By The Editorial Board
Right from the start, Charles Soludo’s star power was contingent on hope and belief. He was the “Big Anambra Hope”, a shining political star. His pedigree and words were his currency.
As former CBN chief and an academic, he wore the armor of invincibility and spoke in the language of seers. His word was sacrosanct. Ndi Anambra invested their belief in every word he said and every promise he made to make their lives better.
The youth, first-time voters and people who were fed up with politicians who overpromised and underdelivered not only hopped on, but led, the Soludo bandwagon to victory in Anambra state.
We joined many to support Gov. Soludo and wish him success.
Back then, we regarded his election as a significant turning point — away from the inept leadership, plutocracy, corruption and lack of vision that characterized previous administrations, with the exception of Peter Obi’s.
Accordingly, during his campaign for governor of Anambra state, Ndi Anambra believed every word in his promises to cure the ills of society with urgency.
With characteristic self-confidence, he promised that he had a solution to end violent crimes, improve economic performance, lower inflation, create jobs and reduce unemployment rate, minimize excessive taxation, reduce blotted government bureaucracy and overhead costs, eliminate governance malpractices, mitigate corruption, improve healthcare, rebuild infrastructure, increase education budget and quality of education, and improve the quality of life for the people of Anambra state.
But there is a problem when Gov. Soludo’s words don’t match action and results. The problem we must reckon with is that none of his promises has materialized. He has not delivered tangible results.
Nine months after his inauguration, and despite winning the election with a strong desire to effect change as the “Solution Governor”, his agenda seems in disarray and discordant.
Our main concern is that Gov. Soludo seems horribly out of his depth, incapable of deterring violent crimes in the state. His chaotic and polarizing tenure has so far disappointed many who voted for him and supported him. So far, he has been all talk and no measurable results.
Under his watch, violent criminal organizations invaded the state and claimed territory while the governor was asleep behind the wheels of governance. Today, Anambra state is a hellscape of social disorganization and lawlessness as organized violent criminals reign supreme.
People are kidnapped, tortured and murdered with impunity. Arsonists and hoodlums intentionally and repetitively set fires to properties with no regard for the law. Women and young girls are gang raped. Violent criminals blockade major supply roads, disrupting commerce and freedom of movement. Law and order have broken down in many parts of the state.
Law and order and stability are the bedrock of any functioning democracy and economy. His entire strategic agenda and initiatives have been paralyzed without legal protection and security of life and property. It’s no surprise he can’t get his socioeconomic agenda off the ground. Nothing else matters in the absence of law and order.
Yes he’s only been in office nine months. But nine months is eternity when residents who elected him to solve problems are being hunted, terrorized, kidnapped, tortured, raped and killed; when they are taxed excessively by a government that has yet to provide tangible benefits, except recruit 5000 new teachers when 15,000 are needed just to reach parity.
With the enormous problems faced by residents, Gov. Soludo was expected, as he promised during the campaign, to hit the ground running. He must have known that there was no grace period. Anambra governorship is no training ground for a novice.
In an ideal world, Soludo would be given time to make mistakes and learn; allowed to focus on long term vision and not have to worry so much about short-term results. Likewise, in an ideal world lambs would lie down with lions and violent criminals will beat their swords to ploughshares, and their spears to pruning-hooks.
But Anambra state is not an ideal world, not Nirvana. And Gov. Soludo is not the governor of an ideal state — he’s the leader of a scary hellscape of violent criminality and governance malpractices.
His current woes extend beyond his inability to get his agenda working and on track. He has not delivered even the lowest of hanging fruits — communicate his agenda to Ndi Anambra with clarity, in a language ordinary people can understand.
Ndi Anambra we interviewed for this article confirm that they have no clue where Gov. Soludo is taking the state; what his plans are and what results to expect. In general, they find his inability to communicate his agenda in a language ordinary people can understand very troubling. Soludo seems to suffer from “foot-in-mouth disease”, according to a prominent supporter who spoke under the condition of anonymity to protect his relationship with the governor.
