Silent on Vision 2070: What Is Soludo Hiding?

Anambra’s much-hyped 50-year plan has gone missing, and Governor Soludo’s silence speaks louder than promises.

When former Governor Willie Obiano unveiled Anambra’s 50-year plan in 2019, it was celebrated as a bold step into the future. For once, Ndi Anambra felt the state would break free from short-term politics. A plan stretching half a century promised continuity, prosperity, and order. The man who chaired the committee that drafted it was none other than Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo.

At the time, Soludo was not governor. But his reputation as a former Central Bank chief and reform-minded economist gave weight to the document. He stood before Ndi Anambra and sold Vision 2070 as a guarantee that the state would not wander aimlessly again. The message was clear: Anambra would now “run on a plan.”

Fast forward to 2022. Obiano steps down. Soludo becomes governor. And what has become of the plan? Silence. Deafening silence.

Vision 2070 was not written on the back of an envelope. It was a serious blueprint that took months of consultation. It promised urban renewal, industrial growth, stronger education, modern healthcare, and better roads. It mapped out the birth of new cities beyond Awka, Onitsha, and Nnewi. It sought to create jobs, attract investment, and lift the standard of living.

In March 2022, just before leaving office, Obiano formally handed over the document to Soludo. Cameras flashed. Words of hope filled the air. Ndi Anambra believed history was in the making.

But since then, the grand plan has all but disappeared from public conversation.

Where is Vision 2070 today? Where are the updates? Where are the milestones? Soludo has barely mentioned it. His government talks about projects here and there, but rarely connects them to the 50-year blueprint.

The very man who chaired the drafting committee now acts as though the plan is an afterthought. No dashboards. No public scorecards. No town halls. Just silence.

Even on the day he assumed office in March 2022, Soludo never mentioned Vision 2070 in his inaugural speech. Not a word. It was the perfect moment to anchor his government to the long-term plan, but he skipped it altogether.

That omission spoke louder than words. It signaled that the plan was either dead on arrival or not a priority for his administration.

And when a government is silent, suspicion fills the gap. Was Vision 2070 real, or was it simply political theatre, a glossy farewell gift for Obiano’s regime, wrapped neatly with Soludo’s name to boost his technocratic image?Let’s be clear.

No one expected Soludo to deliver the entire 50-year vision in four years. That would be impossible.

What Ndi Anambra expected was leadership. They expected honesty. They expected their governor to reassure them that the blueprint was alive and guiding his decisions.Instead, what they got was silence. And silence is dangerous. It leaves the impression that the government is either hiding something or lacks direction.

Soludo’s biggest lapse is not failure to implement the plan overnight. His failure is communication.

He has not carried Ndi Anambra along. He has not made Vision 2070 a living guide. And by failing to own it publicly, he has allowed doubts to grow.There is also a political angle.

Vision 2070 was drafted under Obiano, even though Soludo chaired the committee. That makes it, in some eyes, Obiano’s plan. Perhaps Soludo does not want to be tied too closely to his predecessor’s legacy.

Perhaps he wants his own “Soludo Plan.” But governance is not about pride. It is about continuity. Besides, he is yet to deliver his promise of an Africa-Dubai-Taiwan.If a plan is good, it should not matter who initiated it. What matters is execution.

Soludo had the perfect opportunity to relaunch Vision 2070 as his own, to show continuity and leadership. Instead, he let it slip into the shadows.

This state is not short of documents. There have been countless visions, blueprints, and white papers. What Ndi Anambra lack is implementation. What they lack is consistency. What they lack is a governor bold enough to tie himself to a vision and be held accountable to it.Vision 2070 was supposed to change that.

It was supposed to be different. Soludo, of all people, was expected to breathe life into it. Today, Ndi Anambra are left wondering if the grand plan was ever meant to be more than words on paper.

Governor Soludo must speak. He must stop hiding behind vague speeches and random project announcements. He must tell Ndi Anambra plainly: is Vision 2070 still alive, or has it been buried? If it lives, he must prove it. Relaunch it. Publish timelines. Release progress reports. Create a dashboard.

If he fails to do this, then suspicion will harden into belief. And that belief will be simple: Vision 2070 was a fraud.

History is not kind to leaders who sell hope and then fall silent. Soludo once told Ndi Anambra the state would “run on a plan.” Right now, it looks like Anambra is running on guesswork. And that is not at all the future the people were promised.

If Soludo cannot speak for Vision 2070, then perhaps Vision 2070 will one day speak against him in history’s court.

Ejike Agbata writes from Nri,

Anaocha LGA,

Anambra