Soludo Drops Points Of Reflection At Mgbakwu

MAZI EJIMOFOR OPARA 

Gov. Soludo has a delicately busy mind with the capacity to crack complex issues. While I joined him on a tour of the Anambra State Polytechnic, Mgbakwu today I observed a few things that further exposed to me the depth of his presence of mind.

As we drove through the dual carriage tempsite-okpuno road into the short clay stretch of earthen road sprawling into Isuaniocha straight to Mgbakwu, one would notice the excitement of locals who were happy to see the Man driving urbanization into their once sleepy rural communities.

Intermittent stops occassioned by a spontaneous behemoth of human barricades were regular interludes in our journey to the Polytechnic community. Upon final stop at the Polytechnic, one could see an institution with huge potential trapped in neglect for lack of definite direction. As Gov. Soludo held the Microphone to address the audience comprising Staff, Students and host community stakeholders, his first words were,

“We have a collective duty. It is a long way from where we stand, but we must first decide our destination”.

Much as Soludo loves education, he values quality education that is goal oriented even more. For him, the Anambra State Polytechnic must benchmark against the best, in this sense it has to be the Indian Institute of Technology. To achieve this, the school must focus on attracting the best teachers.

In what looks like a food for thought for the request by the Ag-Rector of the school for accreditation, Gov. Soludo dropped more posers that left the hall in magna silencia;

“It is not enough to seek accreditation. But, accreditation to do what? Without qualified Teachers schools are nothing more than places for certificate racketeering. People come to me to say they want to set up higher institutions, and I ask them, where would you get the Lecturers from? Do you have the resources to attract and retain the best?”

This for me, are not posers for the Anambra State Polytechnic alone, they are reflections for all who administer tertiary institutions in the country and those who are busy establishing private universities and polytechnics everywhere in the country. This is the quality of mind of a man who knows the way, shows the way and follows the way!