Soludo has failed Anambra people –Ozigbo

Former candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2021 governorship election in Anambra State, and currently an aspirant to the November 2025 governorship election in the state under the Labour Party (LP), Valentine Ozigbo has said the level of insecurity in Anambra under Professor Chukwuma Soludo is horrendous.

Among others, he spoke on the sideline at a town hall meeting in Lagos to discuss the state and way forward for the good of Anambra State and South East region.

What is happening here today?

Today is a town hall meeting with some of the key stakeholders, who are interested in a better Anambra; South East and Nigeria. What we plan is to invite some friends to have a chat, a conversation, and a brainstorming session on which way to go; I mean the way forward. We have now seen the situation of the country, Alaigbo and Anambra State. What do we do? Let’s hear from everybody, let’s know what they think. Let me share my own thoughts and hear what they have to say. So, this is part of the ongoing engagements across the globe. I have visited about 14 cities in North America, the US and Canada. And recently, I embarked on another 18–city tour in Europe.

And it is the same message, which is where do we go from here? So far, so good, I can see that people are very much interested and they are also coming out with good ideas. These are ideas that we are going to put together and hopefully, as we embark on the 2025 elections in Anambra State, it is going to help to shape that election, in terms of ideas, participation, funding and every level of engagement. We should be looking at what we are going to do to make sure that the election is free, fair and successful.

Talking about the 2025 elections, we know you contested the 2021 election in Anambra, are you in the race again?

I have since declared my interest; it is public. So, if you are asking this question, it means you need to go and do some research further because clearly I am in the race to be the next governor of Anambra State. I am currently running under the Labour Party (LP) and we are also looking and watching what is going on in the party to be sure that hopefully soon, all these things will be tidied up. Otherwise, we are also going to look at other options. What is interesting is the conversation around the coalition. We need to bring people together, not just one party because one party may not really do it for you. We are looking at how we can galvanise a coalition of like minds in different parties to come together so that we can achieve the objective.

Talking about collaboration, in 2021, you ran under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Are you in any kind of talks with parties like the PDP for a merger this time?

Talks are going on at different levels. I can’t tell you the ones I am not involved in. At the national level, some people are engaging. At the state level, I am also engaging. I am talking to my friends in the PDP. I am talking to my friends in the All Progressives Congress (APC). I am talking to my friends in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and I am talking to my friends in the Young People’s Party (YPP) and what have you. The idea is for us to come together and redeem Anambra for good.

Why do you want to contest again; is it that you are not satisfied with the level of development in Anambra under the current governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo or what?

It is not me; it is that Anambra people are not satisfied. The level of insecurity is horrendous, and there is not even any hope; there is no sign that something good is going to come out of this administration as far as security is concerned. Beyond that, the highhandedness; the Akodo syndrome and the paucity of law and order are apparent. The question is: Who in Anambra is happy? Which institution is happy? Which department is happy? Hardly would you find any; so Anambra people are not happy and this is part of the discussion today. Let’s hear from those in Lagos. Are people happy with how Anambra is? How many of you are going home for Christmas? Are you excited to go home? Are you perturbed; are you worried; are you concerned? And that is the conversation. So, the truth of the matter is that our people are haemorrhaging. They are totally sad; very sad.

What would you do differently from the current administration when you get there?

Not just what I would be doing differently, you should start from who you are? A lot of times, we make this mistake and the people in the media also make the mistake of asking what a person would do differently because I can tell you all kinds of stuff. For instance, the current governor told you he would turn Anambra to Dubai-Taiwan, where is the Dubai-Taiwan? I can tell you what I will do differently but ‘who are you’ should be the first question. You have got to be a different kind of person. The Bible in Proverb 29:2 says, “When good people are in power, the people rejoice. It didn’t say when smart people or people who know what to tell and confuse the electorate are in power; it says when good people are in power. I think that it is not just Anambra State or South East but Nigeria. Are Nigerians happy or are they suffering? That defines who and who are in power. So, what do we do? I feel that one of the fundamental things about leadership is what I call the gift or skill of emotional intelligence and that is what I am bringing to the table.

First and foremost, apart from being competent and knowing what to do; acknowledging that you don’t know it all, humbling yourself to be able to listen to other people, respecting and showing love and compassion to one another, and knowing your environment are also very important in leadership. If you don’t understand these things, you can’t lead. But, if you understand these traits, even if you don’t know what to do, you know who to ask; you know where to go to get the information you need to function well as a leader and that is what I think is missing in the leadership of Anambra State currently. The gentleman there today doesn’t listen to anybody. He thinks he knows it all and it is very telling of his acts. There is no compassion; there is nothing to show that this man is worried about the situation in the state. He doesn’t even speak about it. You hear that an archbishop has been kidnapped, and there is no comment from the governor.

Are you not concerned about what the system has turned out to be, especially with the role of INEC, the judiciary and the security agencies? Are you not worried that the power of incumbency could compromise these agencies to work against you?

Should we then fold our hands because there is power of incumbency or because you think INEC is corrupt or the judiciary has been compromised? Should we allow them to continue for second and even third terms?

No, that’s not the point…

The point I am making here is that if the people decide that this is what they want, there is no INEC that can stop them; there is no judiciary that can stop them. Let us get the Anambra people to decide and let us see the INEC that will stand in their way. That’s all I can say about that.

You seem to have done a couple of these stakeholders’ meetings, right?

Yes, I have been to 31 cities. I have held a town hall meeting in Abuja for instance, this is the Lagos version. There are going to be many more. I am going to hold it in Enugu and Asaba and of course, I am doing many already in Anambra State. It’s all different levels of engagement to meet our people in everywhere they live; not just Ndi Anambra, but Ndi Igbo because we are all stakeholders. What happens in Anambra will impact what happens in Imo, Abia, Enugu and Ebonyi states. So, let us engage our people. So, there will be a series of this engagement both before the primary and even the main election.

What has been the outcome of those engagements?

They have been exciting; I am encouraged. I am seeing, first, people being upset about the status quo. Secondly, people’s resolve to challenge and change the status quo. And thirdly, people are already seeing me as a credible alternative. But because we are not yet in the campaign period, we can’t talk about votes and all that, so this is just consultations. But, what I have seen so far is very encouraging.

Credit: The Sun