30th May, 2025, NewsOrient, Opinion, Column, News, Governance And Development, Politics, By Uche Ezewudo

Even in politics, a writer or a public analyst must never forget his role as the conscience of his society. Such a public commentator earns this great status only when he becomes humble enough to admit wrongs instead of making ridiculous claims that tend to dismiss the generality of the people as mere fools just because he is under pressure from his political paymasters to lie about them and their achievements.

Ours is a digital era where almost all things are in the open. So, in our global village, when a public commentator chooses to behave as if he is the only one that knows the truth, he only succeeds in making mockery of himself.

This is the impression one James Nwachukwu leaves when he laboured so miserably to convince his readers that his political paymaster, Hon Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, is not currently engaged in any political battle with Southeast governors and other true political leaders of the zone.

Reacting to an article, “Ben Kalu’s Needless Battles With Southeast Governors,” written earlier by this author, Uche Ezewudo, and published in Thisday newspaper, the said James Nwachukwu, in an opinion article, “2025: Alex Otti Vs Abia APC, Needles Involvement Of Ben Kalu, South East Govs” published in Thisday on May 27, 2025, literally assaulted the sensibility of informed observers of the politics of Southeast Nigeria when he deliberately twisted obvious truths about the politics of the region ahead of 2027 elections, just to please his master.

Yes, we know ambitious politicians do engage publicists to write good things about them and their achievements, but we must never loss sight of the fact that when such writers address the society, which we know are today well informed, to defend the indefensible, their ignoble boasts translate to gross disservice to humanity.

This is even more so when the issues in question concern public governance, grassroots politics and social engineering. In these critical areas, the writer or public commentator is expected to guide the people and not to play blind politics with the truth. When a writer, because of base pecuniary benefits, chooses to lie to the people that depend on him for truth, he shamelessly sacrifices his dignity and recklessly exposes the society he is supposed to educate and protect.

This aptly describes the case in the referred unfortunate article written by one James Nwachukwu.

In the article, Nwachukwu denied that his master, Hon Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, is currently involved in a political battle with serving state governors of the Southeast region, following his seeming desperate ambition of emerging the current political leader of the zone.

While Nwachukwu may be said to have the right to market Kalu in line with the size of mobilisation provided, it is worrisome that in so doing, he woefully failed to acknowledge that stakeholders and some of the concerned readers of his so-called ‘Right of Reply’ live in the Southeast region and are witnesses of and participants in the ongoing maneuvering aimed at capturing power in the Southeast in 2027.

Any informed reader will easily note that Nwachukwu may be from Abia State, but he certainly does not live in Umuahia as he claims in the said article. It is more likely he currently lives in Abuja, where he serves Kalu. Is it therefore not laughable to hear him claim he is “an objective observer” of Abia State politics like this author, Uche Ezewudo when in the same article, he clearly betrays his identity as Ben Kalu’s aide in Abuja, unashamedly defending every action of his master, without admission of any wrong, including obvious wrongs.

He claims all is well between Benjamin Kalu and all Southeast Governors and that he is not currently involved in any political battle with any of them. Yet he writes in the same article: “Kalu cannot afford to leave Tinubu’s message in the hands of those who have refused to publicly acknowledge that the APC government has made more money available to them to work for the people. They would rather usurp the glory (to giving it to whom it is due), all in self edification… APC cannot be left in the hands of a man who leads a coalition of people that are anti-Tinubu led government, yet, pretends to love the President. Rt. Hon Kalu is fully in charge of the party and would lead it to victory in 2027.”

What is even of more concern is Nwachukwu’s chosen style, his deliberate decision to deride a perceived political opponent instead of discussing issues of greater consequence.

Leaving the critical issue raised about the likely consequences of Kalu’s battles with political leaders on the Southeast zone and on President Tinubu’s political fate in 2027, Nwachukwu decided to attack Governor Alex Otti’s family and late father. This is really petty and unfortunate.

Except he is doing this to cover up some inadequacies (a grand deceit), I find it difficult to believe that any serious writer, political commentator, or even a paid publicist defending Hon Ben Kalu, will believe it is enough for him to gloss over the critical issue of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s electoral fate in the Southeast region by merely making derogatory remarks about the remains of a great Abian.

If you ask me, I will suggest that Hon Benjamin Kalu should be wise enough to work only with aides and official praise singers, who are professional enough to advise him to accept areas of weaknesses whenever they are pointed out. It is only in so doing that Hon Benjamin Kalu or anybody in his shoes will stand a chance of growing even higher.

Already, Hon Kalu has attained great political height but that does not detract from the fact that his chosen path of daring Southeast governors, senators and other entrenched political leaders, including his former mentors, will help his electoral fortunes and that of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu he seems so desperate to market. Or is he also just playing a game of deceit?

Take his long description of Kalu’s alleged great relationship with Southeast governors, one wonders if this writer, Nwachukwu, actually knows anything about politics in Nigeria or is it the case of knowing the truth but dismissing his readers, the people, as foolish enough to consider whatever he puts down as evidence of good relationship between the Deputy Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives with the state governors from his region?

For example, talking about alleged good relationship between Hon Kalu and his State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, Nwachukwu wrote: “The Deputy Speaker and the Governor share a deep-seated friendship that has withstood the
test of time. Their familiarity and affection are evident in Kalu’s fond reference to Otti as ‘De Ally’, a term of endearment that speaks to the familial bonds, trust and brotherly love that defines their relationship.

“It was the same Gov Otti who gathered the entire traditional rulers of the state
to welcome the Deputy Speaker after his election in 2023 to Abia and conferred on him the highest chieftaincy title in the entire Abia state, which only one person holds for a life time; ENYI ABIA (the
Great Elephant of Abia State).

“In the course of their service to the people and the nation, Kalu has consistently demonstrated his commitment to mutual collaborations, frequently attending state functions in Abia at Governor Otti’s
invitation as well as attracting projects beyond his immediate Bende Federal Constituency of the State he represents at the National Assembly.”

For the other governors, Nwachukwu also wrote about Kalu’s magnanimous acceptance to attend their official events. Haba!

Besides the empty words he used to describe Hon Kalu’s alleged relationship with the five State governors in the Southeast, the way he contradicted himself in the so-called ‘Right of Reply’ betrayed Nwachukwu’s insincerity both to his readers and to his paymaster, Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu.

Recalling that Kalu claims he will give Tinubu and his APC over 75 percent of Southeast votes in 2027, Nwachukwu made attempt to justify this claim.

This Benjamin Kalu’s aide, masquerading as an objective observer, spoke of the Deputy Speaker’s 22 years old political structure in Bende Federal Constituency as evidence of his political strength.

This is laughable. Of what impact can that local political influence be to Tinubu’s reelection in 2027? We all know that this great grassroots political structure of Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu was there in 2023 elections when Tinubu failed to get 25 percent in Kalu’s Federal Constituency not to talk about the Abia North Senatorial District before talking of Abia State and the Southeast.

It should be of great concern to Kalu, Tinubu and APC that Tinubu failed to get up to 5 percent votes in the whole of Abia State and not up to 2 percent votes in Hon Benjamin Kalu’s Bende Federal Constituency, even though Hon Kalu was then already in the House of Representatives with his alleged great grassroots political structure.

What a good political aide should advice Kalu, APC and Tinubu at a time like this is on what can be done to strengthen the local platform and not to carry on so recklessly with the ongoing deception game against Mr President. It is cruel to lead Jagaban on into believing he has credible politicians actually working towards his achievement of 75 percent votes in Southeast during the forthcoming 2027 Elections.

My sincere advice: instead of bragging over a little local political structure, no longer certain to win even Bende Federal Constituency, what Benjamin Kalu’s aides should be telling him today is how to expand the influence of his platform so as to get reelected into the lower chamber and help his master, Tinubu, to make significant inroad into the Southeast.

Also, Hon Benjamin Kalu should concern himself today with how to mend the broken fences in the Abia State chapter of his party. APC in Abia is deeply factionalized, so it sounds ridiculous to hear any one boasting that it will secure 75 percent votes for Tinubu. How will that be achieved under the claimed leadership of Hon Benjamin Kalu, since the ruling political party, All Progressive Congress (APC), is deeply factionalized in Kalu’s Abia State?

When Kalu wants to speak to Nigerians through his aides, it is this kind of issues that he should pay attention to, not this Nwachukwu’s infantile decision to anchor his criticism of an article challenging the political style of his master by lazily attacking the nativity of the byline (writer) of the article in question.

Does this show depth, seriousness and understanding? No! The point is even if the writer is from Arochukwu, it does not then follow that he must have been sponsored by Gov Alex Otti?

Would it not have been more productive for Nwachukwu to respond to more important issues raised in the article – issues like why Hon Kalu tampered with the nominations of some of the Southeast governors in the South East Development Commission (SEDC), etc.

Curiously, Nwachukwu does not seem to be conscious of examples that will help launder the image of his patron. This explains why he made references to wrong actions of Hon Benjamin Kalu and employs wrong analogies to drive home his perceived point. Of course, the result is that instead of marketing Hon Kalu as he obviously set out to do in the right of reply, he ironically succeeds in exposing his weaknesses.

There is also the issue of his appointment of Sam Hart, a PDP member currently linked to a notorious fraud case with Abia State Government as his Chief of Staff. Even Ben Kalu’s admirers are stunned that since the scandal was blown open by Abia State Government and Ben Kalu’s Chief of Staff, he ignored calls on him to tell his supporters if he is aware of the shoe manufacturing investment deal.

Instead of doing this, Nwachukwu chose to tell hungry Southeast citizens how lavishly their representative can spend tax payer’s money.

Is not unfortunate that in a country where Tinubu’s Government is preaching to Nigerians to be prudent so as to survive his tough economic policies, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives’ praise singer actually brags about how his principal flew in 20 top personalities from Abuja to the Southeast, lodged them in expensive hotels and suits and fed them and their hangers-on just to attend a media award event organised for the governor.

Even his account of the Peace initiative in the Southeast leaves much to be desired.
Should he not state the impact of his Peace in South East Project apart from the gala night in Abuja?

Is it not scandalous that Kalu, under his so-called South East Project (PISE-P), has been unable to at least organize a security summit in any Local Government Area in the Southeast region up till now?

If you ask me, advising Hon Benjamin Kalu to pay attention to more serious issues should be the right thing to do at a time like this.

For example, on how to bring about peace in the Southeast, he can begin by calling a meeting where Southeast Governors and other top political leaders can hold talks with him and his Peace Project. This should be a more tangible approach than engaging writers to make unreasonable arguments.

Uche Ezewudo wrote in from Arochukwu

~ Published By NewsOrient Network

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