News
Blessed Beyond Measures: Life and Times of Nze Simeon Soludo
By Christian ABURIME
In 1939, at the tender age of eight, Simeon embarked on a transformative journey, departing his home for Onitsha.
Under the tutelage of his kinsman, Mr. Joseph Anyaonu, he apprenticed as a trader for seven formative years. It was a period etched with hardship and tribulation, a grooming in resilience amidst adversity.
In the face of challenges of life and tests of fate, a beacon of change emerged when, in 1943 at the age of 12, Simeon found solace and guidance within the folds of the Boy Scouts Movement at the Holy Ghost Catholic Parish in Onitsha.
Here, he imbibed the essence of Spartan discipline through rigorous drills and partook actively in expeditions and benevolent endeavours. The Scouts Movement became an enduring sanctuary, endowing him with essential survival skills that fortified his spirit through the trials and tribulations that lay ahead.
By 1946, Simeon returned to his village to embark on a new chapter: marriage. The subsequent year, however, marked a pivotal turn. Driven by a quest for purpose, he ventured to Port Harcourt in the company of Mr. Lawrence Okpala-Ibejekwe.
Despite being merely 16, uneducated, and lacking formal skills, he secured employment at the Shell Petroleum Development Company as an office assistant. A couple of years later, in 1948, destiny saw him journeying to Siroko in Ondo State to toil as a sawyer alongside Mr. Gilbert Afuzobugwu.
Amidst the laborious task of felling trees and fashioning timber for export, Simeon encountered the harsh lessons of life’s toil and hardship. Tragedy struck in the same year with the sudden demise of his father, Soludo, plunging the 17-year-old Simeon into the abyss of grief.
The weight of this loss bore heavily upon his young shoulders, cushioned only by the support of his step-mother, Obele, and the venerable guardian, Akuano.
After laying his father to rest, Simeon resumed work as a sawyer and joined the Sawyers Association in 1949, continuing his journey of self-sufficiency.
However, it was in 1953, while in Ilesha under the guidance of the Late Daniel Ike, that he received a tumultuous mix of news. His wife, Mgbafor, welcomed a son named Ikechukwu (later christened Emmanuel) while the passing of Akuano left a profound void in his life.
The years unfolded with Simeon’s nomadic journey: from Omanenu in Rivers State where he plied his trade as a sawyer before venturing into the hospitality industry by establishing a restaurant in 1956.
That was also the year that his wife, Mgbafor, gave birth to a baby girl named Paulina, followed by another baby boy, Silas, two years later in 1958.
Unfortunately, however, both Paulina and Silas died in their infancy.
Meanwhile, the restaurant business venture that Simeon had established at Omanenu, which initially promised riches swiftly crumbled in 1959.
The years 1956 to 1959 were years of despair, punctuated with losses and graded afflictions.
Hope dawned anew with the birth of his second surviving son, Charles Chukwuma, (former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the current Governor of Anambra State) in July 1960, coinciding with an opportunity at the Nigerian Cement Company, Nigercem Nkalagu.
His association with a French company during his Port Harcourt days facilitated this job offer. Despite an invitation to France, Simeon declined, anchored by familial responsibilities.
His role in the Civil Engineering Department commenced in 1960, later confirmed in June 1965, while his third surviving son, Ogochukwu, entered the world in 1964. Pastor Dr. Ogochukwu Soludo is currently the General Missions Director of African Missionary Empowerment Network (AMEN) as well as the Initiator and Chairman of Advanced Development Solutions Initiative (ADSI) Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited.
*To be continued…*
*_Credits: Materials and pictures support by Pastor (Dr) Ogochukwu Soludo_*
News
Breaking: NHRC, LEDAP begin consultative forum on eliminating harmful traditional, religious practices
By Bonaventure Phillips Melah
A consultative forum to seek ways of eliminating harmful traditional religious practices that impact rights of women and gender equality in Nigeria is set to begin in Abuja.
Organized by the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, and the Legal Defence and Advocacy Project, LEDAP, the gathering is themed- “Empowering Traditional Rulers in Nigeria to Adopt and Implement Community Guidelines for Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination Against Women.”
Among dignitaries to speak at the event are Dr. Tony Ojukwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Chino Obiagwu, SAN, National Coordinator, LEDAP and Prof. Joy Ezeilo, SAN, Executive Director, Women Aid Collective.
Details later…..
The Director General of AGRHYMET, Dr. Issoufou Baoua, led a high-level delegation to the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) as part of the Joint Mission on the operationalization of the Regional Climate Centre for West Africa and the Sahel (RCC-WAS).
He was accompanied by the WMO Representative for West, Central & North Africa, Dr. Bernard Gomez, and the ECOWAS Representative, Prof. Mansur Matazu.
The mission focused on advancing regional collaboration required to fully operationalize RCC-WAS — a key initiative designed to enhance climate services, strengthen resilience, and support informed decision-making across West Africa and the Sahel.
During the engagement, the AGRHYMET DG outlined the core objectives of the mission, which include strengthening institutional partnerships, aligning regional priorities, identifying capacity-building needs, and setting actionable milestones for the effective take-off of RCC-WAS.
Receiving the delegation, the Director General/CEO of NiMet, Prof. Charles Anosike, reaffirmed NiMet’s commitment to the successful establishment of RCC-WAS. He emphasized that NiMet will provide technical expertise and tools — including MeteoWiz — participate in joint research efforts, and contribute to the development of advanced climate monitoring and forecasting capabilities for the region.
The visit marked a significant step forward in consolidating regional cooperation. Both institutions reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening climate services, and the meeting concluded with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the operationalization of the Regional Climate Centre for West Africa and the Sahel.
President Bola Tinubu has set up a high level committee to resolve issues on N4 trillion owed to federal contractors in the country.
According to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, the President also expressed displeasure over the huge debt.
He made the disclosure while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting presided over by the President at the Council Chambers, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said the President was enraged after learning that about 2,000 contractors are owed.
Onanuga, who stood in for the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris said: “He made it very, very clear he is not happy and wants a one-stop solution.
“An important highlight in the course of the FEC meeting is that the President expressed very, very grave displeasure about the fact that contractors are being owed money.
“The DG (Director-General) of the Bureau of Public Procurement actually told the President that about 2000 contractors are being owed money and this made the President very, very upset.
“So the ministers are going to look into the problem to really find a solution, to find the money to be used in paying the contractors.”
The presidential aide explained that the committee has as members, the Ministers of Finance (and Coordinating Minister of the Economy), Wale Edun; Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu; Works, Dave Umahi; Education, Olatunji Alausa; Housing, Ahmed Dangiwa; and Marine & Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, along with the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Tanimu Kurfi; and the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Dr Zacch Adedeji.
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