Igbos Will Sit With Kanu To Redefine Our Future, Says Soludo

Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, says a broader conversation will be held among Igbo stakeholders when the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, regains his freedom.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Soludo said Kanu’s eventual release would present an opportunity for the Igbo to sit together and debate the region’s direction within Nigeria.

He reiterated his belief in dialogue saying the conversation among Igbo leaders should focus on building a “livable and prosperous homeland” that gives every Igbo person a dignified place to return to.

“Ultimately, he will come out. And when he comes out, we are going to sit down around the table and interrogate our alternative visions for Igbo land. My vision is that we should build a livable and prosperous homeland so that wherever the Igbo person travels, he will have a home to return to,” he said.

He added, “I hold that belief very deeply, and I’m prepared to debate it with anyone that the future prosperity of the Nigerian state can only be achieved when we work together.”

The governor stated that while he recognises the grievances of pro-Biafra groups, he does not believe secession is the solution.

“Nobody has a greater right than the other. We are all Igbos and entitled to our views. Those who want us out of Nigeria will sit with others and we will debate whether we are better off being out of Nigeria or within Nigeria.

“Do we need Nigeria? We need Nigeria, absolutely, and Nigeria needs us. For me, as a full-blooded Igbo man, I don’t believe in separatism, but I want us to have a conversation,” Soludo said.

He declined to be drawn into campaigns or protests demanding Kanu’s release, saying his focus remains on governance and the forthcoming election in Anambra.

On the Monday sit-at-home that once paralysed activities in the Southeast, Soludo said the situation had largely been brought under control.

According to him, anybody sitting at home now is doing so out of his own preference, not because of insecurity adding that IPOB itself had issued statements disassociating from the order, which he blamed on criminal elements.

He also highlighted what he described as remarkable transformation in Anambra under his administration, claiming that communities have now taken ownership of his re-election campaign by raising funds and organising rallies independently.

“Communities are donating money for our campaign. ₦50 million here, ₦200 million there, ₦150 million elsewhere. A local government donated ₦210 million. They are organising their own rallies because they feel the impact of governance,” he said.

He said that several communities that were once isolated have now been connected by new roads, citing Awka north, which organised a “thank you rally” after 60 kilometres of roads were completed in three years.

He added that Okpoko, once regarded as the biggest slum in the Southeast, had been transformed with tarred streets, streetlights, pipe-borne water, and a general hospital.

Commenting on security, the governor said the state had witnessed major improvement since he assumed office.

“Before we came in, eight local governments were inaccessible, police stations were destroyed, and even soldiers were attacked. Now everybody can move around. Even in Ihiala, where we couldn’t hold elections before, INEC has done re-registration smoothly in all 326 wards,” he said.

He maintained that while no society can achieve zero insecurity, the difference between the situation before and now is “like day and night.”