For the Records: EXCERPTS OF GOVERNOR CHUKWUMA CHARLES SOLUDO’S NIGERIA 64TH INDEPENDENCE SPEECH AT ALEX EKWUEME SQUARE, AWKA, OCTOBER 1, 2024

We are gathered this year, 2024, to celebrate Nigeria’s 64th Independence anniversary.

This is a very special day 64 years ago, Nigeria gained Independence from our former colonial masters; the Great Britain.

This time, 64 years ago, the union jack came down, and the green white green flag was afloat, with all the hopes, promises, and splendour as even encapsulated in our national anthem. The second to the last verse, we pleaded with God to bless Nigeria with peace and plenty.

For 64 years, we have been striving to build this more perfect nation, with all the challenges – civil war, strife, and our triumphs. We’ve made progress and leaps in various ways, but we still live with our challenges.

Today, my own message to Nigeria and ndị Anambra is that despite our challenges, our tomorrow will be greater than today. Our tomorrow will be brighter. I see hope. I see prosperity. I see joy that the dream of our founding fathers – the Rt. Hon. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the Saduana of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello, and all the leaders who flew the flag at Independence indeed, as we pray in our national anthem; their labours will never be in vain.

Nigeria is destined as the largest black nation on earth in terms of population. Just a few years ago, we also ranked the largest economy in Africa. Yes! We’ve slipped, yes, we’ve challenges. And even on this occasion, we remember the victims of all the huge floods that just ravaged a few states. We are still waiting patiently and praying that it doesn’t come with the same kind of ravage on Anambra state, but we remember all the victims at this hour; all those who suffer all kinds of challenges- poverty, inequality, millions of children out of school, those suffering from malnutrition, even in the land of plenty. We remember all of you today and pray that those of us in public service and indeed all Nigerians will come together through collective action, to build upon the foundations already laid by our founding fathers – that Nigeria with peace and plenty, may be blessed.

This is a moment that we recall all those dreams that these people had. Our prayer is that Nigeria will not only be the largest black nation on earth but will soon become one of the top five largest economies in the world. Nigeria can, if we all put our resources together, collectively aspire and work hard to make Nigeria greater than our founding fathers ever dreamt.

This is a land blessed with abundant human and material resources. As I see hope, I salute our youths. I see hope in these children. As I look in their faces, I can see that hope. Wherever we fail, our prayer is that these children will take up from our failings and make Nigeria great. That’s we must work very hard to make sure we give these children all the enablement that they require to be able to have a secured future because it is only when they have a secured future, that they can secure Nigeria.

Here in Anambra state, ours is an agenda with a deadline. We have clear spelt timelines. We have been in office for 30 months and we are still running to deliver on the five key pillars that our administration rest upon- security, law and order, infrastructure and economic transformation, human capital agenda, a government that deliver service to the people and the environment.

On this particular occasion, I want to particularly thank the members of the armed forces, the federal forces, and the security agencies who are working extremely hard to secure our state and make our state safer. I will not also forget our own Anambra Vigilante service, which is also doing quite admirable jobs and other paramilitary institutions. We commend all of you for all your services.

At this moment, we appreciate our past, celebrate our past triumphs, while also dealing with the future. Just last week, here in Anambra, we made a few triumphs. By the way, I’ll never forget that last Saturday, we kept one of the cardinal promises we made to ndị Anambra, and that was to deepen the democratisation process at the grassroot.

The last local government election was conducted in Anambra some ten years ago. We made a promise, which I affirmed during my swearing in, that once we finished putting in the institutional and legal frameworks, we were going to organize local government elections. That promise was kept last Saturday with the conduct of what many have adjudged to be one of the most credible, free, fair, transparent local government elections in Nigeria.

Not surprisingly, I want to appreciate the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission; they did a heroic job. That’s an ANSIEC that was just coupled up a few weeks ago. For some people who said there wasn’t enough notice. It must be on record that Anambra state, in our conduct of the election, have the longest notices, even though the law prescribed for 30 days. The notice was given for forty-eight days. I have seen several other states where elections were conducted with the notices of three, four or five weeks as the case may be; but in Anambra for forty eight days, we transversed the landscape of this state.

For us of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, we took the election very very seriously because the election was almost like a referendum on the current administration in Anambra state and I am proud and happy to note that while we do not take the support of ndi Anambra for granted, we will continue to work every day to continue to earn your trust.

I am very proud that on Saturday, ndị Anambra rose up again to cement what everyone knows in this state that here in Anambra- APGA is Anambra, Anambra is APGA. It was demonstrated again last Saturday. I appreciate ndị Anambra for the confidence you reposed on us as progressives to keep leading our state forward.

