By Anayo Okoli, Dennis Agbo, Ugochukwu Alaribe, Steve Oko, 

Chinonso Alozie & Emmanuel Iheaka

ENUGU—Prominent Igbo elders and leaders as well as stakeholders and various groups have continued to express anger over verbal attack on the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi by Anambra State governor, Professor Charles Soludo. 

Professor Soludo, in a recent Television interview described the present value of investments made by Peter Obi while he was governor as worthless and followed it up in a long article attacking Peter and concluding that Peter Oni can never win the 2023 president election.

In his reaction to Soludo’s outburst, former Imo state President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Professor Chidi Osuagwu said, “Soludo is a clever person but unwise. He has not shown wisdom. Many people who have made career success in Nigeria are people of questionable character. People should not take away that from their minds when accessing characters. Even now everybody is talking of the Igbo in 2023; I am not surprised that this statement is coming from an Anambra person. The Igbo must take note that the Anambra people are self-promoting too much. Other people should not see it as different; it is like what is happening between Osinbajo and Tinubu. But even within the Imo state the governing people, selling their people for personal aggrandizement, for self-promotion are people who have come from within the Anambra border”.

Chief Jerry Obasi, a former deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, in Ebonyi state described Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s outburst against Obi as baseless and unwarranted.

Obasi said that Soludo shot himself on the foot by his outburst against Obi and wondered if the former governor of the Central Bank actually thought about his feelings for Obi before going public.

Insisting that Soludo harbours bottled up anger against Obi, Obasi stated that the right thing for the Anambra governor to have done was to support his party’s presidential candidate and ignore Obi.

He said that Soludo has a huge task to match the records Obi made as Governor of Anambra state, stressing that no propaganda or bitterness can erase the fact that Obi saved money and made huge investments for Anambra state.

His words: “You can see the level of public anger and criticisms against Soludo. Such outburst was unwarranted and could only show anger and bitterness against the Labour Presidential candidate. The right thing was not for Soludo to start contradicting Obi especially when he had no facts. Obi handed over to a successor who Soludo took over from. So, if there was any issue, Soludo needed to ask the man who handed over to him and not to dance naked in public by attacking Obi.

“The issue of Obi’s savings and investments when he served as the Governor of Anambra state is a fact already in the public domain. No propaganda or bitterness can erase the fact that Obi saved money and made investments when he served as governor.

“Again, with the popularity Obi enjoys in his presidential pursuit, Soludo should have remained silent and watch the electorate give their verdict on him. I am sure Soludo is envious of Obi. You know Soludo also nurses a presidential ambition. Maybe, he thinks that with Obi he may not have a chance to run for the presidency in future. Soludo forgot that Obi will make a better president than Muhammadu Buhari. Even Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu are not in the same class with Obi; this is why the majority of Nigerians are supporting Obi. Nigerians want fresh air and Obi represents that dream.

“That Atiku wants to succeed Buhari who is from the same North is the height of injustice. Maybe, Soludo is blind to the fact that Obi is just the man Nigerian needs at this moment. You can see that Soludo’s son even criticized him for attacking Obi.

“An Igbo governor like Soludo could have kept silent and support his party’s presidential candidate, rather than dancing naked in the market place as he just did. Soludo should watch it because he is becoming unpopular. He has been in office for more than six months, what has he achieved; only lectures and mere rhetoric. I predict that he may serve for only one term as governor in Anambra State.  Soludo’s outburst against Obi accounts for one of the reasons enemies of the Igbo have continued to say that we don’t love ourselves and don’t speak with one voice”.

Also, the former National Deputy Chairman of APGA, South, Chief Chris Ejike Uche cautioned Soludo against laying landmines on the path of Peter Obi. Chief Uche submitted that Soludo should have called Obi privately to settle whatever issue if there was anything he knew which others didn’t know, rather than raising very contentious issues. He described Soludo’s action as an embarrassment on the Igbo and Nigerians of goodwill, adding that Obi responded maturely.

Chief Uche called on Igbo leaders to unite in arresting the situation. According to him, “it is really embarrassing to Nigerians of goodwill. You can’t see the Yoruba or Hausa people do that. Peter Obi is not angling for governorship of Anambra, Prof Soludo is not running for presidency. Their lines don’t meet. If Soludo does not want to support Peter, why not remain silent. Don’t build, don’t destroy.

“It is always difficult to manage success. Soludo should go for confession for telling lies. Peter Obi’s achievement in Anambra is glaring; nobody disputes that. It is very scandalous to say he achieved nothing. Soludo has a lot of people supporting and praising him, being a scholar. He should outgrow this mediocrity. 

If there is anything Soludo knows which we don’t know, he could discuss with Peter privately, than raising very contentious issues and trying to place landmines for Peter.

“Peter Obi’s movement is national and even beyond. They should stop projecting the Igbo as people who cannot work together”, Uche said.

