By: Mazi Ejimofor Opara
I would like to make this piece as ordinary as possible so my readers can understand the import of Soludo’s visit to Uyo earlier today. I am sure Prof. Akpan Ekpo would roundly disagree with the saying that “a friend in power is a friend lost”. This is one out of the very many ways Gov. Soludo continues to beat repulsive conventions. I have stayed fairly close enough to him to appreciate that he is a Man who is consistent and true to anyone he calls friend.
While he seeks for opportunities to exploit the competitive advantages of his friends by bringing them on-baord critical assignments, what remains constant is the indisputable quality of productive output from these few persons you can rightly call “Soludo’s friends”. They are not just imposed on opportunities, they come prepared and qualified too. Today, Gov. Soludo was at Uyo to honour his friend of 36 years — a friendship founded on scalable values and mutual respect. Two fiercely intelligent young men met at an academic conference in Ife, Osun State and began a friendship that has contributed immensely to shaping the course of global and National economies. There are very few like Soludo who understand that friendships grow better in an atmosphere of collaboration than devious competition.
I have seen a few other friends of Soludo, one of them have boldly told me that he is willing to drop his own life for a Soludo who, according to him, is one of the rare human resources that come as limited edition. Thus, needs to be preserved long enough for humanity.
When I put all this together, what I see is an intellectual with enviable character. The words of Proverbs 18:24 comes true in Soludo when it says; “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: And there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother”.
Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo CFR is certainly that friend that sticks closer than a brother. If he can be this selfless to his friends, those of us who are his proteges must count ourselves lucky, knowing fully that he will do much more as a Mentor!