Under the watch of the first party that was registered as a Progressives movement, Anambra state, for the past 18 years, has had phenomenal, unbroken 18 years of progressivism.

Ndị Anambra, brighter and better days are ahead. Whatever achievements that you have seen, you sent a very major message on Saturday.

For my own governorship election, we won in about 282 out 326 wards in Anambra. Last Saturday, our goal was to win in 326 over 326, and that’s what ndị Anambra delivered to us on Saturday. I thank all of you, including the other 8 political parties that participated in this contest. The key word is participation. We all went to the street to campaign vigorously, but at the end of the day, our people had their way. The majority will always have their way.

I commend all the political parties for participating gallantly. We look forward to the future. The next election in Anambra will probably be next year. For us, we are focusing on delivering the dividends of democracy. For me, as a person, we are not talking politics. It is now over at the local level. We are going to be deepening democratic governance. That’s what we applied for, that’s the job you gave us. That’s the job we’ll keep working on every day. The politicians can keep playing their politics, but we are at the governance mode. For the elected people at the local government, let’s get to work and deliver dividends of democracy to the people.

On Thursday last week, we had our usual planning session with the head teachers and principals in all the public primary and secondary schools in Anambra to tell our people that we hear them. This is a government of the people, for the people. As true progressives, our mantra is to leave no one behind.

While we are working very hard to clear the arrears of gratuities that were owed to workers for four years. For those we retired at the state civil service, from a few months arrears, we will be able to clear the four year arrears, but all those that retired since we came into office, have been paid as and when due, because when one is left behind, then all is left behind.

In addition, for those who retired at the local government system, I’ve just received a plan of action that will also enable us; I believe that those who have just been elected, working in consonance with the state government, that we implement it. If we successfully implement it, I want to believe that between now and maybe the end of next year, or thereabout , we will be able to clear also the backlog of arrears owed at the local government system. Salaries and pensions are also receiving theirs as and when due.

This government understands that consistent with the times, everybody in Nigeria needs a raise. We are all facing the difficult circumstances together. The national minimum wage law has been passed. We are juggling with the numbers. The revenue situation is not too buoyant in the midst of other dividends of democracy that we have to deliver to our people. But we are prioritising to make sure that the least paid worker will be able to receive a minimum of 70,000 naira.

The second announcement that we made, is still in the light of progressive agenda; to leave no one behind, to make sure that the children of the poor who are mostly in public schools, that we give them the ladder of opportunity which is qualitative education. If you give a child qualitative primary and secondary education, you’ve given a child the ladder to climb and conquer the rest of his or her life.

Worth a mention is the 8115 teachers that we have employed on a competitive basis and posted to our schools to end the era of schools without teachers. Yes! Last year, we announced and continued to implement zero fees, fines, and any levies of any sort to children from nursery through JSS 3 in public schools. And on Thursday, we decided not because we have the resources but because we prioritize our children. We announced that all public schools in Anambra will now be totally free in Anambra state. We have also announced that parents who have already paid school fees should go back and collect the fees they paid.

We also emphasized that the state government will continue to subsidize the returned schools to the churches- their primary and secondary schools. As we speak, there are thousands of government teachers that have been posted to these missions or church schools, and it costs us over 1 billion naira every month to pay the salaries of these teachers. We hope that the partnership will continue.

May l reiterate a point we made that day. We have discovered that there are actually 77 communities in Anambra state that do not have government primary schools. This is wrong. Something is wrong. The children of those communities must be given a choice; whether to go to a mission school or to a government school. It is the duty of the government to provide education to every child. It is not the duty of the church. Anybody else who is investing in education is helping the government to provide that. We are therefore calling for special partnerships for all these communities. Let’s work together.

It is our target that within a few years, we should have public schools in all communities in Anambra, so the children can enjoy total free education as well. We are determined to close that gap. Education is the bridge to the future.

Ndị Anambra, I conclude by reiterating that through collective action, we can build a future of our dream. Our founding fathers had lofty dreams. They are not unattainable if we all work together. Everybody has something to offer. Let us wake up each day asking – what have we done today, or what will we do today, to make Anambra, to make Nigeria far greater than what our founding fathers dreamt for us. I believe we can. That’s why I applied for this job, and every day, I’ll keep on working to realize the promises we made, as well as the promises of our founding fathers. Nigeria will be far greater than we ever dreamt if we all work together.

Thank you very much, and God bless you.

Extracted by Christian Aburime