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Commentaries
September 18, 2025 by Our Reporter
- Emeka Asinugo, PhD
Sir: The recent public spat between Senator Uche Ekwunife, Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, and by extension the governor’s wife, has once again brought to attention how easily politicking can derail from constructive engagement to become a theatre of mockery. It is a sad and unhealthy development that does not serve the interest of the Igbo nation well, by any stretch of the imagination. The spectacle of respected Igbo leaders exchanging personal insults, questioning family life, marital fidelity and educational qualifications in the marketplace of political discourse is most unbecoming.
The November governorship election is a serious matter. It comes at a time the state is grappling with issues that go far beyond personalities. The people of Anambra are looking for solutions to insecurity, especially the menace of unknown gunmen and kidnappers that has devastated communities, thrown families into mourning and slowed the pace of economic growth. They are concerned about unemployment, about how to create opportunities for the young people who are daily streaming out of the state in search of greener pasture. They are asking questions about infrastructure, about how to ensure that roads, hospitals, and schools in Anambra measure up to twenty-first century standards. They are worried about the state’s economy, about how to strengthen small and medium scale enterprises that are the heartbeat of Igbo commerce. These are the issues that politicians should concentrate on in their campaigns.
The role of Governor Soludo in this saga cannot be overlooked or swept under the carpet. As the sitting leader of Anambra State, he carries the responsibility not only of governance but also of setting the tone for political discourse. When the exchanges between him and Ekwunife began to slide into the realm of the personal and the petty, he had the opportunity to steer the ship of state in the direction that would halt the drift. He could have de-escalated the rhetoric, re-centred the conversation on issues, and reminded his supporters that the eyes of the nation are watching. Unfortunately, he failed to do so.
It is not the first time that Nigerian politics has seen spouses drawn into the battlefield, but the Anambra example was particularly troubling because it came at a time when the Igbo quest for national relevance requires discipline and focus, not distraction and scandal. The people of Anambra deserve better.
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As the November elections draw close, it is imperative that state politicians campaign with a sense of decorum. They must recognize that their conduct sets the pace for the wider Igbo political agenda. They must rise above insults and pettiness. They must demonstrate that politics can be a noble calling, one that puts the people at the centre. A campaign conducted with dignity will not only inspire confidence among Anambra citizens, it will also send a strong message to the rest of Nigeria that the Igbo are ready for leadership at the highest level. For more than six decades since independence, Ndigbo have been denied the opportunity to produce an executive president. If that aspiration is ever to be realised, then every political contest in Igboland, especially in a strategic state like Anambra, must be conducted with the highest sense of responsibility.
The incidents of the last few weeks have set the eyes of Nigeria and the international community on Anambra State. The insults traded in public are not just damaging to the individuals involved; they are damaging to the collective image of Ndigbo. They could create doubt about whether the Igbo can unite around serious leadership and present a credible front in national politics. That doubt must be immediately dispelled, not confirmed. And the only way to dispel it is for candidates to change course immediately, abandon the politics of mudslinging, and embrace the politics of ideas.
It is time to end the washing of dirty linens in public. It is time to restore dignity to Igbo politics. It is time to respect Igbo for who they are and what they represent. It is time for Governor Soludo to call for peace in his state.
•Emeka Asinugo, PhD.
English (US)