MEET PROF. CHUKWUMA CHARLES SOLUDO, THE GOVERNOR-ELECT OF ANAMBRA STATE
By Izuchukwu Adichie, Christian Aburime.
In Anambra, the All Progressives Grand Alliance -APGA had on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 held her gubernatorial primary election where Professor Chukwuma Soludo CFR was declared winner with 93.5 % of the votes, scoring 740 out of the 792 delegate votes cast to win his co-aspirants.
WHO IS CHUKWUMA SOLUDO CFR?
Chukwuma Soludo hails from Isuofia in Aguata Local Government Area. He was born on 28th day of July, 1960. His parents are Chief Simeon Nwankwo Soludo and Late Mgbafor Soludo. Though he suffered the agony of losing his beloved mother when he was eight (8) years-old, life was nonetheless kind to him as he was left to grow up under the care of his great father who was then a driver at NICEM, Enugu.
He began his early life knowing fully well he had no option but to succeed for himself, his family especially Mgbafor, his late mother who had wanted him to become a teacher. His leadership qualities became manifest very early when he became the Head Boy in his Primary School, and the Senior Prefect in his Secondary School.
He attended Amorji Primary School, Isuofia, had his West Africa School Certificate at Uga Boys High School. In a reference to his exemplary character and intellectual capacity, the young Soludo was nicknamed “Paragon” by his School mates where he left an unbroken academic record.
He obtained his three degrees and then Professorship at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Enugu State. Soludo graduated with a First Class Honours degree Economics in 1984, an MSc Economics in 1987, and a PhD Economics in 1989, winning prizes for the best student at all three levels.
Chukwuma Soludo is the winner of Vice Chancellor’s Prize for the University of Nigeria’s Best Graduating Ph.D candidate, (1988/89 session); Faculty Prize for the Best Graduating Ph.D candidate in the Faculty of Social Sciences; Best Graduating student (M.Sc class) 1987; The Faculty Prize for the Best Graduating Candidate in the Faculty of the Social Sciences (B.Sc programme, June 1984). The Departmental Prize for the Best candidate in the Department of Economics ( B.Sc programme, June 1984).
He proceeded to Lagos State in 1989 where he did a compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), program set up by the Nigerian government to involve Nigerian graduates in nation building and the development of the country.
THE MAN PROFESSOR CHUKWUMA SOLUDO –
Chukwuma Soludo started his teaching career as a Junior lecturer in the University of Nigeria Nsukka. He is a core professional in the business of macroeconomics, trained and involved in research, teaching, and auditing in such disciplines as multi-country macro-econometric modelling, techniques of computable general equilibrium modelling, survey methodology, and panel data econometrics.
In 1998, Soludo was appointed to the position of Professor of Economics at the University of Nigeria Nsukka at age of 38; a record breaking achievement by the standards of the University of Nigeria. His meteoric rise in the academia world is simply phenomenal. He went through three promotions at the University of Nigeria Nsukka.
He trained and became a visiting Professor at the Brookings Institution, Washington DC, University of Oxford as Rhodes Scholar, Fellow of the Wolfson College, University of Warwick as Visiting Scholar, University of Oxford and Swarthmore College in USA. In United States of America and in United Kingdom, he also attended over a dozen specialized, short-term courses.
An avid reader, prolific writer and researcher of International repute, Chukwuma Soludo has to date published more than three hundred (300) academic publications; including research publications in international journal, books, conference papers, monographs and public lectures. Some of his books are bestsellers in the United States of America and read in many Universities abroad.
Infact, it is often quoted that Soludo as at 1995 had garnered enough publications to make two Professors. It is also an open secret that the points he made when he was assessed for Professorship could easily make three Professors. This feat was not only amazing but incredibly awesome!
Some of Chukwuma Soludo’s widely read publications:
-COVID-19: Can Africa Afford Lockdowns?
-The Politics of Trade and Industrial Policy in Africa.
-North-South Macroeconomic Interactions: Comparative Analysis using the MULTIMOD and INTERMOD global models.
-Implications of alternative macroeconomic policy responses to external shocks in Africa.
-Growth performance in Africa: Further evidence on the external shocks versus domestic policy debate.
-The Consequences of US Fiscal Actions in a Global Model with Alternative Assumptions about the Exchange Regime in Developing Countries.
-“Our Continent, Our Future: African Perspectives on Structural Adjustment.
-“African Voices on Structural Adjustment: A Companion to Our Continent, Our Future: African Persoectives on Structural Adjustment”
-African Voices on Structural Adjustment: A Companion to Our Continent, Our Future”
-The Debt Trap in Nigeria: Towards a Sustainable Debt Strategy
-“The Politics of Trade and Industrial Policy in Africa: Forced Consensus”
-Potential Impacts of the New Global Financial Architecture on Poor Countries.
-Macroeconomic Adjustment, Trade and Growth: Policy Analysis using a Macroeconomic Model of Nigeria.
-Macroeconomic Policy Modelling of African Economies.
-Economic and Institutional Reforming for the Next Nigeria.
-Potential Impacts of the new Global Architecture on Poor Countries.
-Can Nigeria be the China of Africa?
-Implications of Alternative Macroeconomic Policy Responses to External Shocks in Africa.
He is an accomplished academia whose ingenuity and academic brilliance were and still the most sought after.
He consulted for the top International Organizations the entire world can boast of;
- International Monetary Fund, (IMF);
2.The World Bank, - the United Nations
- Economic Commission for Africa,
- Africa Union (AU);
- The United Nations Development Programme, (UNDP);
7.International Labour Organization, (ILO): - European Union (EU),
9.OECD,
10.USAID,
11.ADFB, - COMESA
- ECOWAS.
- UK-DFID
- African Development Bank
- UNCTAD
- UN-ECA
- IDRC Canada
19 . The Brookings Institution - CODESIRA, the list is endless. Indeed, was virtually no International Organization that Chukwuma Soludo did not consult for.
Everywhere he goes, he not only attracts respect, he literally commands it. His influence, charm and wide acceptability both at home and abroad are easily discernible. His mastery of economics especially in the area of macro-economics, fiscal policy and the practical applications of these disciplines earned him a 14-month consultancy appointment by three-Pan African institutions to represent them in a major work with the World Bank. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Africa Development Bank and the Africa Consortium nominated him to be the African expert to represent them in a major project titled: “Can African Claim The 21st Century?” : A major book that charts the way forward for African Economics Development in the 21st century which is now a best seller and widely read in most universities across the world
Extensively travelled man, Chukwuma Soludo has lived in Ethiopia, England and the United States, and has also visited more than 45 countries in all the continents of the world as an international consultant
THE MAN ODENIGBO.
The forty-eight (48) communities from Aguata, Orumba North and South that formed Old Aguata Union, OAU, conferred on him Odenigbo Aguata na Orumba in year 2000, a chieftaincy title for distinguished service and on September 9, 2018, Soludo was adopted into the cabinet chief, Igwe-in council of the Idigo dynasty of the ancient kingdom of AGULERI. He was confered with Odenjiji Aguleri.
Chukwuma Soludo have had a distinguished International and National service:
- At the heat of the global financial crisis in 2008, he was the African member in the 10-member technical committee set up by the United Nations to design the Agenda for Reforming the International Monetary and Financial System.
- He served as member of the Chief Economist’s Advisory Council (CEAC) of the World Bank, 2005-2012.
- He served as member of the International Advisory Group, UK-DFID, 2005-2007 among others.
Currently, he seats as Chairman and, or Member of Board of Directors of several Corporations, and other national bodies, which include:
- Chairman, Paragon Minning Group.
-Chairman, African. Heritage Institution.
-Member and Chairman of Finance Committee of the South Centre, Geneva (an Inter-governmental think-tank for 54 Developing countries)
-Member of President Buhari’s Economic Advisory Council.
-Chairman of the Committee for Anambra’s 50 Year Development Plan (Vision 2070)
Chukwuma Soludo is a Fellow of several professional bodies including the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Nigerian Economic Society, as well as Fellow of the Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, UK.
Married to Dr. Nonye Frances Soludo, and blessed with children, Chukwuma Soludo is a promoter of Christian Faith in Nigeria, currently he serves as a member of the Finance Council of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), as well as a Director of the Board of the Peter University of the Catholic Diocese of Awka.
CHUKWUMA SOLUDO’S PUBLIC LIFE-
In a prove of him being the best of it’s kind with excellence and versatility in Economics, in 2003, the renowned Nigerian Professor who was consulting for International Organisations was brought back to Nigeria by the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo to officially join Nigerian public service. He was appointed first as Chief Economic Adviser and Chief Executive Officer of the National Planning Commission and later in 2004, as Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria.
A herculean task by every measure but Soludo, inspired, launched, spearheaded and coordinated the affairs of the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy (NEEDS), a Nigeria’s medium term economic blueprint. As an astute, he set a new record of drafting, consulting, publishing and launching the Federal Government’s comprehensive reform programme within seven (7) months. It was the fastest of any such grown, extensively consultative and participatory programme in any Federation.
Part of his Economic vision for Nigeria is to be Africa’s financial hub, Soludo was the person who ensured the survival of Nigeria’s macro economy and particularly as CBN Governor, he ensured price and financial stability. As a Pan-Africanist and a Reformer – who was in a haste to put Nigeria’s economy and financial system on the world map, he did his job by gathering Nigeria’s Banking Chiefs at his Abuja office and rolled out a 13-point agenda for banking sector reforms. Top on the list include the setting of a floor equivalent to $185 million as required capital-base for deposit miney banking business in Nigeria as against the $16 million minimum capitalization. Soludo saw for the merger and acquisitions for banks unable to make the new capitalization by December 31, 2005; it also includes strict enforcement of corporate government rules; close collaboration with Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with the establishment of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU); transformed the Federal Office of Statistics into the current National Bureau of Statistics; rehabilitation of the moribund Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC) to make it a world class institution, and to meet not only Nigeria’s security printing needs but also those of West and Central Africa.
Soludo’s reform saw the company meeting the ambitious deadline of stopping the over US$120 million annual importation of finished banknotes into Nigeria by end of 2006. This was a difficult task that was accomplished in less than two years. NSPM Plc’s banknote printing capacity improved from less than 1.0 billion pieces in the previous years to 1.3 billion pieces in 2005. He also embarked on a comprehensive review of the currency structure with the design and issuance of the #1000 banknote in October, 2005, and successfully redesigned other denominations of the Naira in 2006.
Chukwuna Soludo also created a sound banking system and a more robust monetary policy formulation and implementation. Soludo who has served in over 20 Technical Committees of the Federal Government, covering diverse aspects of Nigeria’s socio-economic landscape, saw the entire Nigerian economy as his constituency and promoted excellence and productivity throughout Nigeria.
Until today, he remains the only CBN Governor to ensure single digit inflation for 24 consecutive months. Low inflation benefited every Nigerian, especially the poor. The NEEDS reform programme together with his globally acclaimed banking consolidation which provided trillions of Naira credit to thousands of businesses created unprecedented employment and prosperity in Nigeria from 2003- 2009. It is estimated that about 12.8 million jobs were created for Nigerian youths during Soludo’s tenure (2003 -2009). Nigerian millionaires and billionaires who have been borrowing billions of Naira from the banks and creating millions of jobs since 2005 largely owe their success to Soludo’s banking revolution. It is not an accident that 2003- 2009 period that Soludo was in government remains Nigeria’s golden economic era since independence- seven years of sustained 7- 8% annual economic growth rates, and everyone was better off.
Since Soludo’s revolution, no Nigerian has lost his deposit in a bank. Soludo built Nigeria’s foreign reserves from US$10 billion to all time high of US$63 billion and even after paying $12 billion to cancel Nigeria’s foreign debt and hit by the global crisis of 2008, he still left $45 billion behind. Not one penny has been added to it since he left office. Under his leadership, the exchange rate strengthened to N112 to one US$ before the global crisis of 2008/9. He licensed over 1000 Bureau de Change (BDCs) and each received hundreds of thousands of US dollars per week and thousands of traders and travelers had easy access to foreign exchange.
As an aggressive reformer, Chukwuma Soludo also launched what many Nigerians have referred to the Second Revolution -The National Microfinance Policy, Regulatory and Supervisory Framework for Nigeria. He initiated the Programme of capacity building for microfinance management by training of trainers on microfinance.
Soludo’s leadership in CBN licensed over 1000 Micro Finance Banks. He envisioned the creation of Transactional Corporation of Nigeria -Transcorp Plc in 2004. Soludo also envisioned and mobilized $1.1 billion to establish Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), which today, has 18-African countries as members/shareholders. He accomplished within 15-months, what the African Union had planned but could not do in 25-years. African Financial Corporation is Africa’s Infrastructure bank, and in just ten years became the second credit-rated Pan-African Development Bank.