For the Labour Party, LP, in the South East, Governor Soludo’s tirade against Peter Obi was simply orn out of envy. The National Vice Chairman of the party in the zone, Chief Innocent Okeke, in a statement said the party was disappointed that Soludo, who was looked up to as a man of dignity and respect, could allow selfish interest and hatred becloud his sense of judgment.

The party urged the governor to retrace his steps to avoid a somersault from his pinnacle of dignity and respect by falling short of the expectations of the people who looked up to him to be a shining example of the new Igbo leader.

According to him: “Hate is a wicked state of mind that when possessed can becloud one’s normal sense of reasoning. And this is exactly what played out in Prof. Soludo’s unreasonable outburst on Peter Obi’s Anambra government investment in 2014.

“Soludo, through his hate for Peter Obi was quick to forget that the investment and the fiscal savings came together. The incontrovertible fact remains that Obi saved for the future of the state and invested for the state in the International Brewery.  He handed over this investment to a new manager (governor), who has never denied knowledge of the investments. Whether the manager (governor) took good care of the investment is another day’s discussion. And the former handed over to Soludo, now Soludo casting aspersions on Mr. Obi after nine years he left office with verifiable savings and investment is uncalled for and condemnable by the entire Igbo race and Nigeria at large.

“The international brewery as we know it today employing 10,000 Anambrarians is not a bad investment and the depreciation of stocks is a Nigerian issue that have affected every company’s stock 

The Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, did not also spare the governor as it expressed utter disappointment over his remarks. President General of COSEYL, Goodluck Ibem, said Soludo did not speak like a professor

His words: “It is unfortunate that somebody who calls himself a Professor would make unguarded comments like he did. Soludo spoke like a motor park tout and not like a professor. He should face governance in Anambra and leave Peter Obi alone”.

The apex Igbo socio-political youth body urged Governor Soludo to stop arrogating to himself the power of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the Nigerian voters who will decide the winner of elections.

“Soludo should stop arrogating to himself the power of INEC. He should be invited for questioning to tell the world what he knows about the coming elections, what made him speak with audacity that Obi will not win”.

However, Soludo has support in Dr. Josef Ono, the South East spokesman of the Bola Tinubu Campaign Council, who said that Soludo’s letter was full of wisdom and has no apology for making his opinion public. He urged Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other critics of Soludo to refrain and explore the embedded truth in Soludo’s letter instead of calling for his head.

Onoh said: “Soludo has actually toed the path of wisdom and he does not owe anybody anything or any explanation other than the wisdom he has left for them and the path to follow that wisdom is a choice. Therefore, attempts to gag or threat Soludo will fail. What Soludo said is actually about the problems of the South East and has nothing personal to do with Peter Obi. What he said was misconceived, what he did was to hit at the critical problem of the South East from pre-independence till date and it is enough for the wise. It is a general advice on what the Igbo should look for in Nigeria for their greater good, but only few will understand because many politicians have been compromised”.

Obi replies Soludo.

Obi, in gracious reply to Governor Soludo’s outburst said: “On the comments by my very respectable elder brother, Soludo; I and Soludo have come a long way; he is my brother, he is my friend, he is the governor of my state. And as governor of my state, I pray for him to do well. And I support him; it is very important and critical. He has his own opinions. His opinion might not be the opinion of the people of Anambra state. It might not be the opinion of the South East or Nigerians. But I respect his opinion because it is his opinion. And he is a respected person as far as I am concerned. And he is my governor. “But I have to clarify so that people can understand, the investment I did in Anambra state. Before I talk about investment, the only measure of development while I was governor was Millennium Development Goals, MDGs. It is MDGs that India, China and Vietnam mainstreamed into their development agenda.

“For China, they used it to pull 439 million people out of poverty between year 2000 and 2015. India within this period pulled 276 million out of poverty. And Vietnam did almost 40 to 50 million out of poverty. I became governor in 2006, was impeached ending of 2006, came back. When they said I should pay them money for me not to be impeached, I said no, I can’t pay people for doing the wrong thing. I will rather go. 

“But I came back (as governor). They started MDG in 2000. After my impeachment, I came back in 2007, and started implementing MDG. By the time Nigeria ended MDG in 2015, Anambra state was number 1. “The person in charge of pulling people out of poverty was Dr. Magnus Kpakol, go and ask him about certificate for being number one. He is still alive. Go to department of statistics, I was the first governor to do a statistical record of poverty. I won a prize from Federal Ministry of Works for having the best road network. When I started, we were number 26 and 27 in WAEC and NECO (exams); by the time I left we were number one. I won Bill Gate prize for health. I can go on and on and say this is what we achieved. But the overall measure is MDG. I was number 1.

“I was even invited to United Nations to share my experience. The day I left office, I did not owe any contractor who had executed his job. I didn’t say I did not owe for any contract awarded. You can only pay when the job is executed. I did not owe any supplier who supplied anything. You can go and verify all these.

“Above these, I decided from day one that we must have savings as a state. We must save at least 10% of my total receipt by the time I leave government. Total money received by Anambra state while I was governor, whether state, local government, IGR, everything was about 500 and something billion Naira, out of which the day I left office, we had savings of 75 billion naira”.