ORJI UZOR KALU’S PUBLIC TEARS: 12 REASONS WHY IGBOS HAD NO SYMPATHY FOR HIM

By Mazi Omife I. Omife ( MON)
Mbuze Mbaukwu
[email protected]

Some of us were amused the other day watching Senator Orji Uzor Kalu publicly crying like a baby.

Many Igbos were amazed to hear him bemoaning his fate because he did not get support from for his colleagues in his bid for the Senate president.

Others were laughing and celebrating his failure.

Not even a single brother Igbo Senator gave him support.

There are at least 12 reasons why Orji Uzor Kalu did not have had the support or sympathy of Igbos.

1. At a time, before the 2023 elections, when Igbos were all out for a president of Igbo extraction, Igbos were happy when Orji Uzor Kalu purchased his party’s presidential nomination form and all Igbo youths braced up to campaign for him for the primaries, who they perceived as a heavy weight Igbo politician who was a governor many years back at the same period with Tinubu who was also contesting for the presidency of the country.
2. Two weeks after he bought the form, to the dismay of the Igbo youths, Orji Uzor Kalu announced that he was stepping down for another person. Igbos presumed that he was stepping down for another Igbo presidential aspirant.
3. To the greatest chagrin of Igbos, Orji Uzor Kalu announced that he was stepping down for Senator Ahmed Lawan.
4. What angered Igbos all the more was that Orji Uzor Kalu went so low. Here is a man who should be in the same rank with Tinubu with whom he was governor the same year and served the same two terms. Tinubu formed a party just as Orji Uzor Kalu formed a party. And while Tinubu was contesting for the presidency under the same party with Orji Uzor Kalu, Kalu was stepping down for a little known politician at a time Kalu was a governor.
5. When Orji Uzor Kalu felt his withdrawal was not enough force to propel Lawan as APC presidential candidate, he shamelessly commenced an intensive lobbying of his brother Igbo presidential aspirants in APC to persuade them to step down for Lawan. Abomination!
6. In reaction to Orji Uzor Kalu’s action, Obasanjo and Adebanjo on different occasions regretted that while both of them and other prominent Nigerians were campaigning for Igbo president in 2023, Igbos themselves were rubbishing this clarion call.
7. In response to Obasanjo’s statement, Orji Uzor Kalu, rather than make an open apology to Igbos for his action, lambasted Obasanjo and called him an ingrate. He then went ahead to reveal how he, Orji Uzor Kalu went round to Igbo wealthy men across the country and raised millions of naira which he gave to Obasanjo as support during the PDP primaries between Obasanjo and Ekwueme in 1999. This revelation made many of us know for the first time that Orji Uzor Kalu was among the Igbo traitors that made our brother Ekwueme to lose the PDP primaries to Obasanjo.
8. In the next election year, it was alledged that while Ekwueme was contesting the presidency for second time went and went to Umuahia to lobby Orji Uzor Kalu who had become governor of Abia State, the latter kept Ekwueme waiting for over one hour before reluctantly giving him audience.
9. This was the opposite of what transpired when the same Ekwueme went to former governor Ibori of Delta State. Ibori welcomed him with open arms and took him round the government houses across the country after assuring Ekwueme of 100 % support for his presidential bid. It was this particular episode that led to the political feud between Obasanjo and Ibori.
10. When Ojukwu joined and gave his blessing to APGA as a strong political base for Igbos, many people believed that Orji Uzor Kalu quickly formed PPA to counter Ojukwu’s political plan for Igbos and weaken Igbo political power base.
11. After the Operation Python Dance in Igbo land by Nigerian military during which Nigerian soldiers invaded Nnamdi Kanu’s ancestral home at Abaraukwu, Nnamdi Kanu’s whereabouts became unknown and accusing fingers were being pointed at the Nigerian military for his whereabouts. It was Orji Uzor Kalu out of 200 million Nigerians who came and said he knew the whereabouts of Nnamdi Kanu, just to please the Nigerian military.
12. Nnamdi Kanu’s father was a prominent traditional ruler in Abia State during the administration of Orji Uzor Kalu. When Nnamdi Kanu’s father and wife died, Orji Uzor Kalu never paid a condolence visit as some full-blooded Igbo politicians did.

These are just a few of the reasons why Igbos did not show any pity or sympathy for Orji Uzor Kalu as he wailed his fate.

Check all the great leaders we have in this country. Each of them was with their people until they died.

Awolowo was fighting for his people until he died.

Aminu Kano was fighting for his Talakawas people and evev eating with them in the streets till his death.

Ojukwu’s sacrifice for Igbos until his death is legendary.

Nzeogwu, after he was released from prison in 1967, joined the Biafra army and died in the war front fighting for his Igbo people.

Buhari fulanized his administration throughout his military and political presidency.

Tinubu has always been with his Yoruba people till today.

El-Rufai’s deputies were from northern Kaduna as himself till he left office.

Kwakwanso has been with his people till today.

My advice to Orji Uzor Kalu is to learn from these political leaders.
For lack of space, I will send him a document on political leadership written by the great Mahatma Ghandi of India.

According to Lloyd Rickson, a popular writer from Finland, a GOOD leader sleeps with his people in one room.

I am in a position to tell what Chuba Okadigbo did for Igbo people as Senate President.
I am also in position to say what Arthur Nzeribe did for Igbo people.

I recall during the 1983 presidential campaign. Of the then three major parties, Shagari of the NPN was going on his campaign with a private jet. Awolowo of UPN was going on his with a private jet. Zik of the NPP was going on cars and on commercial flights. Arthur Nzeribe procured a private jet for him. I wrote an article on Arthur Nzeribe and his role in promoting the interest of Igbos which I will also send it to him.

I have gone to this length to make the point that Orji Uzor Kalu has not done any single thing for Igbos in all his political career till date.

Instead, all his actions have been to the detriment of Igbo interest. And that is why Igbos are happy he lost his Senate president bid to Akpabio.

Igbos would have been happy if Senator Abaribe had been made Senate president, not Orji Uzor Kalu. This is Abaribe who was Orji Uzor Kalu’s deputy governor. If it was Abaribe that cried, all Igbos would have cried with him.

If Orji Uzor Kalu and Abaribe were to contest election in Igbo land, Abaribe would get 30 million while Kalu will be struggling to get1000 votes.

Ikwecheh nakwa echeck.
His brother Orji Uzor Kalu nakwa echeck.