Kalu: A distraction in Abia PDP?

Not long ago, a bunch of dis­gruntled, famished and mis­guided rascally scallywags under the aegis of “PDP Youth Wing Abia State” sent a boy­ish open letter to the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Al­haji Adamu Mu’azu, which was enti­tled “Orji Uzor Kalu:

The distraction we don’t need in Abia PDP.” I giggle at this kind of inebriate juvenility!


I would have headlined this inter­vention “Kalu: A distraction indeed,” but had to settle for the above title to avoid needless misconceptions that could arise from some readers’ cerebral laziness and for the benefit of headline scanners. At the risk of intellectual sophistry, ‘distraction’ could be negative or positive, depending on the level of one’s vocabulary capacity, etymologi­cal appreciation and contextualisation. Having underscored this, it is certain that Kalu is positively a distraction to these boys’ benefactors’ shenanigans in the state! Otherwise, how can any sane person in his right frame of mind, without any memory loss (amnesia) declare that Kalu, a founding member and foundational financier of the ruling party, is a distraction in Abia PDP in the negative sense? Even Abia PDP elders, patriots and other members of the oligarchy in the state know full well that this erroneousness is falsehood in its brazen blatancy!
The Abia youth messengers are like computer systems, which, when fed with garbage, inevitably produce garbage too – there cannot be any sensibility in such applicative results. It is even worse when these unemployed, unemployable and easily pliable youths do not have minds of their own and are essentially concerned with survivalist instincts and other allied stomach infra­structural issues. In the manipulatively asphyxiating circumstance, any political jobbing is worth more than their while! Just finance and egg them on and they are ready to break coconuts with their heads or even snuff out their own lives for a bowl of messy porridge suffused with condiments from slush funds and loot.
After needlessly and wastefully toast­ing to the ‘divine mandate’ and revo­lutionary credentials of Alhaji Mu’azu in the kindergarten full-page adverto­rial, published in THE NATION ON SUNDAY of September 14, 2014, Page 66, the first juvenile umbrage goes thus: “We did tell you among things (sic) that we do not want ORJI UZOR KALU re­admitted into Abia Chapter of the Party. Apart from the collateral damage his re-entry (sic) may cause the Party, we are aware that his readmittance (sic) would (sic) reintroduce politics of division in Abia, which was the most prominent trait of his years in Abia PDP.”
The nursery blunders apart, admis­sion or readmission of political party members is not the function of the office of the chairman. Those who sent these ignorant chaps should have let them know the guidelines concerning these associational basics. How will Kalu’s fundamental return to the party cause any ‘collateral damage’? There is need for specificity in these matters – not just drunken blanket petitions and specious probabilities (“may cause”). These children need to be civilised: In politics, there will always be disagree­ments, agreements, alignments, realign­ments, defections, garrulity, antago­nisms, gobbledygook, combativeness, rancour, reunions, friendships, unity and divisions, enmities, altercations, misquotations, squabbles, pugilism, rambunctiousness, betrayals, treachery, fixations, suspicions, distrusts, fisticuffs, backbiting, backstabbing, ingratitude, hatred, love, denials, rebuttals, fatalities, fatalistic tendencies and other innumer­able untoward and unwholesome mani­festations. Overall, there are no perma­nent friends, but fixed/stock interests. Therefore, to childishly say or fear that Kalu’s inevitable comeback to the PDP family has the potentialities of ignit­ing or reigniting any of these domestic elements of our brand of democracy is to advertise shallowness! One of my sons in primary 5 about to sit his com­mon entrance examination knows these Nigerian political drawbacks like a mature adult. They will always be there, whether Kalu returns or not.
The misbegotten youth also talked about Kalu “reintroducing politics of division in Abia.” I will not expend my precious time on this non-issue, except to call the attention of these boys to a full-page advertisement in major na­tional newspapers of October 30, 2014, including DAILY SUN (Page 9), by Abia Senators Caucus of the National Assembly, Abuja, entitled: “Petition Against Illegal Congress/Primary Elec­tion Committee in Abia State.” Is this exemplar a creation of Kalu? Where then lies the phony unity? The scales are belatedly falling off the eyes of our representatives and they are beginning to see clearly the truck-loads of lies, deception and dubiousness.
Another gangster deceit by the youth wing: “The Youths (unnecessary capi­talisation and ‘youths’ or ‘the youth’) were (no longer?) insistent in (on) their rejection of the admittance (no, re-admittance) of Orji Uzor Kalu.” Are these boys members of the PDP NEC and NWC to dogmatically prescribe entry, exit and re-entry parameters in the party? In a sane society, can these characters look Kalu in the face for whatever reason? I can understand the leadership grouse about Kalu in the state, but where do I place these boys in the entire scheme of politicking and intrigues? Are they equally detractors of Kalu and over what? Even if anyone sends you to commit patricide, must you do it no matter the recompense?
Yet another deviancy from the boys under reference: “Orji Uzor Kalu seems (a demonstrative uncertainty!) to have fraternised with those who are in op­position with (against) PDP more than any person living or dead. There are ominous signs (suspicious realm!) ev­erywhere that PDP’s political enemies are his friends.” Who are these political neophytes and kindergartners? Pre-eminently, Kalu is a nationally known pan-Nigerian with friends and associ­ates across all the country’s six geopo­litical zones: He is at home in all places. No apologies for this. In any case, these messengers should be educated on the norms of democracy to wit that there are no more associational Berlin Walls or ideological rigidities/obstinacies in politics globally. The current trend is that it is a thin line between one party and the other. What matter most are the people – not the platforms. And this explains why the Constitution allows defections and political party mergers. In fact, if there was independent candi­dacy, Kalu would be in the forefront.
These boys also quoted the per­sonal opinion of my friend, Ochereome Nnanna, which contradicts Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) on freedom of association in morbid support of their ludicrous advertorial. No columnist has the right or freedom to challenge/question or misinterpret any part of the Constitution no matter the grounds or subject. The moment we allow this kind of subjective effrontery and journalistic rascality, the society be­comes irredeemably endangered, if not doomed. If anyone is disenchanted with the laws of the land, there are cumber­some constitutional methodologies for amendments and reviews. Nothing else is acceptable!
The anaemic and wrong-headed advertorial signed by one Jerry Og­bonna, State Youth Leader, makes this last odious submission in upper case: “AN ORJI UZOR KALU IN ABIA PDP WOULD (will, you mean?) INTRO­DUCE AN UNNECESSARY DIS­TRACTION INIMICAL TO THE SUC­CESS OF ANY SERIOUS POLITICAL PARTY DETERMINED TO WIN ELECTIONS AND OFFER QUALITY LEADERSHIP.”
As I pointed out in the preface, Kalu’s distraction is necessary and contributory to the expansive fortunes of the PDP, which he co-founded and on which platform he seeks to serve as a senator after two terms of better leadership as governor of Abia State.
At the risk of overemphasis, Kalu is the only political asset in Nigeria that is grossly misunderstood, most misman­aged, rabidly maligned, viciously mud-slung and ruthlessly misperceived to the hilt! His political sagacity, candour, clout, envious entrepreneurship, local famousness and international popular­ity have combined to be his antithesis where his jealous hypercritics tread vanishingly!
In rounding off, my gladness, always, is that Kalu incontrovertibly has more inestimable political (and economic) value than all his opponents in Abia State PDP put together! The national leadership of the party is conscious and cautious of this irrevocable fact and un­impeachable point! And the rich history of the party’s early beginnings is not lost on them, too – the momentariness of wilful recreations and disruptive emer­gence of transient power drunks, who satiate in pre-occupational blame-game and buck-passing, arising from incapac­ity and incompetency notwithstanding!