Anambra under Soludo: A State in turbo-mode, expanding beyond today’s limit’s into tomorrow’s potential

By Christian ABURIME

Three years ago, Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, laid a visionary foundation, one shaped by discipline, service, and strategic investment.

He promised a homeland that would evolve into the African Dubai-Taiwan-Silicon Valley.

Today, that promise has transformed into palpable progress. But the Soludo story is not stopping or resting on its oars.

It is shifting from gear to gear, powering transformational development and growth

As the first lap concludes, a new phase begins, a phase of bold acceleration, deeper transformation, and the crystallisation of Anambra’s destiny.

Governor Soludo’s next chapter is built around scale and sustainability.

Three new smart cities, namely Awka 2.0, Next Onitsha, and the Anambra Mixed-Use Industrial City (AMIC), are poised to redefine urban living in Nigeria.

Awka 2.0 is envisioned as Africa’s first truly smart and green city, where AI, renewable energy, and clean mobility meet seamless governance.

Next Onitsha will emerge as a commercial, logistics, and retail powerhouse, complete with Africa’s largest shopping mall, revitalising the region’s historical trade legacy.

AMIC, already underway, will fast-track the state’s journey into an export-oriented, manufacturing-led economy.

This urban trilogy is the architectural signature of a state in turbo-mode, expanding beyond today’s limits into tomorrow’s potential.

Governor Soludo’s next phase includes a comprehensive Oncology Centre, Anambra’s answer to Nigeria’s growing cancer burden.

This will complement the telemedicine backbone already in place, ensuring that quality healthcare reaches not just cities but the most remote wards.

Every resident, no matter where they live, will have real-time digital access to medical consultations.

Health emergencies will meet smart responses. Rural births will receive world-class care. Governor Soludo’s health vision is radical in its simplicity: every life must count.

The Solution Innovation District (SID) will scale its operations with the One Million Digital Tribe Initiative, a plan to equip one million Ndi Anambra, especially youth, with the tools, training, and opportunities to thrive in a global tech economy.

The state is deploying over 2,000 km of fiber-optic cable, opening up high-speed internet access to every LGA.

Startups will flourish, creators will innovate, and jobs will be created not by government handouts but by tech-enabled ingenuity.

Add to this is the coming Anambra Smart Education Ecosystem, including a new University of Education, a Smart College of Nursing, and leadership finishing schools, and you begin to see the complete human capital pipeline Governor Soludo is engineering, from classroom to a productive career, from village to virtual.

No one is left behind. The next frontier is connected, mobile, and efficient.

The Anambra Transport Masterplan will deliver a state rail network, linking major commercial centres, dualisation of more Trunk A highways across the state, a modern mass transit system, combining BRTs, water transport, and digital ticketing.

This is all about productivity, ease, and environmental responsibility.

Also, Governor Soludo is set to unlock Anambra’s untapped tourism goldmines, projects that will merge heritage with hospitality.

This means that Ogbunike Caves, Owerre-Ezukala Waterfalls, and Agulu Lake will be developed into world-class eco-tourism destinations with supporting infrastructure, security, and luxury accommodations.

The Marriott Hotel in Awka, with the groundwork on-going, will anchor a new era of business and leisure tourism in the state. Culture, once an afterthought, will become commerce.

The way of life of the people will be projected respectfully and sustainably.

Governor Soludo’s next chapter further focuses on food security and climate-smart agriculture.

The vision includes Smart farms across zones, using tech to monitor yield, irrigation, and soil health;

A central Agro-Processing and Export Hub, linked to the AMIC;

Scaling of the coconut and oil palm revolution, targeting economic self-reliance at the household level;

And a reactivated Ifite-Ogwari irrigation infrastructure enabling 2-3 rice cycles annually, potentially turning Anambra into a regional rice powerhouse.

To ensure that no student is left behind, a comprehensive Anambra Students’ Bursary Scheme will be launched.

Targeted at indigent but brilliant students, this programme will remove financial barriers to higher education, complementing the ongoing free basic and secondary education policy of the government.

This is Governor Soludo’s philosophy in action: equal opportunity, not equal outcome, empowering merit and enabling dreams.

So far, Governor Soludo’s three-year track record has silenced doubters and inspired believers.

But what is coming next is even more compelling. It is a future where digital connectivity meets social equity, where health is accessible, roads are navigable, cities are livable, and the environment is breathable.

It is a future where transformation is not measured by applause, but by impact; and where Anambra, once a departure lounge, becomes the dream destination. Acceleration mode is now activated.

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