By Ike Ume-Atuana
It is interesting to see that Sunny Igboanugo’s Tiny Voice has become another Euripides’ babbler that speaks when not asked. Recently he ran some commentary on where Professor Soludo’s government has failed. But Igboanugo did not speak loudly enough to be understood by many. He probably has a larynx (voice box) problem and had to struggle all through to convey any meaning to his audience. Those who pretended to hear him could not decipher what he meant when he said of Governor Soludo thusly: “See the mess he is making of himself and the state that was handed over to him. Who would have thought that Anambra would take such disgraceful descent under his care”?
He went further to say that education in the state took a plunge with the coming of the Governor. “From the number one in Education, where Peter Obi took it when he left power in 2014 to the 34th position today. Today, Anambra is being ranked as the 32nd out of 36 states in the country”.
Perhaps Igboanugo’s Tiny Voice needs a surgical procedure – a laryngoplasty to correct its vocal paralysis. This is because many are still wondering from whence he sourced his data on the declining fortunes of education in Anambra state. Admitted that many, including Igboanugo are determined to cast doubt on the good works of Governor Soludo in order to deprive him reasonable votes in November, but such effort needs repeated hitting to be effective. The allegation needs a lot of proof to achieve its intended goal. Otherwise the opposition and a few couch potatoes are on a wild goose chase. Often those who have yet to bear responsibilities of elected office make the mistake of running commentaries on issues they have little knowledge of. If the idea in this case is to whittle down Soludo’s support base, it is not going to work because an average voter in Anambra is discerning enough. His decision is not easily influenced by propaganda but rather by concrete evidence of achievements and a track record of performance that does not seek publicity at the expense of humanity. Pontification of the type Igboanugo’s Voice speaks only arouses suspicion instead of trust, and ultimately alienates him.
The claim that the education sector is in active decline since Soludo’s government is as spurious as any other charge levelled against the government by Igboanugo and others who share his views. Governor Soludo might not have done everything in the last three and half years, but he has achieved a lot to cut him some slack. It is unfair to say that the state’s performance in education dwindled in the last couple of years when in reality Anambra gained a lot of new grounds within the years under review. Even the most uncharitable critic of the government will admit to the fact that education in particular has gained appreciable upswing since Governor Soludo’s time. This does not mean that other critical aspects of development like healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture, employment, youth development, sports etc. were left undone. Coupled with this is the sea change in attitudinal behavior of the people which drives the ongoing transformation.
It bears repeating here that the tradition of leading the pack in school performance across the states in Nigeria has been more pronounced in the last couple of years. Writing about this the Nation newspaper of August 28, 2025, published a report that ranked Anambra state among the most educated states in Nigeria. Using the 2024 NECO performance ranking, it placed the state as the best performing in the South-East. Igboanugo seemed to have based his report on the hatchet job done by a certain blog- NewsFlash.com which has no verifiable claim anywhere. To further impugn the report by the blog, it could not cite any official source, government agency or credible data set to support its claim. Like the latest joke by a certain Philips Consulting Limited which recently joined the army of fake rating agencies to spite the Soludo government, Igboanugo deliberately preferred reports from NewsFlash.com to the one from the Nations newspaper.
It can only make sense to partisan interest to read reports of declining fortunes in education amidst humongous investment by the state. In 2022, shortly after assuming office, the Soludo government employed 5,000 teachers. It followed this up two years later – 2024, with another 3,115 teachers, bringing the number to over 8,000 teachers in 3 years. To augment the effort, the government gave free education from Primary School to Junior Secondary School. It has since pushed the dial up to accommodate those in the Senior Secondary level. These efforts can only add and not subtract from the gain in education. They frown at Igboanugo’s claim of dwindling performance and question his bias.
His other claim that Anambra “has become one of the major killing fields that dot Nigeria…” is to say the least pathetic. Anybody with memory will recall that insecurity in the state predates Soludo’s government. It is not likely that the opposition has forgotten so fast that he was nearly a victim of brutal assassination which claimed the lives of his security aides. There were also many high profile abductions and murder that were going on in the state before his government. His own father among other prominent citizens of the state were taken captive by kidnappers. Insecurity has always been a problem in the state since the creation of Anambra. What informed the formation of Bakassi continued through the abduction of a sitting governor to the period of Ofe Akwu held sway.
It may not have died down since Soludo, but the argument does not support the insinuation that Anambra “is home to some of the most sordid and outlandish tales that disfigure the face of democracy in Nigeria”. Although there is nothing to be said in defense of insecurity but what is more “sordid and outlandish” than the events that happened before the Soludo government? The efforts of Agunechemba security force in ridding the state of criminal elements cannot be overemphasized. What they did in Ihiala Local Government Area has seen to the recovery of communities like Isseke, Amorka, Azia, Okija, and others from the criminals inhabiting their forests.
Any criticism that does not seek to correct is only fit for the trash can. Government is a going concern that needs encouragement to smoothen any rough edges. The Soludo government is working hard and has moved development in the state a notch higher. The politics of election notwithstanding his detractors should be honest enough to admit this fact.
Ume-Atuana, a commentator on national issues writes from Awka .
