There is no denying the fact that the Statement made by the Senator representing Imo West, Rochas Okorocha during his formal declaration to run for President come 2023 is no doubt a magnum opus which has created a character that has to a large extent described who a people-oriented leader truly is.
It would be recalled that while addressing a Press Conference in Abuja on a particular Monday in January 2022 that Okorocha likened Nigeria to an aircraft that he would love to pilot. The senator said if elected president, the country would encounter challenges but he is capable of surmounting them.
He pleaded, “Please permit me to be your pilot for a new Nigeria, as your pilot there might be small turbulence, no problem, Captain Rochas is in command,” the former Imo governor said amid laughter.
Okorocha said if elected president, he would hand over power to the youths after the conclusion of his tenure, and assured that he would use his time as president to prepare the youths for leadership positions.
“To the youths, if I become your president, I will hand over power to the next generation. I’m not not-too-young-to-run and not too old to run, I’m only 57. “I created 25,000 jobs for the youths. I made 305 millionaires in Imo,” he said.
The senator said he detests poverty because of his humble background, adding that his wealth is “clean”.
“I will create wealth, I sold oranges, my wealth is clean, go and check CCB (forms),” he said.
“Our biggest problem is hunger, I have addressed that in the new Nigeria.”
To anyone that understands the dynamics of vision or prophecy, particularly anyone that is affiliated to the Christendom, Okorocha was not speaking about himself per se about another leader that is of Eastern Nigerian extraction. This is because vision is convoluted and comes in different forms that cannot be easily understood, especially by the uninitiated.
If you want to understand who God is, you need to understand all of who God is. Getting your head around the difference between vision and imagination is one thing. But many struggle to grasp what vision is in a way they could clearly interpret to someone else. This is because deep calleth unto deep. That is not a simple idea to get to grips with.
Given the foregoing ecclesiastical backdrop of the fact that vision is intricate in understanding, particularly to the uninitiated is that Soludo has few days after inauguration into office without wasting time hits the ground running. To my view, Governor Soludo is the Pilot Okorocha saw in his vision as he has in no time been demonstrating the leadership traits alluded to in his declaration for presidency come 2023.
Like the leader Okorocha saw in his vision in the embodiment of a Pilot, Soludo is at the moment literarily flying “Ndi Anambra” on air in the professionalism that is reminiscent of the pilot Okorocha saw in the vision with the full assurance that he will land safely in the next four years, particularly as the plane took off well. The foregoing view is quite logical as he wasted no time in announcing the appointment of Dr. Chukwudi Okoli as the Accountant General and Chinedu Nwoye as the Deputy Chief of Staff/Chief of Protocol, and assured that the list of his commissioners will be forwarded to the House of Assembly in the spate of one week to which he fulfilled with a high sense of alacrity.
Since he mounted the cockpit, like a professional Pilot, he has consistently been urging Ndi Anambra to volunteer their time and treasure to create “The homeland of our dream”, and that “Everybody is important in this journey and I need your help to succeed.”
“We must all strive to die empty, to give our all, in aid of God’s creation. Each day, every “Onye Anambra” must ask himself or /herself: ‘What have I done today to make my home state livable and prosperous?’ It should be part of our daily devotion.
“There must be a purpose why God in His infinite wisdom decided to make you “Onye Anambra”, and that must be to leave it better than you met it. No one is too poor to give or do something for Anambra. If not you, then who; if not now, then when?”
Articulating his profound vision for Anambra, Soludo said: “As I close my eyes and visualise our future, I can see millions of “Ndi Anambra” holding hands and working hard for a glorious future.
“I see the skyscrapers along the banks of River Niger in Onitsha, Nnewi, Awka, Ekwulobia, etc.
“I see a smart megacity with millions of happy and prosperous people.
“I see us exporting massively to the world and the world coming to Anambra as a preferred destination to live, work, invest, learn, relax and enjoy.
“History beckons. Seize this moment “Ndi Anambra”, and together, let us make it count. Anambra: the Light of the Nation shines!”
Without doubt, and analyzing this contextual scenario from the perspective of Okorocha’s pilot, Anambra as a state would encounter challenges but Soludo has demonstrated his ability of being capable of surmounting such challenges.
For instance, that the task of boosting the economy of Anambra State is ostensibly bedeviled by a plethora of challenges is no more news, particularly with the most conspicuous being Monday Sit-At-Home Order by the leadership of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), and its concomitant growing height of insecurity and economic consequences. In his bid to find solution to the challenge, Soludo has asked all churches in the Southeast to utilize each passing Monday as a day of prayer for the entire communities in the South East region of the country as well as praying for improvement of the communities’ collective economy. He asserted that the prayers will also signal the end of the Monday sit-at-home Order that had lingered in the region for months, specifically since August, 2021.
The governor made the disclosure during a one-day Peacebuilding and Security Dialogue, held in Awka in response to the worsening security challenges in the region, and also gave the assurance that he will lead his brother governors in the Southeast to engage the Federal Government in dialogue to handle the insecurity situation in the zone.
Besides the foregoing, he has not relented in his bid to ensure that environment of the state is clean and aesthetic.
Even today as you read this piece, the contextual pilot has appointed a 15- member Truth, Justice and Peace Commission into his crew to stop the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The committee is headed by human rights activist, Prof Chidi Odinkalu with Amb. Bianca Ojukwu as Secretary
A statement on Wednesday by Secretary to the Anambra State Government, Prof Solo Chukwulobelu, named other members of the committee as Mr. Charles Oputa (Charley boy); music icon Onyeka Onwenu; Dr. Joe Nwaorgu; Dr. Udenta Udenta; Dr. Uju Agomoh; Rev. Fr (Msgnr); Jerome Madueke and Canon Dr. Okechukwu C. Obi-Okoye. Others are: Dr. John Out; Mr. Ngozi Odumuko; Dr. Joe Abah, Mr. Chukwuma Okpalaezeukwu; Mr. Sam Egwuatu and Prof. Joseph Ikechebelu.
Against the foregoing backdrop, one is compelled to ask, “Is Soludo the pilot Okorocha saw in a vision? In as much as the answer is farfetched as it is too early to ascertain if he is the one, it is expedient to say “Time will tell”.
