Open Letter To Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo CFR, Governor Of Anambra State
Your Excellency,
Permit me, with the deepest sense of patriotic urgency, to write you this open letter not as a politician, not as a rebel, not as a rival, but as a brother, a supporter, and a concerned son of Anambra State who has chosen conscience over complacency.
It is not an easy thing to speak truth to power, especially to one we once regarded as a hope bearer, a man whose academic laurels and political emergence once lit up the hearts of Ndi Anambra like a city on a hill. But what must be said must be said, and what must be done must be done. For silence in the face of injustice is not neutrality, it is betrayal.
Your Excellency, your government has become a source of deep emotional injury to thousands of youths across this state recently. The widely promoted One Youth, Two Skills program, which began as a breath of hope, has now grown into a tree of disillusionment. It began well, first phase participants were trained, empowered, and encouraged. We cheered. We believed. We defended you. But alas! The second phase has become a stain on the white garment of your promises.
Thousands of Anambra youths across our 21 LGAs were trained for four solid months, Monday to Friday, then subjected to three additional weeks of EDI training. Some left jobs. Some borrowed money. Some relocated. Others leaned on people like us, those they believed were close to leadership for sponsorship and support.
And we did sponsor them. Not because we had plenty, but because we believed in the dream you sold: a Solution Government. But five months have now passed since the conclusion of that second phase. And nothing. Absolutely nothing has been given to them. No funds. No tools. No feedback. No communication. No accountability.
Meanwhile, the third phase forms are already in circulation.
Does this mean the second phase participants were used as pawns in a carefully calculated political strategy? Do you plan to release their empowerment only when campaign season begins fully, perhaps in October or November so it can double as a campaign tool? If so, then this is not empowerment. This is emotional manipulation. This is state orchestrated wickedness.
“Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed”
Isaiah 10:1
It is politically unwise, morally unacceptable, and spiritually dangerous to play politics with the emotions, struggles, and futures of the very youths who believed in you. For what shall it profit a man to gain a second term and lose the conscience of the next generation?
Permit me to ask: are you truly serving with love, or simply leading with strategy? Because governance should be about humanity first, not tactics. You are not a newcomer in politics or service. You are a professor. A father. A husband. A leader. The Chief Security Officer of an Igbo state. Your legacy should speak louder than your ambitions.
“A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman thinks of the next generation.” James Freeman Clarke
Your Excellency, do not forget that many of us supported you not because we blindly believed every word, but because we hoped that for once, truth and power had finally kissed. But you are unknowingly proving our worst fears right.
How does a governor, who constantly preaches discipline and responsibility justify such gross negligence towards a program meant to economically empower over 10,000 young people? And yet, you boldly parade this government as a “Solution”? Sir, this is not Solution. This is a betrayal covered in fine grammar and smart media optics.
Many participants were removed midway due to harsh, unforgiving criteria, and those who endured to the end now feel abandoned, left to lick wounds inflicted by false hope. Five months of silence after their training is not just administrative delay. It is psychological trauma.
“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” Proverbs 29:2
Today, the people are mourning. And even the angels are silent.
If your conscience is alive, Your Excellency, then I appeal to it now. Do not reduce the destiny of these young people to seasonal instruments of political theatre. Empower them now. Not when it is politically convenient. Not when campaigns begin. Not when media men have set their cameras. But now because that is what leadership demands.
“Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge.” Simon Sinek
As one who supported this administration with everything in me even without voting for you in 2021, I write with the burden of truth, not malice. I didn’t vote for you. I didn’t vote against you either. I simply stood in the gap of conscience unsure of your sincerity. Today, I feel justified in that decision. But I still believe you can turn this around.
Do not think this letter comes from the opposition. It comes from the broken hearts of those who once defended you. It comes from the empty hands of those who were promised tools. It comes from the silent tears of those whose hopes now drown in government negligence.
Your Excellency, it is not too late. Empower these youths without delay. Redeem your name while it still has value. Don’t let the seed of betrayal grow into a harvest of rejection at the polls. Remember, the same people you ignore today hold the ballot paper tomorrow.
“Every man shall reap what he sows.” Galatians 6:7
Choose to sow justice today, that you may reap honour tomorrow.
Withdraw from this wickedness, whether knowingly or unknowingly initiated. Because power is fleeting, but legacy is eternal. When your term ends, what shall we remember? A man who turned hope into reality? Or a man who weaponized trust for political survival?
You still have the time and power to choose.
Your brother in truth,
• Nwakanwa writes from Awka North, Anambra State – Nigeria