Benjamin Kalu: The Power of Focus and Triumph over Distractions

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

If not for the good and protection of the unsuspecting members of the public who may be hoodwinked into believing the series of invidious hogwash deliberately written against my principal, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu in the media recently, I wouldn’t have batted an eyelid for a rebuttal because the purveyors would certainly feel dignified with a response.

For starters, I had taken a position earlier to ignore those claptraps as they didn’t speak to any significant issue of social or economic importance or development which has been the drive in our political trajectory. But consequent upon the delugeness of the onslaughts and the need to correct the wrong narratives, I am persuaded to change my position.

Besides, I have been inundated with calls from various quarters of the society for my reactions and, naturally, when calls reach a crescendo, showing sufficient predilection for a response, anyone would be compelled to budge. And this is it.

First. It was an opinionated piece title “Kalu’s Quest To Promote Regional Agenda As House Deputy Speaker” authored by one Dayo Akinwale published in Thisday Newspaper on July 1, 2024 wherein he spewed unprovoked hate and animosity, painting the Deputy Speaker with an ethnic brush.

The second piece ensued from one Mbaukwu Ihedigbo. Apparently coming from a known background, the minion, understandably an e-rat, propelled by his affinity with the powers-that-be in Abia State, danced naked on Facebook through a piece titled “The Urgent Need to Halt Hon. Ben Kalu’s Political Maneuvering and Why Governor Alex Otti Should Be Vigilant”.

Yet, on a dramatic dimension and in quick succession, one Adebiyi Omotosho Dan collated the publications in his article titled “Local Boy Gone Bananas: Kalu’s Descent into Controversies” published on Opera news on July 12, 2024.

What a tittle-tattle from a bunch of delusional ignoramuses who obviously deserve our collective pity.

To my chargrin, Dayo struck the cord of infantilism when he fathomed and justified his diatribe with Kalu’s consistent efforts to advance the cause of Ndi Igbo and catalyze the development of the eastern region.

Worst of it all is that a reputable national newspaper like ThisDay tolerated Dayo’s unabashed indiscretion when he submitted that Kalu’s advocacy on the release of the IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was a sin.

One would have thought that Dayo who is understood to be a parliamentary reporter, covering the proceedings of the House of Representatives would have picked up a better faultline like incompetence and tell the world that Kalu was not fit for the job but no, he took the unsavory route, plunging himself into pettiness and rabble rousing in abject ignorance and crass idiosy, displaying his tremendous hatred for Kalu.

He did not punctuate on the self embrassing, delusional punchline afterwards but elatedly ethnicized the piece, thereby casting a slur on the sanctity of journalism profession. For anyone who knows his onions in the noble profession of journalism, truth, substance, accuracy and objectivity are the cannons as well as the golden rules. Put succinctly, they are the hallmarks of journalism, anywhere. But Dayo chose to dance naked on the pages of the newspaper with some celebratory air, unabashedly.

But it is gratifying to read him eulogize the legislative acumen, the oratory prowess and adept intellectual sagacity that define the political persona of Kalu. Even Kalu’s political opponents will agree that those are the distinct features that have made him a deputy speaker extraordinaire.

Read Dayo: “No one ever doubts the competence and capacity of the Deputy Speaker, even his political adversaries doff hat for him. Despite being a second term legislator in the House, he is well grounded in the legislative processes. The Bende-born lawmaker is also a delight to watch whenever he presides over the plenary. He’s a beauty to watch”.

Yes, Kalu may not be your regular politician but he’s surely your passionate leader that is promoting patriotism and and typifying nationalism, not ethnicism or parochialism. Kalu’s passion for the oneness of Nigeria is covert and unassailable. In his legislative duties and responsibilities, he has equally shown remarkable zeal and zest. No ethnic jingoist or tribal enthusiast would embark on a sprawled advocacy to relaunch his region into the mainstream politics for national cohesion and integration. No ethnic bigot would wear Nigeria and the embroidery of diversity. No tribal activist would spread appointments to accommodate the heterogeneity of Nigeria. But that is Kalu in his pure Nigerianness. He did it. Kalu would rather be championing secession and similar preachments with his position if he was pursuing a regional agenda. Far from it. The deputy speaker is a nationalist. A pan-Nigerian and this is exemplified by the preponderance of his engagements across the federation.

And then, you ask, what is wrong in appealing to the authorities for the release of his kinsman who has been in the gulags for years? You also ask, what is wrong in Kalu preaching peace and amplifying the message of love amongst Nigerians? You also ask, what is wrong in Kalu calling and galvanizing his people to support the party in power? You ask again, what is wrong in Kalu inviting Nigeria to his native town of Bende in Abia State during the unveiling of his pet project, Peace In South East (PISE-P) to declare the restoration of peace and treat his august visitors to the hospitality of Ndigbo? And what is wrong in the appeals for non kinetics as a measure to quelling youth restiveness and addressing insecurity and the concomitant sociological effects and disparities?

