BY DEMIAN IGBOKWE
Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu (OUK), a world-class cerebral politician and public-spirited individual of many worthy courses, who spared no effort for the enthronement of our present democracy needs to be celebrated as an Icon. While many charlatans are today claiming ownership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), we must be reminded that OUK, as a firm believer of democratic governance, where the freedom of the masses is guaranteed, made the first highest individual donation for the establishment and running of PDP from inception when many were still in doubt of its success. OUK had hit the ground running, having obtained an irrevocable promise from the then Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, and the military top-brass that transition to civilian rule was irreversible.
It is also worthy to mention that OUK sacrificed more than any other Nigerian for the smooth transition of power from civilian rule of Olusegun Obasanjo to the government of our late amiable president, Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua. Nigerians must be well informed that our present enthusiasm for another transition, from May 29, 2015, is made possible by the doggedness and sacrifice of the likes of Orji Kalu and others,who made sacrifices. And it is on record today that OUK lost his business empire that runs into billions of dollars and also risked his personal safety, in those days.
I laugh to scorn whenever I see some people who played funny roles before talk about democracy because they think that every Nigerian has short memory but soon, they will be surprised when the great mass of Nigeria will honour our true and known democracy heroes, who aligned with the masses at the defining moment in our nationhood,like Orji Kalu.
As we proceed with the task of rebuilding Nigeria, we cannot avoid taking stock of our past, a past that a few men of vision and courage placed their lives on the line to make sure that the future is meaningful; to stop brothers from taking up arms against their own brothers or benefactors, of which Abia State of today under T.A Orji is a reference point. If our generation is determined to locate our mission as a people and fulfill it, we can no longer keep quiet and wring our fingers in despair and anguish while our homesteads are being consumed by a raging inferno, there must be limit to T.A Orji’s evil propaganda against the person of Kalu.
From all strata of human life, Kalu has pointed the way forward in this connection. The determined strides of Kalu since he emerged as an Igbo political leader are very refreshing and encouraging, for it shows that even in the midst of our confusion, there are still God-fearing man with conviction and commitment to credible leadership and democratic governance, which guarantees freedom and liberty as enshrined in our constitution.
That Orji Uzor Kalu is a towering leader, humble and admired by many, is not in doubt. That he was and still is a successful business man and philanthropist, even ever before he ventured into politics is also not in doubt. That he was not lifted like a cripple from jail and put on the executive seat of Abia State is also evident. That he has defended the Igbo interest even at the risk of personal safety is equally not debatable – a struggle that has brought great admirers and vicious enemies within and outside; a struggle that scuttled his business empire, which he is now rebuilding.
In his struggle to defend and protect his people and Nigeria in general, Kalu has had security operatives unleashed on him; his home and offices turned inside out by security operatives like maggots rummaging the inner anatomy of a putrefying carcass. He has been cursed and discussed, yet OUK refused to be cowed. The battle rages on and that is just the way he loves it as far as it is for the collective interest of the masses, hence, he said that the greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it because skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempest.
For any person to think that this conqueror, a man of destiny and history would be thrown into the dust bin of history while he is still very much active and alive must be a dreamer.
Men of destiny, despite their backgrounds have always had to strive hard to arrive at the top and such struggles to be the best in whatever they do have always quickened their inventiveness and inspired their resolution.
• Igbokwe is national leader, True Abians for Development (TAD) Initiative
Abia guber: How PDP campaigns for APGA candidate
BY CHIMA NWAFO
Whereas little is heard about campaign promises or mission statement of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the mass media, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, it’s not same with the standard bearer of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dr. Alex Otti.
Although the duo boasts robust academic and professional credentials (the former was head of department at the Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT) and the latter is immediate past managing director/chief executive officer of Diamond Bank Plc. ), a cursory review of their media outings shows that the banker has an edge. He is focused and presents a clear vision of how to lift Abia out of the pit of neglect and underdevelopment
Ironically, Ikpeazu, the anointed candidate and beneficiary of the zoning arrangement, seems to suffer from the illusion of “Governor Theodore Orji has fulfilled his campaign promises,” often parroted by government spokesmen and covenanted elected representatives of the people. On the contrary, every right-thinking person familiar with the socio-political state of Abia agrees that T.A. Orji has failed the test of good governance in the eight years of his administration. Ikpeazu may also be banking on incumbency power, which works magic in Nigeria’s political stratosphere. That is also a delusion, because Abia people have seen enough of it to have reached the painful conclusion that an imperfect mould cannot produce a perfect cast.
Besides, things have changed. The people have witnessed instant metamorphosis of Imo, uncommon transformation of Akwa Ibom, developmental strides in Rivers and infrastructural uplift of Enugu – all sister states around Abia. As a result, Ikpeazu has an enormous challenge: How does he intend to transform Abia, if elected? Can you extricate yourself from the spiritual entanglements of your godfather?
