— Mazi Ejimofor Opara
There is a widespread message amongst Ndi Anambra that has become subject of conversations at various formal and informal fora. Skit-makers have hopped on it to create contents — from the informative to the entertaining, even the very bizarre ones have emerged that often exaggerate the actual purport of the message. However, something is sure, the message is gaining wide acceptance and sinking into the consciousness of all.
Soludo in his fight against criminality is not only providing kinetic options, he has widened his non-kinetic strategy to include a vociferous evangelism against negative trends and debased psychological orientations that form the basis for reprehensible criminal conduct in many Anambra communities. Dubious magic and warped belief in unexplainable wealth cloaked as Igbo spirituality, has gained a debilitating ascendancy that now derail many young people from accepting the virtues of hard work and sticking to socially approved means of making legitimate living.
As a man with deep respect for traditional religions as the foundation of indigenous moral and spiritual development of its adherents, identifying true traditional worshippers away from the current ragtag money-mongers involved in ritual killings, aiding and abating criminal activities and destruction of ethical living, could not have been very difficult for a Soludo and those who carefully listen to his seminal teachings on this subject.
On his working visit yesterday in Ogbunka, Owerre-ezukala and Umunze, Soludo’s message was firm and precise — Success has no shortcuts; skill, craft and functional knowledge remain the pathway to sustainable and legitimate wealth creation. As part of his mission to provide relatable examples to young people, Soludo, like the scriptures would say, is blessing the works of people’s hands.
I will tell the story of the “Akara Boy” at a Owerre-ezukala in a later piece, and how luck found him in the course of the Governor’s on-the-spot engagement with the youths of the community. Soludo’s mobile pulpit may become the most fundamental intervention necessary for rediscovering and reviving our hitherto bleak future. Even a Mother in Umunze confirmed this to be Soludo’s most important achievement away from countless others in Infrastructure, security, health, education and the environment.