It is no surprise, then, that the people of Anambra state no longer buy his story. Ndi Anambra are fed up with Soludo’s “all talk and no results” moniker. They want results.
His words can’t protect their families and properties and businesses from the mayhem of violence in the streets and inside their homes, markets, churches. His word hasn’t stopped the violation and rape of innocent women and young girls by violent gangs. His words can’t create jobs for millions of unemployed residents. Nor can it reduce the high poverty rate and astronomical cost of household items. In short, his words can’t and hasn’t changed the conditions of millions of long-suffering families.
Worst, residents can’t identify any practical policies and actionable plans to deliver the governor’s election promises.
Regrettably, Soludo has found it difficult to make the transition from an academic and CBN bureaucrat to being governor and running a complex state with numerous problems to solve – urgently.
Outside his comfort zone in academia and the CBN bureaucracy, Gov. Soludo appears diminished, a shrunken presence on the political stage. Even though he hops and poofs in public, those who know him confirm he’s hurting inside.
Sadly, the halo he had when he started off as the “Big Anambra Hope” has suddenly not only tilted, but fallen off. He seems to have lost his radiance. The state that has the motto “Light of the Nation”, like its governor, has lost its glow. The light has dimmed.
His rapid fade is partly a function of his own blunders and miscalculations in recent months and since the inauguration.
For example, in the absence of tangible accomplishments since taking office, and with the increasing uncertainty surrounding his administration, Soludo made an unforced error. In the hope of distracting public attention away from his lack of results and in search of relevance, he made the infamous comment about Peter Obi’s inelectability and Adolf Hitler comparison. He misfired. Compounded his problems. And shot himself in the foot.
The 100-Day Rule And Why Soludo Must Change Direction
Soludo has been in office for over 270 days. We must agree that by almost any measure, Gov. Soludo has had a rough start. And as unthinkable as it may be, the rest of his tenure now seem unpromising. This predicament saddens us and all who want him to succeed.
Political history informs us that the first 100 days in office typically sets the tone for the remainder of a political leader’s tenure. In Nigeria, the first 100 days is often the canary in the coal mine — a harbinger of things to come.
Successful political leaders bring into office on day one advanced plan with clearly defined and prioritized initiatives to launch in the first 100 days. They tackle the hot button problems first. The goal is to hit the ground running, and deliver quick results to build momentum, confidence and legitimacy for the new government.
Success or failure during the first 100 days is a strong predictor of overall success or failure of the administration, especially where problems are many, complex and overwhelming like in Anambra state.
The loss of momentum and trust in the first 100 days is hard, if not impossible, to regain as problems and dissent overwhelm the new administration. Confidence lost is hard to rebuild.
Soludo has lost momentum and confidence and the people’s trust.
It’s important to state upfront that the first 9 months is not the end of Gov. Soludo’s tenure. But it’s the beginning of the end. He must act urgently to reverse direction and stop the bleeding. Right now, he’s in a hole and must stop digging.
In sum, Ndi Anambra are sick and tired of Gov. Soludo’s professorial pontificating on his numerous plans and committees to curb violence and create jobs. So far he has not delivered. His plans are chaotic, lack strategic focus, under-resourced and as expected, ineffective. Residents want to see more robust action and tangible results, not lecturing.
We write this as an early warning to alert Gov. Soludo that he is steering the governorship of Anambra state in the wrong direction. He must now course-correct before it’s too late. We want him to succeed for no other reason than to alleviate the pain and suffering of the good people of Anambra state.
Why Soludo is Underperforming
- He mismanaged the transition period from election to inauguration. Successful political leaders bring into office on day one advanced planning clearly articulating and prioritizing the major problems facing the state and top initiatives for the first 100 days. He failed to move quickly to build a strong foundation and be more thoroughly prepared — craft his vision, build his team, develop a blueprint of priorities and action plan for the first 100 days and beyond.
- He pays little attention to communicating his vision, goals and priorities he wanted to act on. His blueprint, priorities and expected results for the state were poorly communicated and he did not mobilize enough people early to support his vision and plan.
