to President Obasanjo, I ran into him at the lobby of Nicon Hilton Hotel in Abuja and someone introduced us. He immediately remarked that he knows the name as he has read a lot from me particularly banking related. We exchanged contacts and he promised to get back to me.
Not long after there was vacancy at the Central Bank when my former boss at UBA; Joseph Sanusi a thorough breed technician, a renowned Chartered Accountant and experienced banker was not allowed a second term. Soludo materialised at the Central Bank and not long after unleashed the Consolidation Program.
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I was one of the foot soldiers drumming support and asking that it should be given a chance. When the other big bang program Vision 2020 was released, I was retained along with Udochukwu Uwakaneme as special advisers on the program. If Soludo was allowed a second term in office, I was programmed to be one of the biggest beneficiaries. Soludo is a first class intellectual, he is courageous, he is bold and above all else he is hands on. Some say he is arrogant and some referred to the recent debate as justification. But the man has every right to tell us all how in my opinion he is over prepared for the job. He will be short changing himself otherwise. In any case perfection is Divine. Show me someone without a shortcoming.
The fact is that it is common knowledge that what would instantly return peace to Nigeria today is to make an Igbo man our next President. It is no brainer as such a move will automatically put paid to the raging agitation for balkanisation. But often in conversation when you float this idea, the retort you get is to ask you where is the Igbo candidate. And in my view the one that will come and uplift Nigeria from the morass it found itself in is being allowed to contest for the position of a State Governor! This move as far as I am concerned is punching below the line.
I make this suggestion as controversial as it might sound because it is based on deep held conviction. If really we are genuinely concerned with rapid progress of Nigeria to bequeath a befitting nation to the coming generation, we must totally and completely embrace merit going forward. That for me is sure panacea for leap frogging development in Nigeria and for deflecting the storm ahead. What I have just done even though belatedly is what I had expected Ohaneze Ndi Igbo to have done. Find Soludo a political party with structures across the length and breadth of this country for Soludo to become President to lead us all to El’ Dorado.
My dear friend Soludo, I wish you the best with the November 6, 2021 elections. What will be quite galling is God forbid if you do not carry the day in a way that is transparently clear to all.
Good luck!
Dr Boniface Chizea is an economist based in Lagos
