Chukwuma Soludo is in the news again. He has a habit of making the headlines on average, once a month. In September, he was in the news for banning miniskirts in Anambra schools.
In October, he placed a ban on gaming and casino activities in the state that made lots of people feel uneasy. And on November 14, 2022, the former central bank governor went on a lengthy rant against the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi.
What happened?
Soludo said he was ranting because of an interview he had on Channels TV. In the interview, he claimed that the investments Obi made in Anambra are now worth “next to nothing”.
As soon as the interview went out, Obidients loaded Soludo with heavy blows. So much so that he lamented that they subjected himself and his family to “abuse and harassment”. He said he was tired of it and came to set the record straight. We looked at the four most interesting things from his response.
Soludo compared Obi to Hitler
You know things are very bad when you’re being compared to the genocidal maniac, Adolf Hitler. Here are Soludo’s words: “At the outset, let me state that this exhibition of desperation, intolerance and attempt to bully everyone who expresses the slightest of dissent is reprehensible. This is Hitler in the making.
“When the revered Archbishop Chukwuma stated that in Enugu State, they were not obedient, he was ferociously bullied on social media. Any dissent is tagged a saboteur or, in my case, it could be that I want to contest for president after office or that I am envious of Peter Obi.”
Soludo rubbished Obi’s achievements
It was not enough that Soludo compared Obi to Hitler, he said that Obi’s achievements were not “all that”. He said Obi’s achievements have not stood the test of time.
“Of course, there is room for legitimate debate about the logic or quality of the investments. A bishop recently publicly advised that I should please try to construct the ‘Ngige type of quality roads’, stating that the ones done by his successor (that is, Peter Obi) had washed off, while Ngige’s remained. I promised and we are delivering quality roads that Anambra has not seen before. Yes, poverty more than doubled under Peter Obi and more than 50% of Ndi Anambra were in poverty under him. Go and verify!”
Obi is just playing games, he knows he can’t win
You could sense from Soludo’s response that he was ready to enter the mud. He said that even Obi himself knows he’s wasting his time in 2023. His words:
“Let’s be clear: Peter Obi knows that he can’t and won’t win. He knows the game he is playing, and we know too; and he knows that we know. The game he is playing is the main reason he didn’t return to APGA. The brutal truth (and some will say, God forbid) is that there are two persons/parties seriously contesting for president: the rest is exciting drama!
“As my brother, I wish him well and even pray for him. I told him during his courtesy call that my prayer is that himself or Prof Umeadi of APGA would win, why not? That is from my heart, but I also told him that my head and facts on the ground led me to know that its probability is next to zero.”
Expect a part two from Soludo
The title of Soludo’s rant is “History beckons and I will not be silent (1)”. Part one implies that there’s a part two. Our man isn’t ready to quit just yet.
In Soludo’s words, “In this preliminary response, there are some things I will refrain from saying here because, in the end, February/March 2023 will come and go, and life will continue.”
Soludo just dropped this as an appetiser. Let’s see if he makes it a two-course meal.
How has Obi responded?
Obi’s latest response on the matter seems to be a lot calmer. . He still thinks of Soludo as his bro and tells him that whatever his shortcomings in governance were, Soludo as a professor is now in a better place to fix them.
Over to you, Soludo. Less talk, more work.