However, this reaction is compelled by the creatively designed, but poorly articulated two-page advertorial in The Guardian of February 17. I was naturally attracted by the aesthetics, which was certainly the handiwork of an experienced agency hand. What I found intriguing was that on page 36, four and half inches across six columns were allotted to Dr. Otti’s photograph and headline. On page 37, five and half inches were allocated to same particulars. On estimation, it turned out that the text of the two advertorials was less than 1, 800 words. Perhaps, this explains why a third of the space, that is, nine inches across 14 columns, was used to beautify the very man they intended to vilify. The copy-fitting showed that the two advertorials could have been contained in one page. That would have saved about N750, 000 (add consultancy fee, agency charges/production cost, and advert rate/VAT). But most disturbing was the misnomer: “An Open Letter to the Chairman/Managing Director of Diamond Bank Plc.” Such an office does not exist in any bank in Nigeria. Second, it is common knowledge that banks engage contract security staff. So, the allegation of using Diamond Bank security to ‘harass and intimidate Abia masses’ is baseless.
Otti was equally accused of using the military to “undue advantage and against the citizens of Abia more than the Chief Security Officer of the state, the man with the constitutional monopoly of violence and executive governor of a state.” This is a veiled threat and reminder that Abia is still run as a monarchy with dictatorial tendencies, by an intolerant executive that once ordered Gestapo-style arrest of The Sun columnist, Ebere Wabara, from his Lagos residence, to face inquisitions at Umuahia. Notwithstanding, Otti’s popularity rating continues to soar from the elite down to the grassroots.
In Sunday Vanguard, February 15, Charles Uzoukwu, from Umuahia, wrote: “In his mission statement, Otti has vowed to ensure verifiable achievements and to transform the state far better than what he had achieved in Diamond Bank. He also intends to ensure that only the best brains are recruited to manage the affairs of the state; intends to maximise the potential of the people, by industrialising the state through investment in agriculture, oil and gas, digital media and technology, health-care, road networks, furniture fabrication; creating the enabling environment for all to flourish.”
On the vexed issue of indigene (son of the soil syndrome), the electorate should be allowed to judge, through their votes, who is more sincerely committed to their social welfare and economic wellbeing, whether Nwa-diala or ‘Traveller.’ Isiala Ngwa people can easily recall the difference between their two sons: pioneer Speaker of the House of Representatives, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Second Republic Senator Jaja Anucha Wachuku, and the one-term Minister of Works, Eastern Region, Mr. P. O. Ururuka, who made water flow throughout Isiala Ngwa and beyond. They can also recall that their own Paul Ogwuma was MD/CEO of Union Bank Plc for 12 years, and governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria for six years. What are his footprints after 18 long years in such apex positions? But it’s on record that within four years in office, Otti ensured the establishment of a branch of Diamond Bank in the area. By the same token, I challenge Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, from Umugaa, to point to a notable Constituency Project she attracted to Osisioma Local Government Area, after four years as Rep and eight years as a senator? Yet, she was also a governorship aspirant.
Mr. Osita Igbe, Media/Publicity Director, Okezuo Abia Campaign Organisation, author of the advertorial, betrayed his own pedigree, when he wrote: “Alex Otti may have done well as a BANK CHIEF (emphasis his), he will however appreciate the fact that managing diverse public dispositions and exhibiting robust sense of decorum may be elusive to a traveller like him.” I’ll leave management and communication experts to decipher the dialectics of the above sentence. Again, it does not take rocket science to appreciate that a man who joined the bank with a first class degree, rose through the ranks to become an executive director in First Bank Plc, before he was appointed MD/CEO of a technology-driven, new generation bank, must be credited with a large dose of managerial skill, resourcefulness and profundity. He must have passed every test of human, material and financial resources management, including public relations. Such a credential could be intimidating to people with public/civil service record riddled with inefficiency, incompetence and systemic corruption.
From the above, Igbe wobbled to another involuntary commendation: “Let Otti tell Abians how a Ministry of Aba would solve the challenges of a city he has never lived (sic) before and has no simple inkling of what their challenges look like.” Really? But it was a Fulani man, President Umar Yar’Adua, who quenched the ire of Niger Delta militants, which festered under President Olusegun Obasanjo, a former commander of Nigerian Army’s 3rd Marine Commando, Port Harcourt. To solve the infrastructural deficit and environmental degradation of the area, the Federal Government created Ministry of Niger Delta. Governor of old Imo State, the late Chief Sam Mbakwe, from Obowo, after seven years of the civil war, transformed Aba roads, including the Osisioma/Ekeakpara/Dubic Road; then an industrial hub, now among the most neglected roads. Still, he modernised Owerri, the state capital, and initiated one industry for each LGA of the state – all within one term of four years.
Given the incoherent articulation of issues, faulty designation, contradicting headline and waste of space by the PDP campaigner, which doubled cost of the advertorial, one cannot agrees less with Uzoukwu,: “Abia has been raped beyond redemption, to the extent that people have lost confidence in the ability of their fund managers to rescue them from poverty.” Perhaps, the Banker is God-sent.
• Nwafo wrote in from Lagos.
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