Assessment Of The Debate By The Candidates For The Governor Of Anambra State, Nigeria
November 1, 2021, my friend, Professor James Agazie (who lives at Atlanta, Georgia, USA, he is from Anambra state) sent to me a video of the debate by Charles Soludo, Vincent Ezigbo and Andy Uba, candidates for the governorship of Anambra state. Since Dr. Agazie asked for my feedback on the debate, I am going to throw caution to the wind and hazard an opinion.
I do not know much about the three gentlemen doing the debating. I have heard of Charles Soludo when he was the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria but did not care to know much about him; I have also heard about Andy Uba when he was a chum of President Olusegun Obasanjo. I had not heard a word about Vincent Ezigbo before the debate.
My impression is that Andy Uba is an illiterate; he was barely able to articulate his thoughts in passable English; however, he seems like what Americans call a political hack. He seems the kind that would do well breaking the arms of the opponents of rootless politicians but as an individual he has underdeveloped intellect. He said nothing during the debate that a person with only elementary school education would not be able to say. I am not impressed by him.
Charles Soludo came across as an arrogant, know nothing prick; he appears proud and empty headed but was trying extremely hard to impress his audience with his erudition and accomplishment. He kept trying to say that he has facts and data backing whatever silly cause he espouses. Well, he appeared flippant and silly, a narcissistic showboat. He did not come across as a man who possesses leadership abilities, if by that we mean a person who posits goals and dedicates his life to pursuing and achieving them. He did not even come across as a seasoned manager of large organizations, which he should have been if he ran the joint called the Central Bank of Nigeria. It would be interesting to corner him and talk monetary and fiscal policies with him and see if he is as smart as he pretends to be. He stood by the podium acting like a secondary school boy, fidgeting, making weird movements with his body and always trying to cut into what other folks are saying but not making much sense. In my view he is not qualified to be the chief executive officer of Anambra state.
Vincent Ezigbo came across as a very humble man, the type that if there is a job to be done, he would get to it and get it done without boasting about his background. He genuinely came across as an experienced bureaucrat, even technocrat and I would hire him for a chief executive officer job. Of the three on the stage, I would vote for him.
Let me reiterate that I had no prior knowledge of the political antecedents of these three men in real life, I am basing my observation solely on what I garnered from watching their performance at a debate.
