Isong, Soludo: Life, History Re-Invented

On March 17 2022, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN, Prof. Charles Soludo will become the second ex-CBN governor elected as governor of a state after Dr. Clement Isong of the Second Republic. Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Emameh Gabriel examine their professional and political trajectories

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof Chukwuma Soludo was on November 9, 2021 declared winner of the just concluded Anambra State governorship election on the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

Soludo’s victory, though came as a surprise to some, given the circumstances that led to his emergence as the flag bearer of APGA and other hitches that followed in the buildup to the election which many had thought would not hold. However, initial projections from several online polls put the former CBN governor ahead of contestants from the two major opposition parties in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC).

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Soludo winner of the election after polling 112, 229 votes to defeat his closest rivals, Valentine Ozigbo of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) who polled 53,807 and Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who polled 43,285, both of who are from the same Senatorial axis of the state.

Aside the historical victory for the ruling party, which again revalidated the strength of APGA in the state, history was also made as Soludo became the second former Governor of Nigeria’s Apex Bank to be democratically elected governor of a state. This is, arguably, the most significant aspect of his victory.

The formalities for his elevation as an elected state will be complete on March 17 after his inauguration. He shares this rare feat with late Dr. Clement Isong, a Second Republic Governor of the old Cross River State, (which includes the present day Akwa Ibom State). Isong who hailed from Akwa Ibom was the second indigenous CBN Governor, 1967-1975. He was CBN Governor when General Yakubu Gowon was Head of State of Nigeria, a period that included the Nigeria Civil War years.

The only difference between the two is age and time but everything about their lives and background share similar trajectory.

While Soludo is expected to assume office as the fifth Governor of Anambra State, Isong was the first democratically elected Governor of old Cross River State, 1979-1983. He ruled for only one term. He was denied the ticket of his party, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) for a second tenure.

Many have described Soludo as a reinvention of Isong in the contemporary Nigeria politics, even if the two men may not be contemporaneous, having been years apart in their ages, history has shown that they were exposed to similar life trajectories.

Some analysts have described them as “two lives, one of which is a mirror of the other,” as the first became a state governor at 59 and the other attained that same height decades after at 61, after their retirement from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Isong was born to Ibiobio parents, Nathaniel and Maggie Isong on Tuesday, 20th April 1920 in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, while Soludo was born on Thursday, 28th July 1960, three months before Nigeria’s independence to Mr. Simeon and Mama Mgbafor in Isuofia village, Aguata Local Government Area, Anambra State.

Like Isong in the Second Republic, Soludo came prepared for his new assignment having left good blueprints at the Central Bank. He presented a seamless manifesto that doesn’t only reignite the hopes of the people but also clearly represents the cost for his plan and a convincing argument on how he intends to achieve his plan to run the state.

He came with an economic blueprint and had before his plan to contest, estimated government’s direct investment to be within N200–250 billion per annum. This is far above the 2022 N141.9 billion budget estimated proposal for Anambra.

This then suggests that the incoming governor needs to deploy innovative measures to rake in revenue for the state. Apart from making revenue collection more efficient and ICT driven, Soludo has proposed other sources of fund for projects through Private Pubic Partnership (PPP) models and from Development Finance Institutions (DFI).

Having noticed the obvious that today, no government globally can fund infrastructure projects alone, the Anambra governor-elect has proposed the creation of Anambra State Development Fund (ANSDF), a $200 million fund that is expected to scale up to $1 billion.

This measure will ensure and provide for bankable infrastructure projects with high growth and economic return potentials. The idea is not way far from what the Professor did as the founding chairman and vision bearer of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) when he was the governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank, between 2013 and 2017, which saw the AFC’s annual infrastructure spending across the continent averaged a record level of US$ 77.2 billion, transforming communities and economies.

Some said he is already taking after Clement Isong’s policies direction both at the Central Bank and as governor as his plans for the state would be centered on infrastructure, finance and human capital development.

Like Clement Isong, Soludo was not anything more than a poor village boy who God gifted and lifted up. He was also a wood fetcher in his childhood years.

Apart from the similar fate shared while growing up and later had their education overseas as well as obtaining their PhDs as youths in their early 30s and late 20s, they both rose to become the head of Nigeria’s Apex Bank.

While both of them introduced far reaching reforms into the banking sector and the Nigerian economy, in Isong’s case, he oversaw the country’s economy during the civil war. He also presided over the change of Nigeria currency in January 1968 and coordinated the post war oil boom. During his stint, Nigeria’s debt profile reduced and foreign reserves swelled.

Who could have thought that history was making itself as Soludo on his part managed the country’s economy through a prosperous era out of the fiscal and monetary policies that brought about reforms and stability in the banking sector.

The bank recapitalisation and debt forgiveness pursuits were among policies that brought the Soludo era to limelight. It was during the same Soludo’s tenure that Isong’s name was immortalised on the N1,000 note, the highest Nigerian currency.

The similarities of their life stories is not limited to their public and political careers. At the family front, they also share certain things in common which can’t only be seen in their humble background. Isong had six children, same thing with Soludo who is also blessed with six children.

Like Isong who was once asked about his unfulfilled dreams and was quoted as saying that he had none but his passion was to always be a man in charge also is Soludu. Truly, Isong was the man in charge when he blossomed in his career. He was a banker in charge of the nation’s money, a teacher in charge of people’s intellectual growth and he became a political leader commanding respect from millions of people.

Today, Soludo has achieved the last of this being a governor elect. As he once said: “I have achieved all I wanted to achieve in the world in my thirties. I have travelled to 45 countries across the six continents as a scholar and consultant.”
In the years ahead, Soludo may decide to champion the values of his people and become a rallying point like Isong who built the most vibrant contemporary Ibibio socio- cultural group, the Akwa Esop Imaisong Ibibio.

QUOTE

For their noble contributions to nation building, both men have been given national honours. Isong was awarded Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic, CFR, while Soludo was also conferred with Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) – Nigeria’s third-highest national honour. The similarities of their life stories is not limited to their public and political careers. At the family front, they also share certain things in common which can’t only be seen in their humble background. Isong had six children, same thing with Soludo who is also blessed with six children.