Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, Nwa Mgbafor, please permit me to address you this way because that is what you told us before to call you and the way you wanted to be addressed. You said instead of adding His Excellency to your name, we should just address you as Soludo Nwa Mgbafor. To your admirers and those currently clapping for you to dance, please, know that it is not an insult addressing you this way, but obeying the instructions you gave to us during your electioneering campaign and after you won the elections. I pray that everybody from now henceforth will not forget to address you the way you wanted to be addressed.
Soludo Nwa Mgbafor, Prof., you have proven a practical example why there is a big difference and gap between knowledge and wisdom and the superiority of wisdom over knowledge . You may have graduated with first class in all your degrees and had the opportunity to work in high level institutions, sir, your current position as the governor of Anambra State and your recent comments and positions on national issues and as it concerns the Igbo race, your tribe, has exposed a lot about you, a clear showing that something is grossly lacking in you and that is, WISDOM, sir, pray for it.
I pray that God will grant His Excellency, Peter Obi, his spokespersons or party, the Labour Party the wisdom not to respond to your recent tirade against Peter Obi, which is what you are looking for to suit the demands of those playing the drums, I am now currently convinced that, may be, the problem of the Igbo man in Nigeria is made in heaven, having read all what you said and realized that it came out from an Igbo Professor, and having also been a witness to what happened in the early 2000s where Igbo Senators conspired with Senators from other places to replace at regular intervals, Igbos who were Senate Presidents then , the very act that brought to fore the renowned saying, that Igbo do not love themselves.
Soludo Nwa mama, let’s get down to the points you raised.
On your paragraph one, you talked about you saying the truth about Peter Obi’s investment of about $11million in Anambra State that is worth not more than $3million now and went further to say that the investment was in a company Peter Obi has interest in, directly putting the decline on investment on the investor, Peter Obi. Sir, I will call this your truth The illusory truth effect (also known as the illusion of truth effect, validity effect, truth effect, or the reiteration effect) which is the tendency to believe false information to be correct after repeated exposure. Soludo Nwa Mgbafor, in trying to talk down on Peter Obi and that investment, as an economist, you have failed to tell the world the worth of $11million as 10 years ago when Peter did the investment and the worth of $3million today even as the investment declines.
Again Soludo, how will you put blame on an investor who left for about 10 years ago and no longer incharge of the investment, instead of those who took over from him and were in position to take decisive actions for or against the investment if they believe the investment was not doing well? Soludo Nwa Mummy, should I put my personal blames on you? As Central Bank governor, Bank Executives under you encouraged most of us to buy shares as we were told that was the easiest, safest and most reliable way to make wealth then and we did. Sir, few years down the line, the shares we bought became worthless and we all lost out because of the mismanagement of the Nigerian economy, should we blame you for overseeing such failure then?
Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, will you rather invest in your enemies company or that of your friends if both were to bring same returns on investment? Sir, will you tell us any investment company then that did better than the one Peter Obi invested Anambra money, citing clear examples of other States whose investment did better?
Chukwuma Soludo, I am not an Igbo man, but it is sad that an Igbo man of your pedigree believes that almost 50 years after the civil war, that the Igbos are not ripe to become president of Nigeria unless they come back to join you to start the process now. Some of your reasons is that the Igbos may not have built enough political structure and reached out enough. This your reason gives me a lot of concern because you are currently acting the real Igbo man that can be bought and used against his brother. Sir, may I remind you that Alex Ekwueme in 1979 was Vice President to Shehu Shagari and won a re-election with him before Major General Muhammadu Buhari and his group struck in 1983. May I also remind you Soludo, that even when the Yorubas rejected President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, the Igbos stood by him and voted him. Sir, have you forgotten that in 2007 when majority of northerners rejected Umaru Musa Ya’arua and instead went for Buhari, the Igbos did not vote their own Odumegwu Ojukwu and Edwin Umezeoke who was with Buhari and rather voted Ya’arua who contested with Jonathan, an Ijaw man as running mate. What else do you think the Igbo man should do ?
Sir, there was a time PDP controlled all the five South East States of Imo, Achike Udenwa. PDP ; Anambra, Chiwoke Mbadinuju, PDP? Enugu, Chimaoroke Nnamani PDP; Abia, Orji Uzor Kalu PDP; and Ebonyi, Sam Ominyi Egwu, PDP. And of recent, the South East had remained the lifeline of PDP, but the makers of Nigeria have refused to give the Igbo man PDP Presidential ticket. If after sacrificing all this for PDP and the Igbo man is not given ticket in PDP, how many years do you think Prof., that the Igbos will join you in APGA for the party to be seen as a National Party and be allowed to rule Nigeria? Again let me say this, Bola Ahmed Tinubu only led part of the Yorubas in 2015 to form alliance with the North and 8 years down the line, he is being rewarded with Presidential ticket. But the Igbos have been in this alliance since 1999 with nothing to show for it, don’t you think that it requires thinking out of the box, may be, like what Peter Obi is doing now?
It is really sad that you Prof. Chukwuma Soludo have assumed the role of God in the affairs of men and the duty of voters by convincing yourself and those urging you on, who may have promised you the presidency, that Peter Obi will not win and can never win; creating an impression that because you are the governor of his State, he has already lost out in Anambra.
That you also raised irrelevant issues like how you called Peter Obi to come and contest under APGA not for winning sake, but to create better future chances for the Igbo man is not just ridiculous but an urgent call for prayers for you by those surrounding you for God to grant you little wisdom. Soludo Nwa Mgbafor, who can predict what will happen tomorrow ? Let me again remind you that when President Muhammadu Buhari contested in 2015 to become president under APC, his home State, Katsina was controlled by the PDP and his governor was Shehu Shema. We never saw Gov. Shehu Shema come out this way to condemn Buhari for going to contest election under APC the way you are doing.
Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, it is sad that you are not different from the nominal Nigerian Politician who believes the young people in this country have no right to condemn or express dissatisfaction about the way Nigeria is runned over the years, the very reason you see them as mob that has no brain to think. Soludo you have proven who you are, the fear of not being allowed to loot the way others did is all over you and we can see it that is why you have suddenly decided to join enemies of Nigeria to condemn the hope of the masses.
Soludo Mgbafor, in Paragraph 15 of your long essay condemning Peter Obi, a man that has in no way attacked you or your government, you said and I quote, “government exist to save lives and not money” explaining that you cannot save when poverty is high in your state, but went further to tell us that as governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, you encouraged Nigeria to save and even saved and grew our foreign reserves from $10million you met it to $63million. Sir was there no poverty then in Nigeria while you were saving for the country, or were you able to eradicate poverty all in Nigeria before you started the saving? I am asking this question because your condemnation of saving by Peter Obi could be a precursor to you planning to loot Anambra dry and not save shishi like your predecessor, Willie Obiano.
Prof. Chukwuma Soludo Nwa Mgbafor, let me end here first by telling you that those that promised you presidency if you will constantly attack Peter Obi who is not in anyway publicly attacking you or your government are deceiving you, they have lied to you and how could you allowed that at this your level with all the knowledge you have except wisdom? If you think I am lying, ask Rotimi Amaechi, Dave Umahi, Rochas Okorocha, Orji Uzo Kalu, Hope Uzodinma, Ogbonnaya Onu and many others who fell for that cheap promise of “we will make you president, attack your brothers” they may tell how far it has been because you seems to be a johny just come, JJC in the game.
Nobody says you and Peter Obi as “brothers” cannot be in opposing political camps, but we just want to remind you that Shehu Shema and Muhammadu Buhari are brothers and were in opposite camps in 2015, Seyi Makinde and Bola Tinubu are brothers and in opposite Political camps now , yet, what Shehu Shema and Seyi Makinde has to handle the situation that is lacking in you Prof. Chukwuma Soludo is wisdom, seek for wisdom.
Ekpenyong Isaiah-isababa
Commander, Infantry Pen Battallion
isacool4good@yahoo.com