BY TONY OKAFOR
The ongoing feud between Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, and his predecessor, Mr. Peter Obi, has become a needless distraction from the state’s urgent challenges.
What began years ago as a quiet rivalry has now evolved into an unhelpful public quarrel.
Many trace the cold war to 2010, when Soludo left the Central Bank to challenge Obi’s re-election bid.
Others say it stretches further back to their days at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Still others argue that Soludo is seeking a pound of flesh over his disqualification in the 2013 APGA governorship race, during the succession battle that eventually produced Chief Willie Obiano.
The hostility resurfaced in 2022, ahead of the 2023 general elections, when Soludo published his now-famous essay, History Beckons and I Will Not Be Silent (1)—a piece widely interpreted as an attempt to counter Obi’s growing national momentum.
The rivalry flared again after the November 8 Anambra governorship poll, when Soludo, in his victory speech, revisited Obi’s tenure and criticized the APGA foundation laid under him.
Obi’s earlier comment—couched in a football metaphor comparing the Champions League and the Premier League—only deepened the brouhaha.
Yet both men know that Anambra faces far more pressing issues: security threats, a devastating erosion crisis, collapsing infrastructure, rising unemployment, and slow economic growth. These demand collaboration, not competing egos.
For two prominent sons of the state, and of the same political tradition, this prolonged drama is unnecessary and disappointing.
Some observers believe the real contest between them is over who will become the first Nigerian president of Igbo extraction. If so, both leaders owe Ndi Anambra and Ndi Igbo a far greater sense of responsibility.
Leadership is not a ring for settling old scores; it is a platform for service.
Soludo and Obi must either clarify the real reason for this long-running feud or bring it to an immediate end.
The people of Anambra are tired of political sparring. They deserve cooperation, not rivalry; progress, not pettiness.
It is time to move forward. The state needs leadership—not distractions.
They should rein in their attack dogs now
