Hearts, Minds, And Hands: Soludo’s Human Capital Revolution In Anambra

CHRISTIAN ABURIME 

In the story of every great society, the true engine of transformation is not limited to oil or infrastructure alone; it is also about the people.

It is education that shapes their minds, healthcare that preserves their lives, skills that empower their hands, and dignity that secures their place in society.

In Anambra State, Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, is scripting this very story with breathtaking urgency. His human capital and social agenda is a people-centred movement to build a prosperous and compassionate homeland.

At the onset of his tenure, Governor Soludo’s bold declaration of a state of emergency in education was a necessary jolt to a system that had lost its way. Today, Anambra is the first state in Nigeria where every child in public school, from nursery to SS3, pays nothing: no levies, no fees, and no hidden charges.

This landmark policy has reversed a decline in enrollment. Public primary school enrollment has surged by 27.05%, while secondary school numbers have risen by 10.36%.

In 2024, Unesco rated Anambra State as the lowest in out of school syndrome at a rate of 2.90 While the 2024/25 National Education Management Information System Annual Census held in conjunction with State Education Management Information System rated the out of syndrome at 0.25. Anambra now boasts with the lowest rate of out of school children in Nigeria.

When Governor Soludo took office, over 7,500 teaching positions were vacant. Within his first year, he recruited 8,115 teachers in a merit-based, digital-savvy cohort drawn from 18 states across Nigeria. These teachers have been deployed to every corner of the state, from bustling cities to forgotten villages, dramatically improving the teacher-learner ratio to 31:1 in primary, 28:1 in secondary, and 26:1 in ECCD. Every headteacher and principal now has a laptop. 22 pilot smart schools are transforming into centres of innovation, preparing students for a world where knowledge, not connections, defines the future.

Through the Public-Private-Community Partnership (PPCP) model, 70 philanthropists have invested in renovating and building schools. Mission schools, long neglected, are receiving generous government support, ₦2.2 billion in grants, including for Pentecostal schools for the first time. Eighty per cent of newly recruited teachers serve in mission schools whose salaries are fully covered by the state, almost ₦1 billion monthly. Education is no longer an orphan of policy; it is the crown jewel in Anambra State under Governor Soludo

Also, Anambra is setting national standards in healthcare with its telemedicine network. Every primary healthcare centre in the state is now digitally linked to a pool of 42 doctors, available 24/7. With the tap of a button, a villager in the remote areas can consult a doctor, be referred, and even evacuated using the Anambra State Emergency Ambulance Service (ASEMSAS) via a toll-free line.

Today, 326 primary health centres have been renovated and equipped with solar-powered boreholes, lithium inverters, and internet-enabled diagnostic tools. Once-abandoned facilities are now hubs of life-saving care. Each political ward in Anambra has at least one functional medical facility.

Five brand-new general hospitals have been built, all in underserved areas of Anambra North, defying political calculations as Governor Soludo is from Anambra South. Additionally, three general hospitals have been upgraded to specialist status. Equipment such as dialysis machines, dental theatres, and ophthalmology labs now exist where there was once neglect. At the tertiary level, a state-of-the-art Trauma Centre is under construction at the Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital. A smart nursing school, the largest in Southeast Nigeria, is also taking shape.

Over 102,643 women have benefited from completely free antenatal care and delivery, including 344 cesarean sections. Since its inception, public hospital births have risen from 200 to over 1,000 monthly, with 52% of beneficiaries being non-indigenes, an evidence of the universal humanity guiding the policy.

From 3.8 million mosquito nets distributed to cervical cancer screening for over 13,000 women, the healthcare revival is as broad as it is deep. Anambra’s Health Insurance Scheme now covers 120,000 residents, including keke riders and shuttle bus drivers, and aims to double coverage by 2025.

Governor Soludo’s vision for youth development is practical, visionary, and deeply cultural. Inspired by the Igbo Apprenticeship System (IAS), the One Youth, Two Skills initiative is empowering 5,000 young people in 2024, with another 8,700 in training for 2025. With over ₦2 billion in seed capital and an additional ₦2.5 billion in concessional loans through ASBA, over 3,000 youth have become self-made millionaires, armed with skills that scale. This is not the usual handout or welfarist tokenism; it is wealth creation in action.

The Soludo administration’s compassion also finds real expression in its social justice programmes. Over 1,800 children separated from families have been rescued and reunited. Over 150 interventions have protected widows from inhumane practices, enforcing the Widowhood Rights Law. More than 3,000 disputes have been resolved through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), giving women and children an accessible justice mechanism. Over 2,000 perpetrators of gender-based violence and trafficking have been apprehended, while 121 children were rescued from exploitative conditions. Over 1,500 grassroots women leaders have been mobilised into governance, with 2,500+ women trained in vocational and entrepreneurial skills. Governor Soludo’s women agenda is empowerment by design.

With decades of dry taps behind them, Anambra residents are now witnessing the return of pipe-borne water. Five major urban water schemes, 15 small-town networks, and 109 rural projects, including 30 in Okpoko alone, have been rehabilitated and upgraded. For many, this is the first time in living memory that potable water flows at home.

Governor Soludo’s human capital agenda is a deeply personal, profoundly life-changing covenant with the people of Anambra. By investing in minds, healing bodies, empowering youths, uplifting women, and restoring dignity, he is building a better, more just, equitable society where every life counts. In Anambra, for the first time in a long time, governance has truly come home. Solution is here!