- He lacks focus on top priorities. In the absence of a reasoned strategic plan, Soludo failed to keep his priorities firmly focused on the substantive issues at hand in Anambra state. He made a major mistake when he diverted his attention and energy away from the people’s problems to attack Peter Obi. In doing so, he betrayed his oath of office to make the people’s problems the center of his policies and government. This mistake cost Soludo and set him back. He’s still fighting to regain traction instead of solving problems and delivering results.
- He is weak on crime. One of his biggest failures is the lack of winnable strategy to defeat violent criminality in the state. The failure started when he said, “Majority of the people committing these heinous crimes are not from Anambra State.” He was defensive even after the state police commission provided facts to the contrary. Soludo still denied reality. By doing so, Soludo gave political cover and legal protection to violent criminals and empowered them to reign supreme anytime, anywhere in the state.
- He’s a purveyor of false solutions. Soludo prides himself as the “Solution Governor.” But to develop effective solutions, the governor must first understand the problems for which the solutions apply. Rather, he has solutions looking for problems – akin to Tylenol looking for a headache. For example, offering amnesty (he told hardcore violent criminals: “Surrender your guns, we will help you gain a useful life”) to die-hard criminals who embody a dangerous ideology of violent extremism is a false solution. It has never worked permanently. It’s a moral hazard. It reinforces criminal violence since it incentivizes others to commit violent crimes knowing that the benefits exceed the cost, if any.
- He suffers from initiatives paralysis. There are new ideas, new initiatives, new commissions ever so frequently. The governor’s office is a never-ending supply of half-baked ideas, according to our sources. The governor is reported to be the source of this deluge of “new” ideas. But having too many competing ideas, unprioritized initiatives and no focus have crowded out resources and taken up time that should have been deployed to solve real problems. Too many new ideas in motion at once have led to staff burnout and loosened the administration from its strategic moorings. Majority of these “academic” ideas are often abandoned as new ones surface. The governor’s floodgate of initiatives get in the way of efficiency, productivity and results.
- He was unprepared to govern from day one. Protecting citizens, property, and businesses from the threat of violent criminals is arguably Soludo’s most important obligation. Security is also one of the most formidable because of the potentially disastrous consequences for missteps. Unfortunately, Soludo was not adequately prepared to fight and win from day one.
- He failed to establish a solid administrative base right from the beginning of his tenure. Behind the scenes, his office is chaotic, decisions on budgeting and finance are ad hoc, and roles and responsibilities are unclear and often in conflict, often leading to finger pointing, inefficiencies and suboptimized results or no results at all.
- His inability to transition from being an academic and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) bureaucrat to the practical, bottom-up and consensus-building job of running a state, solving real-time problems and delivering benefits to the people. He is not one to roll up his sleeves and get down in the trenches to get his hands dirty with doing the people’s work for which he was recruited.
- His inability to navigate the difficulties of governing to implement the policies and promises made during the campaign. As he seems to have discovered, governing is different from campaigning. He has failed to align and optimize the key factors of success: preparedness, policy, people, programs, partnership and performance. Getting buy-in from stakeholders has been impossible due to poor issues framing and communication.
- He has failed to steer the ship of governance through the often turbulent waters in Anambra state. He has failed to engage the state politicians, LGA leaders, and other stakeholders to build consensus on key priorities and policies. Today Anambra state seems a rudderless ship. The question remains: Where is the captain? Where is Soludo?
- His proclivity for suboptimal initiative. Soludo’s unenforceable curfew is counterproductive and unsustainable. It’s only a matter of time before curfew is lifted and crime surges back again with vengeance. Also, providing a list of phone numbers to call (try calling any of the hotlines and find out for yourself) after one has been killed or kidnapped or abducted is reactive and pathetic. It says, call us after you’ve been killed. Well, dead men tell no tales. Also Anambra Vigilance Operatives established by Gov. Soludo is a bad idea. The Anambra Vigilance Operatives will become violent criminal organizations tomorrow — if and when disbanded. We’ve seen this progression before.
