About ten years ago, Nigerians elected new leaders into federal, State and local government level political offices after a long wait for the opportunity. The citizens heaved a sigh of relief that the end has come to their sufferings. They celebrated the new window opened to them—a result of the agitation of civil society leaders and democracy proponents—to chart the course to progress. The excesses of the former autocratic head of state, Sani Abacha had put them in a pitiable situation. Thus, with pomp and pageantry, the newly elected leaders were sworn in to assume their duties. One man stood out among the newly elected governors. And he was Orji Uzor Kalu.
I have never met this man physically. The closest I have come to him was when his motorcade blaring sirens past the overcrowded and dirty littered road by the luxurious buses motor park in Umuahia—Abia state capital. My mother and I had left our family home immediately after my grandmother was buried at 2.00pm and headed to the bus station in Umuahia. We had to leave immediately because I had to be in my hostel the next day and she had to be at her office too. We could not go back by air as we had arrived because she made more expenses than she estimated for the burial. We could have waited to travel by bus the next morning if she could but her vacation period has been previously expended when she visited my ailing grandmother earlier. We had to go by night to meet up with our appointments the next day. This was in 2003. While we were waiting to board a night bus to Lagos, the huge crowd of people that a moment ago occupied the dirty road split into two— like the red sea— amidst the sound of blaring sirens emanating from a long convoy of cars and jeeps. Stern looking police escorts and SSS men led the motorcade whooping any one that did not clear from the dirty road. I watched in total bewilderment as this happened and I was very sorry for one man, who looked the age of my father being brushed aside for the motorcades passage. All I could hear was “His excellency, his excellency” and other muttered sentences in Igbo language by the onlookers. Even though I could not figure out fully what they were saying, I just watched with pathos for that man that had been kicked aside as he gathered himself up. I recollected that I was waiting for a bus, as I wondered what I was doing in such a place, after the sound of the siren had faded away down the road. The motorcade headed towards government secretariat— I found out when I asked the ticket attendant about its destination as he was familiar with such experience.
I was irritated by that experience and I asked my mum why we had to come to that place. She explained to me that it was better to avoid the day journey and travel by night when traffic is low avoiding the extra hours on the road. After getting our tickets, we went around town to visit relatives. One of my uncles who we visited allayed fears for the night journey because of the attendant armed robbery attacks associated with it and suggested we travel by air as we came. My mum had forcefully forgotten about her night travel experience— she was attacked on Uzuakoli road in 2000— because she was trying to save some money after the huge expenses she made at the burial ceremony. She assented to my uncle’s suggestion. He drove us down to the airport and paid for our ticket and we had to travel by air. With the help of my uncle we avoided the dangers associated with the road from Umuahia to Lagos. We were saved from the Potholes and ditches that characterized a road said to be an interstate highway, armed robbers and an avoidable long tortuous journey.
I really did not intend to describe the ugly experience at Umuahia and make public the death of my grandmother in 2003 because the essence of this write-up is to figure out who Orji Uzor Kalu is. However, it is sad that I recall the sad death of my grandmother because of this inquest into the person of Orji Uzor Kalu. It is unavoidable this time, given the many times I have picked up my laptop and dropped it due to one important pressing issue or the other that arises, to write a response to this man’s essays on nationalism, Christianity, morality, economic prosperity, support for Yar adua government and subtly his presidential ambition in 2011. His recent essay on death on his newspaper, the sun provoked me to respond by writing this piece.
He wrote this his essay titled “Sorrows of death” very articulately like a common man in the society who is terrified about death and a Christian priests who knows that God is the one that gives and takes (that is if he actually wrote it, I understand he is not as knowledgeable and skilled as his essays try to portray). A person who has scanty information about him or has never had any contact with him would respond to his articles likewise.
I must confess that I like his method of reaching out to the people through his essays and articles on various issues that touch national life. He could continue in this way and start up a TV show like Mike Huckabee, not necessarily to press on his presidential bid, but to spread the ideals, he tries to portray to younger generations who really don’t know him.
As a versatile reader and from my personal horrible experience with this man, I seek to know where he truly stands. I ask him and I expect him to respond through his column and any widely read medium like Saharareporters to come out sincerely and truthfully to state his position on his relationship with the Nigerian dream, his antecedents to actualize it and his alternative process of achieving it, since he performed averagely in my home state Abia State.
I was unable to visit Nashville, when he had an interview with Dr James Haney because I was busy trying to finish an art presentation on the Beauty of Africa on campus. However, I was able to watch a recorded telecast. I must confess that the interview fell short of what I expected. Unlike most Nigerian politicians, who always call the pace during any interview or press conferences locally, Orji Uzor kalu who sometimes ascribes titles like Doctor, Chief or Engineer to his name, answered timidly to James questions. With his characteristics irrepressible Igbo accent, which I admire and gives him kudos for, for not trying to form some western accent, as some other governors do when they visit, he answered James questions. However, many answers to Haney’s questions seemed like half baked truth and were very scanty in facts and figures. I narrate this again, not to cast any bad image on his person but to ask about his educational background. He answered those questions timidly and acted sometimes as if he was unsure of what he was talking about. To hide his shallow knowledge of what he was talking about and the many clichés like “economic progress,” “abject poverty,” “job provisions,” “poor infrastructural development,” “the people,” “rule of law,” “move state forward,” etc that he was using, he gesticulated and postured his face very seriously as if that was the truthful and factual answer to the questions posed to him. I must say that his response to a question on his educational background lacked facts and he answered them in the most unprincipled manner.
