By CHIEDU UCHE OKOYE

The seizure of Anambra state by asphyxiating security incubus had rattled not only the Anambra state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, but also, the generality of the Anambra state people.

But Gov. Soludo has taken the bull by the horns regarding the worsening security problems bedeviling Anambra state. He knows that a crime-free Anambra state will attract investors to the state, thereby boosting the state?s economic fortunes. And that was one of the reasons behind the drafting of the Anambra State Homeland Security laws and the launching of the security outfit, which is called Agunechemba.

But as long as humans walk the face of the earth, crimes of all hues will never cease to happen on our terrestrial space. Why is It like that? Most earth dwellers possess the genetic traits for the perpetration of heinous and atrocious crimes. And when they?re left on their own without security enforcement agents keeping an eye on them, they will commit despicable and mind-boggling crimes. And they will bat no eyelids while committing those crimes. It is the way of fallible human beings.

The stark fact Is that most human beings who present a fa?ade of possessing pious personalities are inherently evil. They ceaselessly and desperately seek their own good at the expense of our collective good. So governments exist in many different countries of the world to maintain law and order, prevent people?s perpetration of evil deeds, and punish violators of those countries? laws.

Were governments non-existent in many countries of the world, our world would become a vast jungle. And in the world, the strong would dominate the weak. And these sayings, ?might is right? and ?the survival of the fittest? would become truisms in our world. But governments exist in all countries of the world.

The existence of governments in many countries of the world has not stopped the occurrence of violent crimes in the world, however. In the past succeeding months, Anambra state was held in the firm grip of criminal elements, who ran amuck in the state, robbing people of their possessions and abducting people for ransom.

But Gov. Chukwuma Soludo, characteristically, rose to the occasion to arrest Anambra state?s descent to the state of dystopia and anomie. He unveiled the Anambra State Homeland Security Laws designed to pre-empt the execution of criminal deeds in the state by evil-minded people as well as making the apprehension of violators of our laws easy. By executing those measures to stem the tide of occurrence of criminal deeds in Anambra state, he has risen above professorial theorizing to taking pragmatic steps aimed at ridding the state of armed robbers, terrorists, and kidnappers.

The implementation of the Anambra Homeland Security Laws, which have become effective, devolves to people who occupy various positions at different governmental strata. And town union leaders will play significant and supervisory roles in the implementation of the laws. With town union leaders gathering information about visitors to their towns, and keeping surveillance on them, they can preempt the execution of bloody and violent deeds, and facilitate the apprehension of people who have run foul of the law.

Thankfully, the measures taken by Gov. Soludo to nip crimes in the bud in Anambra state have started yielding positive results much sooner than expected. A hotel in Oba, Anambra state, which gained infamy as a hideout for armed robbers and kidnappers, was reduced to rubble. Before then, Lilu, a sleepy and rustic town in the state, which was overrun by outlaws, was reclaimed. And scores of kidnappers were liquidated in the state owing to the combative actions, which had been taken by the newly formed security outfit, Agunechemba.

And the curtailment of the rising crime wave in Anambra state, which came on the heels of the anti-crime measures taken by Gov. Soludo, has restored Anambra people?s confidence and trust in the government of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo. They know that no sub-national political entity, which is imperiled and encumbered by high crime wave, can develop. And they are not unaware that the reign of peace in a state and the non-occurrence of violent crimes in it are central to its industrial, economical, political, infrastructural, and technological development.

So now that the state is being transformed to an oasis of peace and order, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo can afford to embark on a reelection gambit. His suitability for reelection for a second term in office will, derive, largely from his success in making Anambra state safe and secure. And nobody in Anambra state can deny the fact that Gov. Soludo?s professorial theorizing, which gave birth to pragmatic measures aimed at making Anambra state safe and secure, has depicted him as a philosopher-king. And it has stood him in a good stead to win the next Anambra state governorship election.

But the forthcoming Anambra state governorship election will be keenly contested. And not a few top politicians in Anambra state are eyeing the government house at Agu-Awka. They have already scored Gov. Soludo low in many areas of governance so as to make him unmarketable and unappealing to the masses of the people.

More so, Gov. Soludo?s arcane ideas and postulations, urbane suavity, and parsimonious inclination may have alienated him from a demographic of proponents of stomach infrastructure. But he can wangle victory for himself in the next Anambra governorship election through the use of the power of incumbency and showcasing of his achievements during the electioneering.

Didn?t he address the shortfall in the number of teachers required for our primary and post-primary schools? Didn?t he recruit health workers for our hospitals? Is he not fixing the dilapidated roads in Anambra state? The answers to those questions are in the affirmative. They will tip the balance in his favour regarding the tussle for the 2025 Anambra state governorship diadem.

And the well-conceived measures he took to stem the tide of the rising crime wave in Anambra state, which are yielding the expected results, are the icing on the cake of his glittering leadership scorecard. Is he not the man to beat as to the 2025 Anambra state governorship election?

?Chiedu Uche Okoye, a poet, writes from Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State. He can be reached via 08062220654 and 09125204141

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