- His unrealistic goals. His stated vision of making Anambra state a “smart mega city” smacks of the old sloganizing by snake oil salesmen of decades past. This is an unrealistic and misplaced vision. There are more urgent priorities like stopping the violent extremism that has captured the state. The vision of a smart city depends on many factors that are lacking in Anambra state: especially security and stability, robust Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, constant and adequate supply of electricity, highly skilled and experienced talent base, constant supply of new talent from centers of educational excellence, protection of intellectual capital, availability and access to capital, ease of doing business. Soludo should focus on putting the basic requirements in place.
- His inability to build consensus and partnership with others who can help him succeed. One of his most fatal personality flaws is his egocentric arrogance. According to insiders who were not authorized to speak on this matter, Soludo hears only one voice – his own. He has not been able to forge a strong, collaborative tie with the police, state politicians, local governments, landlords, unions, and the business community to fight violence in the state. He tends to ignore or discount or disrespect other people’s opinions with a certain academic belittling. He is known to be fiercely defensive and angry at anyone who dare tell him something contrary to his professorial dictates.
- He talks the talk with little result to show. There’s little to show for all the talk about “what we are doing” and “what we are going to do.” Anambra people are sick and tired of the governor’s lecturing and pontification. They want action, and importantly, tangible results.
Although Soludo has stumble badly, he can still recover. We recommend the following practical actions for the governor and his team to consider.
What Soludo Must Do To Turn His Governorship Around
- Redo his agenda, refocus priorities and streamline initiatives. Evidently, Soludo did not do his homework before taking over the governorship. Fighting and winning the war against violent crime and the ideology of violent extremism should and must be the governor’s number one job. Without security of life, properties and freedom of movement, all else is worthless, a waste of time and scarce resources.
- Stop negotiating with terrorists. Take the fight directly to them. Collaborate, rather than castigate, the State Commissioner of Police. Mobilize Ndi Anambra to join the war against terrorists. Consider implementing a whistleblower program to incentivize residents to identify violent criminals for prosecution.
- Clarify and communicate his vision and policies in language ordinary people can understand. He should personally conduct townhall meetings to mobilize Ndi Anambra to support his policies.
- Establish accurate government performance tracking system or scoreboard and display it where Ndi Anambra can easily access it. It must show the baseline, target and actual result for each key metric that measures top results like increase in the number of jobs created; reduction in crime rate, unemployment rate, inflation rate, government bureaucratic costs (total compensations, including overhead); completed infrastructure, and others. This performance scoreboard must be accurate, timely and frequent.
- Immediately shed his academic and CBN pedigree, and roll-up his sleeves, get in the trenches, get his hands dirty and fight for the people who recruited him to deliver results. Less talk, more results.
- Humble himself. History informs us that whom the gods would destroy, they first make arrogant. Great leaders leave their arrogance and other negative personality traits inside their closets at home.
- Focus on the job at hand. It is an open secret that Soludo has ambition to run for president after his tenure as governor. But his performance as governor is the only means to this end. To achieve his ambition, he must deliver for Ndi Anambra. He must align his political interests with the interests of the people of Anambra. He must realize that he is engaged in a common enterprise with Ndi Anambra; they are dependent on each other; their fortunes will rise or fall together depending on how effective he leads to deliver tangible results in his current job.
- Keep his distance from Ohanaeze Ndigbo. No good has ever come from association with Ohanaeze. The organization is like a parasite that wants to kill its host. Eventually, both die.
- Do his homework – find and read the books we assigned. As someone who has spent much of his professional life in academia, Soludo is aware that when a student is not meeting expectations, one of the best course of action is to prioritize time, refocus effort and study harder to master the material and then excel. We added a few books in the Governor’s reading list in the attached thumbnail image.
- Don’t forget all of the above.
In conclusion, we have assigned a reading list to the governor. We recommend he reads all the books urgently to regain momentum and save his governorship and his political career. We will follow up in 2023 to report his change of direction and accomplishments. We continue to support him and wish him success. Good luck, governor.