Chukwuma Soludo was on 19th January, 2006, at the Dorchester Hotel in London, UK, presented with the double award as the most outstanding Governor of the Central Bank in the world and in the African region in 2006. The award which was instituted by The Bankers’ Magazine, published by the Financial Times of London, is in recognition of the efforts of Chief Executive Officers of Central Banks across the world who have successfully conceived and implemented the most innovative banking policies in the year. Soludo’s successful implementation of the first phase of the banking sector reforms has earned him recognition as the man with the strongest success story in banking in the African region, which forms a separate category of award, as well as the global award.
No wonder, Soludo is the only CBN Governor to be decorated with the third Highest National Honour – Commander of Federal Republic (CFR). Moreover, he is the only CBN Governor not only to be a triple winner of the Global Best Governor of Central Bank (2005, 2006 and 2007) but also African Best Governor.
In 2004, the Alma Mater, the University of Nigeria Nsukka honored Chukwuma Soludo with a special award as “the Most Distinguished Alumus of the University and in 2006, six national newspapers and magazines declared him Nigeria’s “Man of the Year”. He has equally been variously recognized Internationally among the top 100 most influential Africans.
CHUKWUMA SOLUDO AND HIS ANAMBRA HOME COMING.
After outstanding academic and excellent service records, Chukwuma Soludo made his first political appearance in 2010 when he declared his intention to run for the February 6th, Anambra State gubernatorial election on the platform of the People Democratic Party (PDP). Soludo ran one of the best campaigns, one would be modest to say that his Soludo Solution was an anthem in the mouth of people; and that was because of his personality and excellent records. Unfortunately, he didn’t win the election, his then party PDP had a bad image in the state. Soludo was a best candidate but was in a wrong party in 2010.
The overwhelming demand by the people of Anambra for Soludo to remain politically engaged and to succeed the then Governor Peter Obi made him to resign from PDP on July 17, 2013.
He was formerly welcomed in his Isuofia ward as APGA member in 2013 where he later joined in campaigning and delivering of the incumbent governor Chief (Dr.) Willie M. Obiano, after he was disqualified from the contest on a remark that it was the turn of the Northern zone of the state to produce a Governor.
His zeal to serve his people never faded, in 2017, he was asked by the party leadership to again relinguish his governorship ambition, and to support the re-election of Governor Obiano for a second and final term. He was instrumental in the re-electioneering campaign and was among the lead role-playing stakeholder notable with his Sobriquet speech, “If Not Broken, Why Mend It?” which changed the narrative and handed the party the 21 over 21 needed victory.
On February 2018, governor Obiano appointed him the Chairman Board of Trustees (BOT) of Golden Tulip Agulu Lake Hotel and Resort, and on May 2019, because of his allegiance and commitment, he was appointed a member Board of Trustees (BOT) of the party. In 2020, Soludo who salvaged the quagmired Nigeria’s economy and successfully consolidated banks was also made Chairman Anambra State Vision 2070.
On July 28, 2019, On Soludo’s birthday, he was approached and courted by a group; Youth Earnestly Seek Soludo (YESS) led by their Convener, Dr. Nelson Omenugha for him to declare his ambition to succeed Governor Obiano. Ever since then, THIRTY (30) grassroots political movements have emerged. On his acceptance to the clarion call by ndi-Anambra,
He declared his ambition to succeed Governor Obiano on February 8, 2021, when he visited the state party secretariat in Awka to make known his intention to kick-start consultation with stakeholders including; national, state, local governments and wards leadership of the party, government political appointees, Transition Committee Chairmen.
Chukwuma Soludo had on June 1, 2021, visited the party’s Headquarters in Abuja where he bought the APGA Nomination and Expression of Interest Form to officially join the race after due consultations and endorsements by larger population of his people including party stakeholders and its leaders.
Chukwuma Soludo breathes and drinks APGA. He believes in the essence, aim and objective of the party. And equally believes that it’s the only party that will move Nigeria to the next level. Soludo joining the race was not a do or die affair, he offered himself to the members of APGA and believed their decision is final.
Soludo’s aspiration was on June 1, 2021 given positive remarks by the NWC Screening Committee after the committee successfully screened and certified him “cleared and fit” to succeed Governor Obiano.
As the people’s choice and the man closer to the November Poll Victory, he convincingly won the party’s primary with a total of 740 votes and that has proven that the foremost Nigeria’s Professor of Economist and the former Apex Manager of Central Bank of Nigeria is deservely the favorite to emerge the party’s flag bearer.
Today, Wednesday, November 10, 2021, he has officially been declared Governor-elect having won the gubernatorial election overwhelmingly with the support of Ndi-Anambra
We say congratulations to everyone who has been involved in this divine project