This must be Kalu’s array of misdemeanours that elicited anger in Dayo and his co-travellers and catapulted them to the path of infamy and perfidy. Dayo’s journey to the wide plains can only find summary in one word: Ignorance of the ethos of his journalistic calling. And this suffices.

Equally, the lackey from Abia, my home State went suicidal in his wailing and wilful attempt to create a deceitful social media narrative that Kalu was plotting to take over the government house by 2027.

Referring him as an agent provocateur may be appropriate just to describe his clomping around, struggling to be noticed, at least for his nuisance value. This is why I was reluctant, ab initio, to rebut.

Ihedigbo’s headache is that Abians and indeed, Nigerians have fallen in love with Kalu’s legislative prowess and technical competences. His worry is that individuals across the State have decided to group themselves in solidarity to his growing political profile and influences. So, for him, this is all about 2027 elections and for that, Kalu should be checked and stopped before he outwits and outflanks Governor Otti from the government house.

Of course, this alarm may be a sundry display of youthful exuberance but, for me, it is of cataclysmic impudence. Anyone who is very familiar with Kalu’s style of politics will attest to the fact that he has never been inebriated by the strength of the federal politics. He might be an opposition in Abia from Abuja but it is not in his totems to distance himself from issues that will contribute to the growth and development of his home State. Recall that he always attended important meetings of State during the administration of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu who was PDP. In the present regime, Kalu I’d also giving his unflinching support to Governor Otti. So, to have one street urchin line up some combustibles, ostensibly to injure the wall of relationship and destroy the affinity that exists between Otti and Kalu is to play the Devil’s advocate. And people like him should be kept far from the corridors of powers with serious alacrity as a way of containing their toxins.

For purposes of recapitulation, Kalu has a job in Abuja that he is passionately and diligently discharging. He is not talking politics. He’s talking governance and that is his lot for now.

It is needless to tell these mischief makers and alarmists that while they were basking in the euphoria of their unbridled, ignoble and ludicrous fantasy of gossips, Kalu was busy with state matters, engaging with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja, presiding over the plenary sessions, chairing the meetings of the Constitutional Review Committee in Lagos and attending the south east stakeholders meeting of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi State for the good of the country.

Now enter the Omotosho Dan guy from Opera news. For a better understanding of his role, call him a middlesome interloper. His swift chronological compilation of the publications and their torrential timelines gave him up as a mercenary. He wears the toga of a man recording many slips of his enemy but I got news for him: Kalu’s colleagues are pleased with him and he clearly understands that his position is a privileged one. The deputy speaker does not see himself as anybody’s boss but a servant-leader unanimously called by his contemporaries to serve them.

Dan also needs to understand the age-long rules of the House and the constitutional provision that in the absence of the speaker, the deputy speaker presides. And it also suffices to inform that speaker Abbas has explicit confidence in Kalu to run the affairs of the House in his absence with the support of the members.

Incidentally, these haters and wailing wailers (apologies to Mr. Femi Adesina) completely forgot the place of divine grace in Kalu’s geometric rise in politics.

Maybe, it will be right at this juncture to tell Dan that Hon. Cyril Hart did not stage a walk-out. You call it a walk-out when one leaves one’s seat in the course of an argument. But in this case, Hon. Hart resumed his seat after baring his mind to the deputy speaker at the plenary. He remained there until the gavel went down on the issue at stake. It was after the motion had been referred to the appropriate committee of the House that he left his seat. This was the case and nothing more. Maybe, I should also tell Dan that, procedurally, a matter of personal explanation has its time and does not happen midway into the proceedings or be allowed to take the place of matter of privilege. But Kalu as the presiding officer was fair on his colleague to have allowed him to speak under personal explanation instead of privilege at the time. Maybe, I should also go a step further to tell Dan that the lawmaker has since apologized and reconciled with Kalu as revealed by the deputy speaker at the plenary on Thursday last week. Maybe, I should also tell the writer that when a member at the plenary that same day demanded an unreserved apology from Hart for his conduct that painted all the first timers with the same brush, Kalu pleaded with him to allow the sleeping dog lie. That is the application of emotional intelligence. That is leadership.

Of course, he doesn’t see himself as a demi god or a man on infallibilities. No. Kalu is human and therefore not immune from flaws and frailties. He also needs the support of his immediate colleagues, all and sundry to succeed. Success is what should matter to us all and not this orchestrated plan to pull him down.

As the days go by, watch him deliver on his mandate in another appreciable dimension.

Nwabughiogu is the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu.