Izuoma Ibe
Making an introduction of Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, a former governor of Abia State as well as an international business giant, is like introducing a shell to snails.
He has positively identified with people, regardless of their walks. Like the shell of the snails which the snails do not doubt but trust for its sheltering, the good people of Abia North are well confident of the good panning of their son, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, in devise areas of endeavour including youth empowerment and development, community development, health care initiatives, political and community leadership, philanthropy, youth employment, distributions of social amenities and lots more.
The stagnant state of development in Abia North senatorial zone is rightly attributed to the loss of quality representation in the area which is orchestrated by selfish politicking resulting from wanton rigging and disenfranchisement of legible voters.
Suffice to say that the turning down of ‘the people’s’ mandate since 2011 when Dr. Kalu was unanimously selected and called upon by his people to represent them at the senate, Abia North has stood like the child awaiting the return of her mother from the market, regardless of the step-mother’s presence at home. What happens when the mother arrives?
The Ohafia/Arochukwu road has remained not just a nightmare to road users but a death trap. The road was an emphasis for erstwhile senators who served their tenures without pushing a successful bill to the credit of that road. Today, that road has been abandoned for roads in Akwa Ibom state as users ply through Akwa Ibom, accessing Arochukwu via Nkana. The road network of Abia North is in shambles and hasting back the pre-Kalu governorship years which saw to the rehabilitation of so many roads in the entire state including the Bende/ Ohafia road.
The election of Kalu as senator will not only boost the economic and social well being of the people but will earn Abia North a closer embrace of their democratic dues, eradicate bad road networks, provide good and quality infrastructure.
Abia State University and College of Education would have new fresh breath and upgrade. Especially, the students, academic and non-academic staff of the college would smile as Dr. Kalu would stop at nothing to ensure that the institution is accorded a federal status, Health care providers would be returned to the zone, cottage industries shall be resuscitated and new ones introduced.
Dr. Kalu is an entrepreneur who understands how it works. He would deploy his entrepreneurial ingenuity to ensure that youths with quality and distinctive entrepreneurial charisma are empowered while other desirous ones are trained through a well planned and structured skill acquisition programme devoid of favouritism and red tapes.
Abia North, no doubt, has long awaited his arrival.
This is the set time.
A repeat of the brutal murder of the peoples mandate in 2011 regarding the senatorial quest of Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu and his one-time crony and beneficiary, the late Senator Uche Chukwumerije of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) a decampee senator from the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), is an acid rain which the good people of Abia North has resoundingly voiced never to witness again as they are drenched by poor infrastructure.
Reason not that they have no son to paddle them from the current abyss of misrepresentation which they are faced with but that the few sycophants, who occupied political offices in the state, chose to enthrone their stooges, puppets who have decimal reputation and a disregardable leadership record.
It is a good revelation that the Court of Appeal, sitting in Owerri, Imo State has unveiled the ill-political activities of the immediate past administration in the state. Their wanton decimation of the peoples’ wills would have thrived just as it did in the third reign of Chukwumerije.
They willed that Dr. Kalu would let the issue fly but this time, he decided to step it to the tribunal. Abia State, in her usual manner since the governorship of T. A. Orji, trampled on the presentations and the glaring evidences by councils and witnesses to uphold the selection of the unelected fellow, Mao Ohuabunwa.
But Dr. Kalu appealed and today, the re-run is called for. Obviously, hard-times are fast coming for the few who had it easy while many had it hard. The Appeal Court in Owerri also cancelled the election of Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, PhD of the PDP in favour of APGA candidate, Dr. Alex Otti, a revelation of the brazen electoral malfunctions of the PDP in the state.
Evil thrives when good people do nothing but in this case, evil will continue to thrive if the good people of Abia North do nothing; relaxing in hope that the wings of the few power drunken oppressors are clipped,
No! It hasn’t.
Abia North must do what it takes because they have what it takes to ensure that they elect Dr. Kalu so as to experience quality representation at the senate. They must stand up to their responsibilities now; begin to mobilise themselves for a block vote for Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu as the re-run has provided an opportunity for them to right the wrongs of the past administration in Abia State.
Dr. Kalu at 33 was elected a member of the House of Representatives to represent Bende Federal Constituency. There, he successfully moved the dual citizenship bill, a bill which has allowed Nigerians to have citizenship of other countries in the world while being Nigerians. What can we expect from this great strategist who at 33 did that and now coming to the Senate at 55? More or less?
Who wouldn’t love the sanitisation of the Electoral Act and the federal status of this great country? Would he move their bills? We shall see!
It is well known that curiosity has got the best of many but the fact remains that Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu is Abia North’s best choice for the Senate.
Izuoma Ibe wrote from Port Harcourt.
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