By Ugochukwu Uwaeke
As it stands today, every doubt regarding Senator Orji Uzor Kalu’s disastrous representation of the people of Abia North in the Red Chamber must have been cleared, and many of those from among the people of Isuikwuato/Umunneochi who are hitherto contemplating further support for his re-election are profoundly reconsidering their stand given his uninspiring outing and shameful posturing on burning national issues.
When the Senator was campaigning in 2019, he exuded warmth and smiles, and came along with lots of grandiose promises and thus, got the buy-in of some of our people who were deceived into voting for him. But the events afterwards have shown all that to be shells carefully designed to conceal the role of Judas’ kiss assigned to him against Igbo people in general and Umunneochi/Isuikwuato in particular, in the hands of Fulani Jihadists who are making mincemeat of our people through kidnappings, rapes, killings and displacements.
That his habitual garrulity had landed him into multiple crises and fruitless ego battles which cost Abia untold losses is not news. What we found inexplicable are why he chose to sacrifice our well-being on the alters of self-centred politics and his crass insensitivity and inconsideration of the plight our people over the insecurity imported into our land by the Jihadists who hide under the Lokpanta Cattle market to perpetrate their dastardly trade?
In his defective understanding of the import and practice of mainstream national politics, which to him is not limited to sacrificing the lives of a part of the zone he represents, and in a bid to massage the ego of his cronies of caliphate extraction, Senator Kalu, in his characteristic prattling, boasted, though infamously, when he appeared on a television station during one of its popular programs anchored by Seun Okinbaloye, that he was the first to attract RUGA. This statement came at the peak of the RUGA debacle when every segment of the country mounted vociferous opposition and condemnation of the proposal. That was the height of insult and disregard to the sensibilities of the people of Umunneochi and Isuikwuato areas who are faced with the tragedy and agony that come with the activities of some cattle marketers he forced on our people. This singular irresponsible act of speaking before thinking emboldened the Fulani terrorists who have encircled the entire axis and unfortunately for the peace-loving and genuine cattle-dealers, use the Lokpanta market as a launchpad for their murderous activities.
Adding insult to injury, our dear Senator, had while shamelessly championing northern presidency and promoting the botched presidential aspiration of his friend Ahmad Lawan, on a national television interview, volunteered to be “a sweeper at Aso Rock” provided his friend becomes the President. What a disgrace to the seat he occupies! What a desecration to the revered seat once occupied by the heroes of our time – Senator Gen. Ike Nwachukwu; late Senator Uche Chukwumerije (Isi karaka); and Senator Mao Ohuabunwa; who all commanded the respect of their colleagues and indeed Nigerians.
As though that’s not enough emotional injury on us, the ‘Ruga Senator,’ not oblivious of existential threat faced by Christians in Nigeria since the emergence of the ‘Janjaweed’ regime in 2015, a situation propelled by global network/wave of violent Islamic extremism that’s ferociously sweeping through the sub-Saharan region which leaves on its tracks, woes, anguish and indelible pains on the lives and psyche of the people, and as tacitly encouraged by the body language and/or some actions and in-actions of the current regime at the center, literally nailed our people, who are predominantly Christians and traditionalists on the cross when he shamelessly endorsed, before the full glare of the world, a Muslim-Muslim ticket. This is a position he knows that runs contrary not just to the interest and security of non-Muslim population but to the extant conventions and norms.
By this un-thoughtful endorsement of same-faith ticket for the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the APC, coupled with his noticeable taciturnity on issues bordering on the security, lives and of the properties of the people of Abia North, the poster boy of RUGA in the South-East wittingly sanctioned the unleashing of blitz of murderous activities of Fulani expansionists masquerading as herdsmen against our people.
There’s no gainsaying the fact that Senator Kalu’s evasive, chameleonic and non-committal approach in attending to the security concerns of the people of Abia North in the Senate has brought about a sense of strong indignation amongst our people. The fact that is instructive to note from the ensuing disaster is that this glaring attitude of his has, in a very strong manner, provided the yardstick and context upon which his stewardship will be measured and framed. And without any equivocation, I can boldly assert that the preliminary results show that his anti-people antics have sounded a death knell to his re-election, and our people are determined to crash his ambition. Not even his counterfeit claims to adroitness to political strategy will help him.
Honestly, Dr Uzor-kalu ‘don fall our hands.’ For a man battling reputation albatross since his exit from the Abia seat of power, his election into the Senate provided him with a golden opportunity to, re-brand, re-launch and warm himself back into reckoning, and by so doing, reclaim his position in the comity of Igbo leaders but this recent twin public relation disaster abysmally failed to elicit any iota of positive improvement on the image of the confused Senator. Neither does it add impetus to his beleaguered integrity but in one fell swoop caused a nosedive. It also decimated whatever vestige of reputability remaining of him and shamefully, attracted the infamous title of ‘RUGA Senator’ to him.
Ugochukwu Uwaeke, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Umuahia, Abia State.
