By Pamela Eboh
An Igbo adage says, “ka onye si eme, ka ekwe si akulu ya”, meaning, that one’s actions determine how the metal gong would be beaten for him.
Indeed, the Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo at this point have not only gotten more than 21 gun salute but uncountable number of metal gong beaten for his unrivalled developmental strides in the state.
Against the backdrop of criticisms from the opposition, the Aguata born spartan boy is fully on course of rebuilding, reforming and remodelling the glorified capital city of Awka have caught the eyes of outsiders who have recognized him as a outstanding governor on infrastructural development in the South East.
Like it is said, “a prophet is not honoured at home, hence the home people who may ultimately have their minds fixated only on taking his position will not want to praise his achievements and strides, but on Saturday, May 25, 2024, NWA Mgbafor would be celebrated by Nigerians and the world at large as a rare gem, a fixer and a jinx breaker
A man in a class of his own, Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR is a graduate of Economics with First Class Hons, M.Sc; and Ph.D Economics.
As a student, he won Departmental, Faculty and University prizes as best graduating student. He also received over a dozen short-and medium-term courses and fellowships at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, and Warwick; the Brookings Institution Washington, DC as well as the United Nations.
Fondly called Chaŕliè Nwàn̈gbafor in the local parlance, Soludo has been a Professor of Economics for 26 years, an accolade he got at age 38 at the University of Nigeria, and visiting Professor at Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania.
He was also the co-founder and founding Chairman of Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).
Recall that in 2003, he was called upon to serve the FGN as Chief Economic Adviser to President Obasanjo as well as the Deputy Chairman/CEO of the National Planning Commission.
As a governor of the A state, east of the Niger, Soludo touched all sectors simultaneously. He employment over thousand teachers to beef up teaching in schools , especially the rural areas that seemed abandoned. He also employed about two thousand nurses and doctors. Revamped abandoned community health centers and got it up and running.
The governor also rebuilt and constructed many roads within the Awka capital city and the hinter lands. The roads in the capital city include, Unizik to Okpuno area of the state. The road which used to be a gory site during the rainy seasons was not reconstructed, but dualized and laced with lightings.
He took the ecstatic work to Regina Caeli junction, expanded the road, cutting across Club road and wrapped it up with a roundabout, making the four lane road a beauty to behold.
To further sanitize the area which before now taken over by tricycle drivers, aka Keke, Soludo built Keke park on both sides of the road, which hitherto brought sanity and exposed the beauty of the area.
The streets in Awka are not left out as he has also expanded them
No doubt, the deep baritone voice locally bred governor stands tall above his peers and deserves the award of best achiever in infrastructural development in the east of the Niger!
