By Eddie Onuzurike
Center spread, page 32 and 33 of The Sun, Tuesday December 16, 2014 was no surprise. There is an Igbo saying that too much meat in the hand of a minor turns flesh into bones. A child with so much ink and pen at his disposal can only continue to doodle. Orji Uzor Kalu’s ‘Letter to the people of Abia State: Now is the time for peace and reconciliation’ is nothing new, rather it adheres to his traditional habit of blowing hot and cold.
His eight years in Abia were characterized by policy summersaults of saying one thing today and doing another tomorrow. These are part of him.
Why has it taken over 7 years to talk about reconciliation? The Igbos have it on the marble that when a medication for the eye is being concocted, pepper shouldn’t be one of the ingredients. Chief Orji Uzor Kalu owns newspapers, combining facts and fallacies don’t make any difference because nobody, especially his employees can muster the courage to edit his wild comments and wily proposals. In this piece of December 16, 2014, he took on many issues upon which he contradicted himself in many paragraphs. Why seek peace at election time if his house is in order? Well, it is all left for those who will take the risk of taking him seriously.
Who is he reconciling with? The old men, and elderly statesmen he chased away, branding them Talibans or Abuja politicians he denigrated as powerless? Maybe the youths he gave shovels and wheelbarrows? Juxtaposing facts with the mendacious claims of scholarship, bursary and projects are enough to put off anybody who would have taken him seriously. Quantum evidence abound that he came to enrich himself and he succeeded. Take for instance Slok Airline and the Sun Newspaper were all established while he was in office. What spectacular thing did he achieve in Abia? What precise project? Where are they located? Did he house workers at home and the office or build the International Conference Center that stopped Abia from hosting high caliber conferences? Did he build hospitals or refurbish schools? Could be that he started the e-library that is the rave of the moment. Lies cannot stand, they will always lie low.
If kalu actually wants peace going by his self-acclaimed unreserved apology, why the denigration on T. A. Orji and the caustic innuendos? Why the falsehood and blatant lies in his treatise? He claimed that while in office, he never touched money, even his security votes were spent by the Abia Governor when he was the Chief of Staff? Is it now, 7 years after and election time that he has realized that he stepped on toes?
If he is actually sincere in his olive branch, why are his attack dogs on Abia and T. A. Orji still on the offensive? On Monday preceding Tuesday when his centre spread came out, his hatchet writer Ebere Wabara and Okwadike Ikpeazu were out with their calumny and lies, calling the Governor names while stating that Abia is backward without any thing done. Okwadike linked and blamed President Jonathan for allowing Orji a free reign. As it is well known, Kalu is always ready with games and twisty pranks.
When he noticed his unpopularity and couldn’t sustain his false claim of being a PDP member, he wrote a letter of withdrawal seeking a refund from PDP and did much to incite Abaribe, Wogu, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, Okey Emuchey, Alex Otti and a bunch of other aspirants.
We don’t need Kalu and his Greek gift. He has tried all his tricks and failed and now feigning like a defeated wrestler only to spring another surprise if allowed.
Abia is peaceful in-spite of all Kalu’s antics. The ugliest writings have been made against Abia and Orji in The Sun Newspapers. The greatest lies against Abia has been told and traced to be the work of Kalu’s propaganda apparatus where stories that never existed have been placed from his detachment of rumour mongers and ghost scripters. His men will manufacture stories that never existed and all in their editorial board will write about it, in a make-believe attempt to smear. Arthur Eze is still being misquoted copiously as if it was what he said.
What has he not done to T. A. and PDP in Abia? Instructively, we have weathered through all these booby traps, coming out as the most peaceful and cohesive PDP state in Nigeria. The old men he serially insulted have been consoled by T. A. Orji. All elections conducted have been massively won by PDP ranging from 2011 and other bye-elections in all places including the Abia State Assembly where little known housewife, widow of Iheasinmuo swept the polls and now reelected as a PDP candidate for the same constituency.
Kalu should ship out or shut up. There is a limit to mischief. From all indications, he is gunning for election in PPA as the Abia North Senatorial Candidate. Let him keep trying. He has the resources and time. After all, he is PPA and PPA is him. His campaigns against PDP are on record where he travelled to the West and supported APC against PDP. Who is he fooling? We have had enough of him.
There have been too much boasting and claims of assumed electoral prowess. The time is nigh. Let Kalu and his cohorts show us with their ballots. No more, no less.