February 13, 2021. Prof Paul Ejikeme is a fascinating man. I admire his energy and vigour. Like all Ojoto men and women, he communicates with proverbs.
Ejikeme is the leader of Soludo Promoters Forum (SPF) in Ojoto. He is tailor-made for the job as he knows his way round this exciting community. He and his crack team led us round Ojoto and the verdict we gleaned is clear – Ojoto is for Prof. Chukwuma Soludo in the Anambra Gubernatorial election billed for November 6 2021.
In the typical Ojoto characterisation, the suave and warm monarch, HRH Igwe Gerald Mbamalu asked us rhetorically, to put Soludo and the other aspirants on a scale and ascertain who weighs more. He smiled, stared at his guests as if waiting for the answer. Obviously, your answer is as good as mine. Not done, the Igwe bluntly intoned with a wide grin that Soludo’s records in private and public services speak for him.
With Prof. Raph Okigbo, Prince Okafor, Maik Uzagu, Prof. Joe Ogbuefi, Chief Leon Mezue as bulwarks in support of Ejikeme, Ojoto, before and after the bridge is good to go.
In all these, Ojoto has particularly made my brother, Cdon Adinuba happy as it “retaliated” the honour Soludo bestowed on their illustrious son, late Dr. Pius Okigbo, by bringing Prof. Joseph Eugene Stiglitz who won the Noble Laureate in Economics in 2021 for his analysis of markets with asymmetric information, to Enugu to give a keynote address in Okigbo’ s memorial lecture. Soludo is a protege of the great Okigbo, who most probably would be grinning in his grave for the right choice his people have made. It is instructive that Lagos State Government is poised to transform the state into a smart city by 2030, a vision that Soludo would begin implementing if elected governor on November 6, 2021. We will come back to this subject another day.
The Ojoto Inauguration meeting was also a brainstorming session as Chief Leon Mezue and I were put on the hot seat by Prof. Raph Okigbo to share with the Inaugurated team, the way forward. Notwithstanding, the refreshments were sumptuous and helped to buoy the mood.
Prince Okafor ended the meeting with a very reassuring vote of thanks and typical of his people, laced this with rich proverbs. We will certainly return to Ojoto to open more hearts for the Anambra Smart Megacity.
Joe C. Anatune
Lead Facilitator/Strategist, SPF