By Levinus Nwabughiogu
It is a wrong philosophical notion, a gross misconception to state that the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu is employing threat and coercion to market his political party in the South East and beyond. It is a false narrative. Fathomably incorrect.
Unfortunately, that is the literary thread, the infamous route Dr. Law Mefor has unabashedly taken with the sole aim of casting aspersions on the person of the Deputy Speaker to, perhaps, gratify his paymasters.
Mefor has beaten a surprise. Prior to now, he has always struck the cord of brilliance and a well articulate man who writes and speaks with some modicum of dignity, rationality and decorum. But in his recent publication titled “Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu’s Dangerous Missteps”, Mefor lost his demeanor and discernment and inadvertently journeyed onto the path of perfidy and crass idoisy, alas contradicting himself, his belief, trust and confidence in Kalu.
Mefor deviated from the nuances and norms of social and political commentaries and affronted his age long writing prowess and skills by baring his fangs without any form of tactical shrewdness and reservations. Mefor paid heed to flippancy and whimsical outbursts, enough to pile ignominy upon himself.
Through his own article, he assaulted his profound intellectual fecundity. If there is anyone so esteemed in the realms of poetry and philosophy, it’s Mefor. But apparently blinded by his own calculated attempts to malign the Deputy Speaker, he plunged himself into infamy when writing in measured words would have helped to encrypt the public odium now trailing his tirade against Kalu.
In Kalu’s early days in office, it was Mefor that dedicated a page or two, eulogizing the legislative imprints and intellectual sagacity of the Deputy Speaker. Mefor, unsolicitedly, would later catalogue his wishes and counsels, setting some noble agenda for Kalu as to what was auspicious, for him to connect the south east region to the centre. Mefor would also urge the new Deputy Speaker to take charge of the political firmament of the south east region and leverage his affinity with the center to better the fortunes of Ndi Igbo.
In a piece titled “Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu And South-East Political Leadership And Development”, Mefor articulated a lecture on leadership, elevated the discourse, espoused and elucidated its rudiments and marshalled out reasons on how and why the south east region has been stuck in a sundry political and economic miasma over the years. He later prophesied a green future and handed the key over to Kalu to drive the synergy. In fact, Mefor’s favorite lines in the article epitomised social integration and cohesion.
The lecture reached its apogee when he emphasized the need to deliberately reconnect the south east to the mainstream politics at the center. And for him, the best man with the requisite reach, clout, propensity and political credentials to lead the charge and effectively champion the cause is Kalu. Mefor would not also wait for anyone to allocate the number of official positions and their imports. The appellation of number 6, conventionally or unconventionally principled in the annals of the country’s protocols and political hierarchy, perhaps, first appeared in a piece by Mefor. In other words, Mefor clearly understands the positions and their impacts on the political chessboard.
For purposes of clarity, read Mefor’s snippets in the article: “Leadership determines whether a family, society, or country succeeds or fails. Indeed, everything rises and falls on leadership. The Bola Ahmed Tinubu presidency heralds the rise of a new era in Nigeria and unless this changes at the supreme court and even before then, the south-east has to reposition itself to make the best of it. With the ongoing realignments, geopolitics has become more important than ever, although the south-east has so far had the least of its impact.
“Development and security are the two real issues that need to be given their due premiums. But neither of them is possible without leadership, and state-level leadership cannot provide enough security and growth without leadership at the regional level, which the south-east lacks at the moment.
“The South-East has to be better organised politically as a region within the nation.
“Regional economic integration is still conceivable, even with the terrible 1999 Constitution. Though it may be slower and more difficult, it is nevertheless feasible. More powers can be wrested from the exclusive list to promote economic development at the state and regional levels. This is where Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu’s role as the deputy speaker of the house of representatives comes into play.
“The deputy speaker represents rank six or seven in terms of hierarchy and protocol in Nigeria. Climbing to the No 7 citizen position of a country is not a small accomplishment, as evidenced by the fact that our population is well over 200 million. However, what matters most is how the occupant uses such a position to benefit his people.
“In addition to serving as the vital link between the south-east and the centre, Benjamin Kalu is in a good position to assist the region in reenacting political leadership.
“It will take strategic regional leadership and diplomacy to address the structurally based and politically motivated marginalisation of Ndigbo.
“The South-East’s new regional political leadership must work to reverse the unwholesome trend. Therefore, Benjamin Okezie Kalu is presented with an opportunity. He was unanimously chosen to serve as the Nigerian House of Representatives deputy speaker and is now in that role.
“To rebuild political leadership to support security, regional integration, and south-east development, Kalu, the highest political office holder from the region, needs to forge relationships with the south-east NASS caucuses, as well as with political appointees from the zone and the south-east governors. If he takes advantage of this unique opportunity, he has the necessary experience and is in the right position to succeed.”
The above were Mefor’s didactic lines in those incipient days of the Deputy Speaker in office. Yet, he was not done. In the build up to the unveiling of the Peace In South East Project (PISE-P), Mefor, again, came on board.
Writing on the topic “Tackling economic and security challenges of Southeast through Peace In South East Project (PISE-P)”, he said “For a while now, the South East has been in terrible shape. The area that was the safest and most tranquil in the nation around two years ago is now plagued with insecurity. A large portion of the blame can be attributed to the void left by the almost total absence of patriotic and selfless political leadership.
“Their political leaders haven’t done enough to stand up for the people of the Southeast; instead, they have taken advantage of them to establish themselves. That’s how the zone descended into anarchic and violent youth unrest that eventually took the form of what is now known as Yahoo ritual killings, ESN, Biafra agitation, Unknown Gunmen (UGM), and so on.
“In light of this, it is appropriate to applaud the Peace in South East Project (PISE-P), a comprehensive five-year project introduced by Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu aimed at promoting peace and development in the zone. The Peace and Security Initiative aims to tackle the intricate socio-economic problems and security concerns that the South East zone of Nigeria faces”.
Here, Mefor clearly did a swift diagnosis of the security situation in the south east, writing with his analytical mind.
Now, what happened? What changed? What could have prompted you to suddenly become so uncharitable to a man you were so enamored of and dished out an avalanche of counsels to better the lots of the region? Why would you now be so uncouth and ballistic in your latest article? Have you gone commercial or is it still you objectively assessing a situation and lending your candid opinion and voice to the social discourse?
The irony here is that the unsavoriness of your language gave you away as an intellectual lilliputian who prefers to act first before thinking. If you have copiously, glowingly and publicly lauded Kalu’s leadership skills, his tact and wisdom to fathom a means of stimulating the accelerated growth of the south east through national cohesion and integration as you craved ab initio, why would you now make a volte face to call him “Eye Service”?
With some nostalgia, you recalled that “This is not the first time the zone will produce a deputy speaker; South-East has produced 5 Senate Presidents, a Deputy Senate President, and even a Secretary to the Government of the Federation in this dispensation alone.”
Very well said, Mefor. But with all those positions, what could the region boast of before the coming of Kalu? Yes, no one is saying that Kalu has achieved or would achieve everything but wouldn’t you rather commend a man who within the first year of his tenure in office caused the reality of the South East Development Commission (SEDC), a quasi fulfillment of the 3Rs policy of Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation left largely unimplemented 54 years after the civil war?
So, to you, Kalu earned himself those darts just because he called on his brother and friend, the Abia State governor, Dr. Alex Otti to consider coming back home to his political family of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)? And that was enough to demonize and cannibalize him? I think you lost guard here and became a loose cannon, Mr. Mefor.
At this juncture, it will be helpful to re-awaken your consciousness by reminding you that we are Igbo and it is uncharacteristic of the Igbo to show ingratitude to people who have shown us love. Recall the Igbo proverb that says when you appreciate your benefactor, he shows you more kindness. Yes, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu made an appeal to Ndi Igbo not to join the anti government protest and they listened to him. As a blue blooded Igbo man, it would have been most uncharitable for him or any other Igbo man or woman indeed, to crusade against the President who on the eve of a national protest signed the SEDC bill into law. Yes, there are myriads of challenges facing the south east region. Even the cry against marginalization still persists but conscious Igbo leaders like the Deputy Speaker are doing their best to birth some solutions. And it requires adept moves such as the ones Kalu is making to make it happen. What he now needs is the support of people like you.
I am sure that Mefor who lauded the ideation of PISE-P must have also exuded great joy when he saw the crème de la crème in Nigeria’s traditional, political and business climates from top to bottom in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State on December 29, 2023 for its unveiling. That constellation of personalities was not a product of any Big Bang. It was a function of high profile networking subsumed in Kalu’s synergistic interactions with Nigerians from all walks of life for a greener and greater south east region as you timeously advocated.
So, the call on Governor Otti in whom Kalu is well pleased both as his big brother and governor of his home state to rejoin APC was neither a threat nor a coercion. If anything, it is your piece that is very corrosive and vitriolic yet contextually incongruous with the issues Kalu presented. To you, it’s a threat but to Kalu, it’s a strategy. It is tact and wisdom at play. And to the rest of us, it is a clarion call of a patriot who believes in the power of unity and its combined effect for the rapid development of his State. If you celebrated Kalu’s thoughtfulness and efforts that paid off in PISE-P and SEDC respectively, it is also safe to say that you will be overjoyed when a pair of altruistic leaders in the same party jointly push for more democracy dividends from the center to their State. “Umu Nna Bu Ike”, so goes an age long Igbo saying which means “Unity is Power”. Dr. Mefor, please, kindly think again.
Nwabughiogu is the Chief Press Secretary to Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, the Deputy Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives