A Governor at Ransom
Back in Anambra, the insecurity fomented by IPOB and other rogue elements loosely referred to as unknown gunmen has normalised kidnapping and ransom payments as the business of the day. Citizens of the state pay ransom running into millions of naira without batting an eyelid — they too have grown accustomed to this brutish way of life. Taking a closer look at all happening in the state, one would also notice that the governor isn’t spared from all the madness.
The newly elected governor of Anambra and former central bank governor Chukwuma Soludo is equally being held at ransom in his own state. No, the governor hasn’t been kidnapped — nothing of that sort. Rather, having inherited an imploding state from his predecessor Willie Obiano the EFCC sprinter, Soludo equally inherited the daunting task of resuscitating it. Given his background in economics, Soludo thought himself suitable to handle the hydra-headed problems that befell his state. Whether it was mismanagement or issues of economic stagnation; sanitation or security, he had his gloves on.
Realising the chunk of the state economy being eaten away by the weekly Monday sit at home order issued by the IPOB, the governor had to do something to restore some level of normalcy. It was time to confront IPOB openly. Walking on shells, he chose to appeal to the religious side of things. Anambra being a state majorly populated by Christians of Catholic and Anglican sects, the governor found it easy to call for prayers on a Monday to end the weekly sit at home order.
With things looking up at first, the weekly Monday sit at home order seemed to have been prayed away by the people of the state. It wasn’t long before things fell apart again. But this time around, things got worse: the sit at home order came back forcefully and included other days that weren’t Mondays on some occasions. This meant that on certain weeks, the state had a 3-day work week –its economy was fast bleeding. Not even religion could save them.
A Different Approach
Coupled with the occasional attack on government personalities and government-run buildings in the state, Soludo is at the mercy of these radical elements in his state. Given this series of events, a right-thinking person is left puzzled as to the how and the why. The answers to these are simple and lie in the manner Nigeria is fashioned. Constitutionally speaking, Nigeria is a highly centralised country with the federal government possessing a monopoly of security.
Simply put, the federal government of Nigeria has exclusive control over the military, police and other parastatals tasked with maintaining peace and security in the country. This hoarding of power by the federal has left state governments in a powerless position similar to that of Soludo in Anambra. Unable to forcefully combat the security threats in his state, Soludo was left to romance it with religion.
In an attempt to live up to his name which directly translates to “follow peace”, Soludo went back to the drawing board to re-strategize his way around the problems of his state. Towing the path of diplomacy, Soludo attempting to quail the madness going on in his state went on a friendly neighbourhood visit to the de facto leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu who is currently in jail undergoing trial for treason and other offences. Will this pay his ransom to IPOB? Stay tuned…..