He said he attended some primary school in Aba “briefly,”— that means he did not complete his primary education. He failed to give dates. He also listed two secondary schools he attended without stating why he left the former. He said he attended high school “briefly” too. For his tertiary education, he said that he was kicked out of UniMaid and that he completed his college education in Abia state University in 1997. To me this lacked the truth and fact, because, I can remember vividly in the bus park in 2003 that the ticket attendant beamed with smiles when I asked about Orji Kalu. He said that Orji was “one lucky, illiterate man, who made a fortune from the maladministration and corruption of the previous military governments.” He said Orji’s father was his father’s neighbor in Aba and that gave some legitimacy to his understanding of Orji. He said Orji’s father produced cloth hangers and that Orji Kalu preferred to live with his mother—separated from her husband because of her activities— who frolicked with irresponsible men in the military government and attracted contract gifts as favors in Abuja. Thus, I hope Orji Uzor Kalu addresses this issue about his education and fortune contritely in future to impress younger adults of this generation, who can’t be easily fooled by mere utterances.
In the most brazen manner, he said that he had nothing to do again after his governorship tenure expires because he is “self fulfilled and has achieved everything he wants to achieve economically and otherwise,” thus he has “chosen to gun for the presidency”. He mumbled and jumbled foreign policies he intends to pursue as a president and talked surreally about what he hopes to achieve as president. This statement was one terrible mistake he made. Here he unwittingly confesses to the accusations of the EFCC, that he and his mother sucked dry the treasury of Abia state. Even though he has not been convicted, due to his expertise in manipulating and concocting issues, he has been able to so far escape justice. Through his column, he has several times given incoherent denials of the accusations. I understand, that for every of his scheduled date in court, hired mobs picket the court and surroundings, which he calls supporters. To me, if he had provided jobs for these people as he claimed on Haney’s show, they will be busy earning their income instead of perambulating around the court premises. Orji Uzor Kalu will tell me that the people really loves him, and that is why they come out in mass to support him at court. But I must say that if Orji is truly responsible and principled, he will urge those supporters to go earn their living and allow him to carry his cross. Here is another instance, where Orji Kalu needs to explain.
Again, I must confess that I admired this man when he was talked about as the youngest governor aged 36 in 1999. Also, I admired his efforts to try to improve agriculture in Abia State when he loaned out chicks to government workers who intended to start some farming business then. However, that is where my admiration ends because he has shown himself to have the mindset of the hoodlums, shenanigans, brigands and manipulators that have bastardized our nation Nigeria. I can remember him dancing on stage and waving, in one of his numerous campaigns for the presidency when I visited Onitsha. He was again unlike the Orji Kalu on Haney’s show who was humble and obedient to the black American host, Haney. I must note that he tried to chip in some commendations for Bush’s response of giving 55 billion to hurricane Katrina. This commendation of his singly shows the mindset of most Nigerian politicians. I say this because they think propaganda of contracts worth billions and millions signed for a project is enough to assuage the suffering of the people. This idea is miserably false as shown in Bush’s poll rating at the end of his tenure. His rating was abysmally low because citizens of America saw his response to hurricane Katrina as not being enough and very indifferent to the plight of the people (Bush simply waved from a chopper above the devastated area and signed billions as most Nigerian politicians would do at the roof of a bullet proof jeep—this was the offense). Orji believes the 55 billion and wave was ok. To Americans it is not ok and to Nigerians—who do not have the opportunity because of constantly rigged elections— to say their mind, it is likewise not ok.
I thank Saharareporters for the opportunity to send this to Orji Kalu and I appreciate Sowore for his citizen journalism. I urge Nigerians all over the country and America to share their views and opinion on this medium, so that their genuine experiences will help tell the sheep from the wolf. We can choose worthy leaders for 2011 elections, if the homework starts today. We do not want puppet leaders who will bow to every foreign power. Orji Uzor Kalu should restate his foreign policies. I do not agree with Orji that America and Britain are our close friends as he tries to portray on Haney’s show. Most of their policies are predatory and profit them more than it does to Nigerians. How can such be a friend, Dr. Orji?
Although, I critic Orji Kalu’s activities late after he has quit government office Umuahia, I do this because of my concern for the coming 2011 elections. Politicians like our present leaders should not feature in it and the likes of Orji Uzor Kalu, who may have some antecedents but lost it on the way, should come out straight. Orji Kalu should go to his ill-gotten mansion at camp Neya as he publicizes and have a rethink. He should also bring in new hands on board to groom him for his bid and polish his antecedents if he has any, to prepare him for the 2011 elections, which would not come easy for anybody hoping to rig elections or be foisted by a godfather on the Nigerian people. Orji’s health policy sucks because my grandmother, whom I crave to be by her side to hear her tell me stories of the better days of Muritala and Co is no more. She died because there was no standard hospital in Abia state to treat her illness. And because my mother could not afford to fly her abroad for treatment immediately as Orji Kalu would have done to his mother. I use this medium to reiterate that the Obama wave has swept through America. It has gone to Ghana and even our neighbor, Benin before now. It is coming to Nigeria. I am one of the proponents of this change. I believe that through the expositions and investigations of saharareporters and other well meaning Nigerians all over the world, rogue leaders would not smell the candidacy of their parties.(Jerry Madukwe, Secretary General, Africa Forum for Paradigm Shift)
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