Exactly four years today, I sat in the Governor’s Library in his Isuofia residence with three other colleagues—our leader, Joe Anatune of blessed memory; Christian Aburime (now the Press Secretary); and Mazi Ejimofor (SSA New Media & APGA National Publicity Secretary) with our notes, as we burnt the midnight oil. It was the night before the inauguration of Soludo’s first term. We had briefing notes to review, last-minute details to iron out, and, of course, the jokes and stories.
But the Governor looked at his watch at exactly 11:51 pm, then at us, and switched to his serious face.
“Gentlemen, it is prayer time,” he said. “My family is waiting for me. Let us continue in the morning as we proceed to the inauguration ground.”
We exchanged glances. The night before being sworn in as the governor of Anambra State, the busiest night of his life and he was going home for family prayers? He immediately left his library and we went home.
That moment told me everything I needed to know about the woman behind the man.
For four years, we have heard nothing. No scandals. No controversies. No headlines about a First Lady throwing weight around or demanding special treatment. Just silence. Just dignity. Just Grace, and Just Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo, which has now become a grassroots movement on its own.
Unlike the past, when governors’ wives often became stories and controversies themselves, Mrs. Soludo has chosen a different path. She is the kind of woman who, whenever she is around the lodge, prepares her husband’s food herself. She monitors his daily meals, tracks his daily routine, supervises his exercises not with the sternness of a taskmaster, but with the quiet devotion of a wife who understands that the man governing millions must first be governed by love. And always, she prays.
But here is what moves me most: she has taken us, the Governor’s workers, like her own children. Not as servants. Not as aides. As family. She asks about my family and welfare before she asks about work. In case of an emergency, she calls every 10 minutes until every issue is resolved. She notices when we are tired before we say it. She will first instruct the security to grant everyone access and ask the steward to give everyone food.
Yesterday, during the second term inauguration interdenominational service held at the International Conference Center, Awka, Soludo declared: “She is the pillar. I haven’t disappointed my wife, and I promise not to disappoint.” I understood exactly what he meant.
Some men achieve greatness. Others are held steady by the hands that refuse to let them fall. Mrs. Soludo is not just the First Lady of Anambra. She is the reason the Governor still has a home to return to after governing the state.
And in a country where power corrupts even the purest intentions, that is the greatest legacy of all.
