By Law Mefor
While Ndi Anambra were searching for certificates of some candidates in the Anambra guber election in a haystack, in the far-flung United States, the world was celebrating Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, as an exceptional leader of global acclaim. The awards keep coming – from all the cardinal points.
Anambra State Governor, Prof. Soludo, is the cynosure of all the spotlights beaming on excellence. It’s in the scheme of Soludo’s track of high-octane achievements that he has just won the coveted African Governor of the Year Award in New York. He capped it all up with two other awards in America.
It was a case of triple honours for the quintessential achiever: the African Governor of the Year Award, the Public Service Excellence Award, and Special Recognition/Commendation by the House of Representatives of the State of South Carolina in the United States.
Governor Soludo received the 2025 African Governor of the Year Award and the African Public Service Excellence Award at the 2025 Global Power Forum held on the sidelines of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
Then the South Carolina House of Representatives also gave him a certificate of special recognition/commendation, applauding his distinguished career as Professor of Economics, Economic Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Governor of Anambra State, thus extolling his pivotal role in elevating Nigeria to the status of an African financial powerhouse.
A global event, the ceremony attracted an array of high-profile personalities, notably: former Tanzanian President, Dr. Jakaya Kikwete, Prime Minister Philip Davis of the Bahamas, President Sylvanie Burton of the Dominican Republic, former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister Dr. Judith Suminwa Tuluka of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, African Development Bank Secretary-General, Prof. Vincent O. Nmehielle, and the Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, etc.
Governor Soludo rounded up the august ceremonies as the keynote speaker at the Power Forum/International Forum on Africa-Caribbean Leadership, dwelling on the topic: “Africa Unleashed: Navigating the Disruptions, Enhancing Opportunities—the Anambra State Example.”
Soludo and international awards are the best of pals. Remarkably, he was the winner of the Global and African Central Bank Governor of the Year in 2005, 2006 and 2007 by different international media institutions, including The Banker Magazine published by the Financial Times (FT) of London, Euromoney, and Annual Meetings Daily.
Soludo’s life of sterling accomplishments belongs to a guru who cannot be apologetic for excellence. He was the pioneer senior prefect of his secondary school, where he passed out, first in the class, with distinction. He then graduated with a first-class degree in Economics at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), still first in the class. He followed up as first in the class with his master’s and PhD. Being the best student at all three levels of his university studies bears the hallmark of an authentic genius and exceptional leader.
He excelled in his alma mater, UNN, as a lecturer and much sought-after professor, serving as a visiting scholar at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the University of Cambridge, the Brookings Institution, the University of Warwick, and the University of Oxford. He distinguished himself as a consultant to the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
It was his inbuilt knack for excellence that Soludo took into public service as the chief economic adviser to President Obasanjo. When he was appointed the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria in June, 2004, Soludo struck with an unprecedented revolution. He revved with uncommon courage to insist that the struggling 89 banks then existing in Nigeria be reduced to 25 global banking institutions that could compete on the world stage. The banking consolidation and reform comprehensively addressed the capital base, digitisation, loan capacity, risks, global perception of the banks, etc.
Before consolidation, all of the banks in existence in Nigeria put together could not match one South African bank. After the Soludo consolidation, Nigerian banks became able to go global. The banks opened up offshore branches, thus becoming true global players in the financial world. New York, Paris, London, and sundry capitals of African countries now count Nigerian banks and bankers among the top players, thanks to the Soludo banking revolution, which of course came with a personal price, “as per 19 written threats to me and my family, including physical attacks”.
The Soludo magic has now been put on special gear as the Governor of Anambra State, and the world is taking good note with awards such as the triple honours in the United States of America. Back home in Nigeria, the awards for Governor Soludo are too numerous to mention. It just suffices to mention that he won the 2024 Vanguard Award for Good Governance and the Sun Governor of the Year Award.
These awards are all signs of greater things to come for Ndi Anambra in Soludo’s second term. As Governor Soludo says, in the manner of the Americans, “You haven’t seen anything yet!”
Given Soludo’s overwhelming groundswell of support, it is crucial to advise his wannabe opponents in the coming November 8 Anambra State gubernatorial election not to waste their resources in a contest they know they cannot win. As they say, a word is enough for the wise.
The next big things to expect with Soludo’s second term will definitely put to fruition the vision of transforming Anambra State into the veritable African Dubai-Taiwan-Silicon Valley.
*Law Mefor, PhD, is Anambra State Commissioner for Information.
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