Whenever Chukwuma Soludo, the governor of Anambra State, indulgences in his now accustomed fits and starts, I am usually compelled to take another look at the postulation of English philosopher and statesman, Francis Bacon, to the effect that “reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.” Bacon wrote in recognition of the centrality of learning in human endeavours.
Soludo, a professor of Economics, is supposed to encapsulate the three layers of Bacon’s thesis. His level of exposure in the academe qualifies him for this. But was Bacon necessarily right? I do not think so. My doubt is reinforced by the likes of Soludo. His intemperance and intemperateness make nonsense of whatever Bacon set out to achieve. In fact, his entire disposition since he assumed office as governor is a complete negation of Bacon’s postulation. Perhaps, Soludo, the governor, may have been corrupted by power. After all, did Lord Acton, English historian and moralist, not warn us that “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”?
Until Soludo became governor, some of us thought we knew him. I encountered him a couple of times when he was Economic Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo. I also encountered him even more closely when he was the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. On those occasions, I held Soludo in high esteem. I continued to do so until he became elected as the governor of Anambra State. Upon his emergence as governor-elect in 2021, I had cause to celebrate him in this Column. In an article entitled “Soludo Breaks the Ice” published in this newspaper on 15th November, 2021, I had 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.”
You can imagine how elated I was at the emergence of a man of Soludo’s calibre as governor. But that was as far as it went. All that has gone with the winds. Governorship and its allurement appear to have tainted him. The man has thrown erudition to the dogs. He now wallows in cantankerousness. He practically fights over every issue, no matter how insignificant. You will be right if you say that he has fallen from Olympian Heights into the abyss of disrepute.
Soludo’s ultimate demystifier has been his usually unprovoked hostility towards Peter Obi. He has always got away with his unwarranted attacks on Obi because he(Obi) is a man of peace who has no single word of abuse for anybody. The decent Obi has been Soludo’s whipping boy. And people keep asking why. In Peter Obi, Soludo’s pettiness has been crying to high heavens for redemption. Why does Soludo do that? His lowness on this score has got people wondering. Can an intellectual of Soludo’s standing be this petty? We are still in bewilderment at his inclination towards the street.
We have been dealing with this and other unedifying actions of Soludo all this while until he stepped into Onitsha market square. Since he ventured into this arena, it has been war without end. Soludo says he wants to end the Monday sit-at-home in Anambra State. For him, there is no room for persuasion or moral suasion. What he has in large supply is enforcement. That is the commodity that he has taken to Onitsha market. Every shop owner in the market city must open for business on Mondays or risk Soludo’s sanctions. He has already begun by shutting down Onitsha main market. That is the sauce in which Soludo is stewing at moment.
Since Soludo entered Onitsha market, whatever that is left of him as a fading intellectual has dissipated into thin air. His outpouring of cheap emotions is simply pitiable. His approach has been anything but edifying. What is being dished out in excess is crude sensation . Each time I watch the governor on television fretting and sweating over Onitsha market, I wonder what has become of decorum. Is it not possible for this man to address this matter decently without having to behave as if a street fight is going on? And we are talking about a governor in whom the finest traditions of the state ought to be embodied.
In trying to end the Monday sit-at-home, has Soludo asked himself what his sister governors in the south east are doing? If Soludo were perceptive enough, he ought to know that the monster he is up in arms against is not a pushover. He should engage it instead of throwing punches into the air. His belligerent disposition will not settle the matter. It will only exacerbate it. Even if Soludo achieves momentary compliance, he should be wise enough to know that it will not endure. The matter will slip off his hands faster than he can imagine.
Maybe someone should remind Soludo that the sit-at-home syndrome is not about Anambra State alone. The entire south east is involved. Soludo cannot possibly extricate Anambra from the entanglement. The sit-at-home syndrome will end at the appropriate time. The conditions for that will come, sooner or later. No manner of enforcement by the Soludos of this world will work. Someone is telling me that the acrobatics going in Onitsha market square is part of the Soludo Solution. Is it?
QUOTE:
“Since Soludo entered Onitsha market, whatever that is left of him as a fading intellectual has dissipated into thin air. His His approach has been anything but edifying. What is being dished out in excess is crude sensation”.
