| Is Orji Kalu the New Face of Igbo People? |
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| Written by Ossie Ezeaku | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wednesday, 18 April 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Election 2007: Is Orji Kalu the New Face of Igbo People?
By mid eighties young and successful Orji Kalu has already captured the attention of the Nigerian print media. While this romance with the press lasted, he made occasional statements which hinted his interests in politics. This, though, did not manifest till 1999 when he emerged the governor of Abia state. It was from that point that people actually woke up to the developing political phenomenon called Orji Kalu.
As the current governor of Abia state, not too many elites believe in him. This is largely due to the controversy trailing his performance since he became the presiding officer of Abia state. Though he had always defended his stewardship before the Nigerian and world press, but his political opponents, including Pres. Obasanjo had always faulted such claims.
Pushy as ever, he'd always kept his head high, nourishing his cream of high and mighty friends around the globe, which includes U.S politicians, prominent traditional rulers and retired Nigerian heads of state.
The current post-election scenario in the southeast appear to be vindicating the self styled master political strategist. The grass root appeal of his brain-child, the newly formed Progressive People's Alliance could be a testimony of Kalu's stewardship in Abia state.
Consequently, his PPA did not only win the hearts of the Abians, It won handsomely the gubernatorial seat of the state. Announcing the results in Umuahia, Abia State capital, the State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prince Solomon Soyebi, disclosed that the PPA candidate, Theodore Orji polled 265,389 to come tops, while governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, came a distant second with 136,858 votes.
The message was unambiguous, as INEC was quick to concede the state to Obasanjo's arch political enemy, despite the.fact that the victorious candidate, Theodore Orji, himself is still in detention on spurious charges. Thus, this political feat of Chief Orji Kalu must be applauded. Floating a political party and winning a state immediately after, is a herculean task. From the level of his determination, Orji Kalu may after all have something to offer his kinsmen and Nigerians in general. For it takes a lot of guts to stand up to Pres. Obasanjo's unconstitutional behaviour. Like Atiku Abubakar, Chief Kalu is courageous, and upholding such attribute would herald a new dawn in assertive politics in Nigeria.
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Whatever is the driving force behind his political ambition, Orji Kalu has used the PPA victory in Abia state to make a statement. It's now clear that he's is not a talkative, senile or a push-over. He is indeed a powerful life-force.
He is popular, and has simultaneously managed to maintain this popularity in the North while articulating robust statements on Igbo cause in Nigeria. It would be recalled that he was endorsed by a faction of Ohaneze Ndigbo headed by Dr. Dozie Ikedife as the Igbo candidate for the 2007 presidential race, an endorsement which yet triggered another round of controversy across the Igbo world.
Analysts would quickly agree that the victory of his PPA over the monstrous PDP was indeed a reflection of the strength of character of the man. Kalu is Fearless, and he'd shown severally his strong diplomatic finesse. Towering among his peers, he stood up to reconcile the two Igbo icons, Chiefs Ojukwu and Ekwueme, despite the fact that he was a mere teenager when the two men fell out of each others favour. He repeated a similar feat when he sat Generals Buhari and Babangida down and reconciled their differences.
Kalu, though, has recently obtained a degree in political science. But when one ponders that he has been doing all these without a diploma or university degree, the thought re-echoes the life and times of historical world leaders who never had any diploma or degree, or who obtained them long after they left office: Abraham Lincoln, Vladimir Ilyanich Lenin, Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Joseph Stalin, John Major, Shimon Perez, Lech Walesa, and so on.
The nature of the Igbo problem in Nigeria would need many Kalus to stand in the fore-front. He has shown that a politician in Nigeria can have broad national appeal, while articulating issues bothering his ethnic group. In an era when politicians who turn their back on the real problems bothering their ethnic groups are grouped as "detribalized Nigerians", Kalu should be among those whom the Igbo should count on. Win or loose the 2007 presidential race.
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Posted by Robot| 18.04.2007 09:47