I had breakfast with Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR of Anambra state, and his wife on Tuesday, March 18, last week.
I had travelled to the state, at the governor’s and his team’s invitation, to moderate a media chat during his third year in office.
He assumed office in March 2022.
Three years later, the Governor thought it fit to give the people who elected him an account. It was not difficult for me to accept the invitation.
Three years earlier I had co-anchored the Anambra Gubernatorial Debate, in which Professor Soludo was a participant, organized by Arise News. In previous Anambra elections, I was also co-anchor of the Gubernatorial debates and I had been in and out of Anambra for various other programmes, including Kwechiri, over the years.
In a word, I could claim some familiarity with Anambra politics and the key actors. The media chat proper took place on Tuesday evening, 7 – 9 pm and was broadcast live on Arise News, Channels TV, Television Continental (TVC) and Anambra State Television Service.
I will come to that later, but after the Tuesday event, the Governor had other engagements, the National Working Committee (NWC) of his party, the All Progressives Congress Alliance (APGA) was visiting, and in between attending the cast and crew of the media broadcast, the Governor needed to attend to his party members who arrived while we were still with the Governor.
He asked us: the four journalists who interviewed him – BabajideOtitoju of TVC, Maupe Ogun-Yusuf of Channels TV, Chris Molokwu of Anambra State TV (ABS TV), and Good self to join him for breakfast the following morning before leaving Awka, the state capital. My wife, KikelomoAtanda-Owo, herself a journalist – RealTalkwithKike on Silverbird TV and Inspiration FM was with me.
By 9 am the following morning, we were at the Government House, a seemingly make-shift, modest, old building put up 34 years ago, meant originally for the Chief Judge of Anambra State but which ended up as the residence of the Chief Executive over the years. We were ushered to the dining room where the Governor and his wife, MrsNonye Soludo were waiting to receive us.
The man from Anambra TV could not make it, but there we were this writer, my wife, Otitoju and Maupe. The Governor ushered us to start eating immediately, giving us plates and his wife directing the kitchen staff who had shown up to make us as comfortable as possible.
When it was the turn of the Governor to fill his own plate, the conversation in the room took a different turn. He turned to his wife:
“Madam, please you have to allow me this morning to eat as I like. I have a long day today in Okpoko. I need a lot of energy. I need permission to eat both what is right and what you do not approve of. Please, this oat is made of what? I want to eat well.”I was surprised that a whole Governor, a Professor of Economics, former Central Bank Governor, CFR would have to get permission from his wife to choose what to eat. The Governor was apparently reading my mind.
