Nonye Soludo’s Philosophy of Service.
By Daniel Ezeigwe
on invitation of the wife of the governor of Anambra State, Mrs Nonye Soludo, over 1,000 Anambra women trooped to the Governor’s Lodge, Amawbia, for the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) Recapitalization Grants for Women Petty Traders. The initiative is sponsored by the wife of the President of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, CON, with this particular gesture targeting women who are running small-scale businesses. A total of fifty million naira was allocated to Anambra State to be shared to these one thousand women.
One interesting thing about this particular intervention is that it didn’t have political party lines. Each of the beneficiaries did not have to show partisan identification to get the non-refundable capital. It was for every woman who owns a small business or is aspiring to start up one. Another interesting is that a large percentage of the beneficiaries were people with disabilities, carefully selected from across the state. Anambra governor’s wife – being a practical liberalist – understands first-hand what it means to make great impact through little effort. Not a woman whose ideologies are influenced by political associations. Mrs Soludo thinks and sees every woman as one. It was even more lucid at the event where the crowd was held in complete amazement with what they described as “never been seen before among first ladies in Anambra state.”
The women danced, cheered, and prayed. You could see tears of joy running down the cheeks of so many of them who never thought a provision meant for them would really get to them. But who do you blame for such disbelief? Mrs Soludo is just one out of a few honest, genuine, and upright individuals you would encounter once in your entire life. The women could not believe it. She stood there, giving out each envelope to the beneficiaries until they had all gotten. One thousand women, she embraced them all. You could feel the shocking joy in their faces. Each one reeling out prayers and blessings for a woman whom they described “different.” But Nonye Soludo’s kindness did not begin yesterday. It’s practically what she lives for – leaving each soul with such impact that could live for a lifetime.
The Anambra governor’s wife defied the heating weather of yesterday. She made sure that every woman who came into the arena left with their package. To ensure that the beneficiaries do not use the grants for a different purpose, she went a step further to give each of them extra allowance to cater for their transportation back home. One thousand women roaring in fever-pitch joy – an excitement that completes an unprecedented narrative. That’s what makes Mrs Nonye Soludo different from her peers.
