Wale Adeduro, PhDBy Wale Adeduro, PhD
Professor Charles Soludo has been making major statements from the moment he was elected the executive Governor of Anambra State.
His statements have not just been made through his vocal chords. His baby steps as a Nigerian Governor have been shaking tables. A lot of discerning minds, in and outside Anambra State, are already focusing their binoculars on the former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The perfume of vision oozing from this Professor of Economics is a breath of fresh air in the recent political trajectory of Nigeria.
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By insisting, early in the day, on prioritising the patronage and usage of made in Anambra goods, products and food items the new Governor of Anambra State is stoking the fire of economic rebirth in South East of Nigeria.
He has already started directing curious but positive attention to Anambra State by wearing only the locally made Akwete dresses. His acquisition of an SUV from Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing as his official vehicle is a morale booster for indigenous manufacturers in Anambra State.
To be sure, Professor Soludo is not the first former CBN Governor who will be elected to preside over the affairs of a state in Nigeria. Late Chief Clement Isong, has passed through this path before him as a former CBN Governor who became a State Governor. Neither is he the first Professor to become a Governor in Nigeria. Professor Babagana Zulum of Borno State and Professor Ben Ayade of Cross River State have been in the saddle as Governors before Soludo picked his winning nomination ticket to contest for Governorship elections in Anambra State in 2021.
While the two Professors who became Governors in their respective states are pulling their weights through innovative leadership, Soludo has hit the ground running as one Nigerian leader who may put Nigeria on the global map for productivity and cultural renaissance.
It is not rocket science to conjecture the outcome of what is unfolding in Anambra State.
When a State Government deliberately patronises goods and products produced by its people, there shall be multiplier effects. Over time, local manufacturers will be more encouraged to produce goods. The confidence of the people in consuming locally produced goods shall increase, thus resulting in more patronage of locally produced goods. Gradually, investors outside the State will be stimulated to inflow funds for investments into the State. At the international level, Foreign Direct Investments will fly on the wings of venture capitalists into the State.
The progression of this plethora of earned goodwill is bound to lead to the revamping of the economy of the State. Since we live in a nation where people copy more than they create, Anambra State will become the preferred destination for economic tourism by other State Governors and their retinue of commissioners and staff.
It will be a matter of time for the internally generated revenue (IGR) of Anambra State to take regal steps up the income graph.
This ultimately impacts positively on the productivity of its people as well as the Gross Domestic Products of Nigeria.
Therefore, if Governor Soludo is able to pull his silent revolution through, Nigeria will be a major beneficiary with increased GDP. The new Governor would have done Ndigbo proud and reposition the whole of South-East of Nigeria to become the model of radical development.
As lofty as this approach is, Governor Soludo needs to be reminded that there are booby traps which may take the wind off his sail as a revolutionary Governor. There is no doubt that the Akwete dress wearing Governor can muster the necessary political will to carry his ideas to the shores of completion. In 2004 Governor Soludo, as the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, successfully introduced a radical banking reform in the Nigerian banking sector. The reform was aimed at establishing a reliable and efficient banking sector to guarantee the safety of the depositors’ funds.
However there are black legs and fifth columnists who may actively work to scuttle the success of the Made in Anambra revolution. If Governor Soludo can be as resolute as he was as the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, he will definitely outwit all wailers and joy killers.
One other challenge will be the condemnation of “Made in Anambra” goods as inferior and substandard. In fact, it won’t be long before Nigerians, especially on Social Media, start making snide comments calling every substandard products and badly behaved Nigerian as “Made in Anambra”. The Governor and indeed, all well meaning indigenes of Anambra State should not bat an eyelid over such denigrating comments. Anambra won’t be the first human community to be so derided. Once upon a time, the phrase “Made in China” in Nigeria was a derogatory statement condemning the goods produced in China.Today, China leads the Asian Tigers in manufacturing and technology globally. Soludo must be encouraged to pursue his vision of promoting “Made in Anambra” goods. There is no doubt that this will ultimately lead to the prosperity of the people in the State and indirectly improve the quality of life in Anambra State.
To ensure that this vision is not “dead on arrival” the new Governor must get the buy in of his principal officers as well as the legislators in the state. He is unwittingly calling for a behavioral shift that some people in the State may find as a goblet too hard to swallow. The rejection of the proposal of patronising Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing by the lawmakers in Abuja in 2020 in preference for 400 units of foreign manufactured Toyota Camry is still fresh in the minds of patriotic Nigerians. One cheeky lawmaker actually referred to the idea of patronising made in Nigeria vehicles as “simply being sarcastic”. Such lawmakers may not be in short supply among Anambra legislators.
What this calls for is that there should be a deliberate State wide orientation on attitudinal change from primary school level and above. The leaders and people of Anambra State must imbibe the idea of “Anambra First” in all things, including purchases. There should not be any discrimination against products as long as they meet the standard set by Anambra State Government. Standards can only be validated if the State creates its own standard verification organ or works closely with the Anambra State units of NAFDAC, SON and other relevant agencies of Government.
The race for unlimited productivity is on with Governor Soludo lighting the torch with his adoption of an SUV manufactured by the indigenous Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing. As I learnt in the Theatre Arts Department of University of Ibadan about four decades ago, I am praying that Professor Charles Soludo will break a leg as the fifth democratically elected Governor of Anambra State.
Dr. Wale Adeduro, is a Productivity Consultant. He can be reached him @waleadeduro
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