By Hilda Ifegwu
The above title streamed on Orji Uzor Kalu’s leadership series on the Sun of Saturday July 9, 2016. As usual it was the normal T.A bashing which OUK has championed since he parted ways with his successor. The world knows that there is no love lost between them as OUK has cried profusely without good reason other than bemoaning his loss. His first paragraph was used in painting the devil’s picture based on immense falsehood and allegations that never existed. The good things about these are that the world knows Senator Orji’s achievements and Kalu’s failed attempts to win any election or sponsor a successful candidate since he parted ways with Ochendo. It is certain that Kalu’s suffix of former governor of Abia would be his highest.
It is on record that Kalu changed deputies like handkerchiefs while the governor of Abia State from 1999 t0 2007. Ask Senator Abaribe, if possible late Nwafor and others. Senator Abaribe who suffered a humiliating impeachment attempts survived and has been proven right as he is today a three-term senator, duly elected and returned by his people. Kalu is yet to be elected once since his inglorious days in Abia. He is still struggling, trying to snatch Senator MAO Ohuabunwa’s mandate from the backdoor therefore stalling meaningful work in Abia North senatorial Zone
Evidence abound that Senator Orji held sway as chief of Staff for eight years without any challenge internally or externally. If he erred as Kalu claimed belatedly, Kalu needed a radio pronouncement to dispense with Senator Orji if he did not need him but his profile improved daily and confidently and Kalu amid promises to many like Ohazurume Agaruwa of Ikwuano, whom he pulled down from USA but retained Ochendo. As the constitution demanded, Ochendo protected OUK, placated his teeming adversaries and handled his unending scandals emanating from certificates, marriage, business, and INEC forms racket.
Repeating Kalu’s claims would be abuse of space and reechoing his lies but one of the most ludicrous ‘I remember handing over a functional and debt free state to T A. The records are there for all to see. By the time we handed over Abia State has exited the Paris Club.’ We could still remember that Kalu’s last days were marred by his confrontation with pensioners where they cursed him that he would never be elected again. As against his veneered claims he left a whopping debt of 29 billion which includes personal newspaper adverts to his Sunnewspapers
Do we talk of his confrontation with the Federal Authorities that made Abia a pariah state particularly with Obasanjo who grounded all the businesses he acquired while in office?
In the same piece of horrific writing, he, though in a few lines eulogized Ojo Maduekwe who OUK organized urchins to embarrasses and forced him to take flight as a Federal Minister to which Ojo was elated when T.A broke from his conflict-ridden and control of Abia government by proxy to which Ojo said, “we lost our manhood with OUk’s reign of terror.’ Not only Ojo, he held all the elders hostage in Abuja and Lagos and branded them Talibans or Abuja Politicians. These people were later to be comforted by Ochendo’s brinkmanship and diplomacy.
Vincent Ogbulafor, Onyema Ugochukwu, Abaribe, elder Adaelu, late Senator Okorofor, Mao Ohuabunwa, Tony Ukasanya, Nkechi Nwaogu, Adulphos Nwagbara for the first time saw Abia as theirs and sat at the ornate table of PDP and carried the 2011 election to a landslide.
OUK claimed to have worked on 120 roads in Aba, which are the roads? Which streets? How many roads do we have in Aba if he worked on 120?
Of all his atrocious governance, which do we discuss? Is it his domiciling of Abia on the shrine of idol worship where nominees for different appointments were initially subjected to oath taking, those who did are still alive and ready to tell the world the goriest details.
OUK whose trademark falsehood is boundless, should tell us why we should blame Orji for the Abia imbroglio if actually there was any. TA had a revolutionary tenure of righting the atrocities of OUK, making truces, keeping promises and siting projects judiciously. Is there any who has not seen the Legacy Projects that elevated Umuahia as the state capital with other indices of modernity in the three senatorial zones?
He united Abia and insisted on a power shift to Abia South where it has not been since 1914 amalgamation and Ikpeazu from Abia south won. Even at the recent challenge by Ogah which he branded imbroglio, it was a legal battle without bitterness and no life was lost, the two camps have been astute in their challenges believing in the sanctity of the judiciary. Kalu would have sought other means as a self styled master strategist and blood would have flown like water.
OUK should bury his face in shame considering his jinxed political attempts. In my previous comments I boldly asked Kalu who were his political sons and daughters? Tinubu, a contemporary of Kalu as governor has progressed greatly pushing his acolytes to the fore, with Osinbajo, Lai Mohamed, Fashola and many others now on the federal stable.
The Authority newspaper of first June, 2016, featured an interview with Chief Emeka Okarafor, a long-standing ally since PPA days. He couldn’t help telling the world the mendacious and deceptive person of his boss and ally. ‘Kalu is an architect of his political woes…anybody accusing Orji of responsibility for Kalu’s abysmal outings is not being fair…he is his own problem.’
Not being in a hurry to dismiss Kalu, let him name to the world, his achievements in roads, buildings and policies in concrete and certain terms.
It remains a fact that all vituperations of Kalu on Ochendo are out or uncontrollable envy of Senator Orji’s ever rising political profile from 8 years, as chief of staff, 8 years as governor and now a top flight senator with multiple projects and high constituency approval ratings.
In Igbo traditions, as we are mourning one of our illustrious sons, all swords are sheathed but Kalu has broken the Nso ala, verbally maiming one of our own as chief Maduekwe is yet to be interned. If Kalu has shame, he should introspect and try to rebuild his floundering political career.