When one is entrusted with the people’s confidence, resources and fortune, one would need the Amazing grace of God to discharge one’s responsibilities with utmost care, prudence, transparency and equity.
In 1990, orji Uzo Kalu was either by hook or crook, elected Governor of Abia state. His mandate was to impact positively on the people of the state, using the common wealth of the people. But contrary to this expectation, Kalu, for eight years, only proved himself to be incomparably unscrupulous, greedy, and unintelligent and extremely fetish. The combination of extremity of Kalu’s vice amounted to, not only total disappointment to the people of God’s own state but Abians taking a very strong decision never again to repose their confidence in a charlatan and in one whose pedigree is suspect. KALU’S atrocities in Abia and against Abians were so devastating that the people of God’s own state both individually and collectively wept and placed a cures on him, his mother and siblings.
When a people, with sorrow and tears, marginalization, injustice and overwhelming depression place a curse on a greedy opportunist, the consequence is always unimaginably enormous. It is the curse that Abians , and, indeed, many other Nigerians placed on Kalu that has porously bred errand boys; Odimegwu Onwurmere, who is incapable of differentiating an adverb from a verb, to write a piece that is full of incoherence and only amounts to a trash on page 21 of This Day of Monday 31 December, 2012. I n the said write-up, Kalu, through his untutored sycophant; Odimegwu Onwumere, fruitlessly and unethically expressed his grouse over the claim by one of Governor T.A Orji’s aids that the Governor has restored the digity of the Abia person Kalu, being conciouse of the havoc he wrecked on Abians, would not want to hear of theof the restoration of the diginity of Abia people , Hence he has continued to cry wolf where none exists.
For purpose of educating Kalu and equally call him to order, let me talk on dignity and its restoration in Abia state. Because of this crude and uninformed background, Kalu does not know that dignity is that intrinsic qualities in that earns or makes one deserve respect. Dignity does not necessarily flow wealth. Rather, it is an inalienable associate of character. Having taught Kalu this elementary lesson, hoping he would learn though he may lack the mental capacity to absorb and retain simple but decent knowledge, I would now say a few things to justify the claims by the Governor’s aids on restoration of dignity.
When a person’s dignity is restored the person enjoys enhanced positive image. By virtue of constitutional democracy, every Abian is entitled to certain fundamental human right such as; Freedom to hold an independent opinion, that is freedom of thought; Freedom of association; Freedom of worship.
Any time that fundamental right of an Abian or any other individual is violated or denied, it goes a long way to cause psycho-social depression. This, certain, effects the individual and, therefore, impacts very negatively on his or her character and, by clinical extortion, his or her dignity.
I am saying it for the umpteenth time that during the tenure of Kalu as Governor in Abia state, the fundamental rights of many Abians were deliberately and consistently trampled upon by Kalu and his unprecedentedly avaricious mother, Eunice. People were compelled to go to some Juju shrines to swear to oaths of unjustifiable allegiance to Kalu and his mother. I, personally, was cunningly taken to Umuhuezechi in Bende Local Government Area of Abia state for this purpose. Today Governor T.A Orji has given appointments, contracts and other life-support incentives to many Abians without subjecting any of them to any form of oath-taking. This is restoration of dignity.
For the eight years that Kalu presides over the affairs of Abia state, he never gave any quantifiable consideration to the health of Abians, hence he did not think it necessary to erect even a one clinic.
The Governor T. A. Orji, a quintessential administrator and an accomplished alumnus of Nigeria’s premier University of Ibadan, has been able to build and equip two hundred and fifty health centers spread across the state and two functional diagnostic medical centers in Umuahia and Aba, has definitely tormented Orji Kalu who now perceives the Governor’s performance as a deliberate design to dump him in the dust bin meant for non-performers.
Abia is an oil producing state, courtesy of Ukwa west Local Government Area. Throughout Kalu’s tenure every plea made by the people of Ukwa west for his administration to set up an oil producing Area Development Commission naturally fell on a deaf ear. He did not grant the request because, true to his nature, Kalu hates the progress and comfort of his fellow beings. But no sooner did Chief T. A Orji become Governor then he set up the Abia state oil producing Area Development Commission. That commission has helped immensely in the development of Abia state, particularly the Oil producing areas of the state. Traditional Rulers from Ukwa west had no vehicles but today are proud owners of Jeeps that have, for sure, enhanced their status. Kalu has always been a victim of ignorance and so, will not realize that an elevation of this magnitude for Traditional Rulers in Ukwa west would go a long way to give impetus to their dignity. Does this not justify the Governor’s aide’s claim?
Kalu’s eight-year government of Abia state did not witness any quantifiable empowerment of the Abia youth. His administration only recorded donation of Tokumbo motor-cyles and wheel –barrows to Abia youths. On the contrary, the Government of Ochendo has motivated Abia youths with more than five hundred cars and more than two thousand tricycles, otherwise known as Keke- Napepe. The beneficiaries of this unparalleled benevolence of the Governor have subsequently become self-employed and are living very responsible life and discharging their social cum community obligations. For youths that’s could only dream of motor-cycles and wheel-barrows during the administration of Kalu to have their taste redirected and their status radically upgraded, Kalu, being a sadist, would not perceive any meaningful restoration of dignity in this context. What a pity!
In other to address the problem of youth empowerment and its attendant youth restiveness; a twin problem that was responsively unattended to during the era of darkness which Kalu’s Government represented, the T.A Orji Government has offered employment to four thousand and five hundred Abia youths and is encouraging them to acquire useful skills with money they are being paid in order to guarantee a stable future for themselves. Because Kalu would not wish or see anything good in Ochendo’s Government, he would not agree that youths that were hopelessly abandoned by his administration but are now being rehabilited by Governor T.A Orji have had their dignity restored.
While the Federal Government of Nigeria legislative eighteen thousand Naira as minimum wage for the least Nigerian worker, the Abia state Government, under Ochendo, pays twenty thousand and one hundred Naira to her lowest public servant. It is only the devil that will not see restoration of dignity in this vivid expression of humanity.
In this piece, I do not intend to mention the numerious legacy projects intiated and being excuted by the administration of Governor T.A Orji in the state. Should I talk of the civil servants secretariat complex that is eight percent completed or the five thousand seat capacity international conference center, also eighty percent completed ? If Kalu should claim he has not seen the new functional Industrial market before the University of Agriculture Umudike, would he be justified to say he has not seen the Umuahia modern market at Ubani Ibeku, which is just conspicuously along his Ohafia Umuahia road? There are too many projects to be mentioned that space and time may not permit here. I, however, challenge Orji Kalu for an open contest on the issue of restoration of dignity for Abians by Governor T.A. Orji.
To ascertain how myopic kalu and his uninformed Odimegwu Onwumere are, one has to compare and contrast between their preposterous claim that there is no restoration of dignity in Abia and their contradictory questioning of the sauce of money with which the wife of the governor, who through her Non- Government organization; Hunnah-May Foundation, has been touching the lives of the less privileged by building a three-bed- room bungalow, with provision of water and furniture for such people in the state. It is for the reading public to assess and evaluate if indigence of a state that, hitherto, had no shelter of their own but through the milk of kindness of the Governor’s wife now owns a house should be said to have been impacted positively on or otherwise.
As I had earlier state I many of my write-ups, former Governor Kalu Orji Uzor murdered sleep in God’s own State, he would, therefore, know no sleep.
