Very often, Governor Chukwuma Soludo says that he is not a politician but that he is into politics. This statement, he uses to buttress his approach to politics which is target at building or creating a better society. An approach that is different from that of other politicians who have failed to do what they should do for the people who elected them into office. As such, Governor Soludo, conveniently, chose not be called or seen as “a politician”.
Adopting and implementing policies that have positive impact and are imperative for the people for sustained economic development seem to be difficult for leaders in government. Probably, political ambition is considered a major contributory factor, that prevents leaders from adhering to sound technical advice, even when leaders have the best of intentions.
Contrarily, Governor Soludo would not allow his personal ambition to jeopardize taking sound decisions that will bring hope and progress to his people. This is why he upholds citizen engagement which is believed to hold the key to solving governmental failures by shaping how political markets function. This is a direction which Governor Soludo is deliberately pursuing. A direction different from the regular paths taken by average politicians.
Recently, the Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial Zone, Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah donated thousands of security equipment and communication gadgets to the government of Anambra State. To many acclaimed political pundits, it is a bad decision to honour such invitation, not to talk of accepting such largese in the heat of a political season. However, an important trait which a political leader should possess is knowing how to align political incentives with the interests of society, doing it with the eye to make change happen even in the face of political opposition. Once a decision favours a greater number of members of the society, it should be exploited and embraced with spread-out arms. This is the bedrock of Soludo’s ideology.
Recall also that recently, Governor Soludo honoured the invitation of the Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial Zone, Iyom Uche Ekwunife who organized a National Innovation Workshop, spearheaded by the Senate Committe on Science and Technology.
In today’s participative world, Ndị Anambra are not only queueing at booths to vote, but also taking to the streets and using modern communication technology to select, sanction and pressure their leaders who wield power within government. Political engagement becomes “jaundiced” when political leaders are selected and sanctioned on the basis of their provision of private benefits rather than public good, , giving rise to a range of government failures.
Solutions to these failures are largely dependent in fostering healthy political engagement within any institutional context, and not in circumventing or suppressing it.
Simply put, in Governor Soludo’s prism, politics is at the heart of the development dialogue—exactly where it belongs. It provides constructive ideas for harnessing the forces of transparency and citizen engagement in ways that are suited to diverse institutional contexts so that leaders can overcome political constraints to their followers’ development goals. This is an unpopular practice in the political space and failure to align to this perspective persistently breeds unhealthy political engagement. The truth is that the greater the development, the greater the modernization, the greater the mobilization, and therefore the greater the political participation.
At the end of it all, political development can be seen as an increase in national political unity and an increase in political participation. Let’s all align to this brand of politics.
It is time to have a concatenation of Ndị Anambra (not just indigenes) who mean well for the state, irrespective of political affiliation or nomenclature because the ultimate goal is to have a liveable and prosperous homeland, in other words, “a developed Anambra”.
Trust the process, Anambra will continue to be better under Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
Written by EJIKE ABANA
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