It was Anambra billionaire Arthur Eze who announced before Governor Theodore Orji in August 2014 at a public function that “Abia stinks.” Eze cannot be alone in his assessment as a 2018 report listed Aba and Umuahia as two of the twenty world’s worst-ranked cities for air quality with PM10 concentration (particulate matter) exceeding levels set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). With the mountains of refuse heaps that line the streets of Aba and Umuahia on a regular basis, this revelation is by no means surprising.
In these two cities, it is rare to walk or drive through the streets without covering your nose to mitigate mindless attacks on your nostrils from the dirty drainage channels, the heaps of refuse you find in almost every corner, the piles of human waste that litter almost every open space and soakaways crying for some form of maintenance or outright evacuation. For residents of the two urban settlements in Abia, such leisure activities as evening walks round the neighbourhood have since been become a distant memory.
The environment is dirty but there are weightier issues
While a dirty environment is a clear threat to the health and wellbeing of residents, Abia’s problems are far beyond the severe environmental crises that have apparently attracted global opprobrium to the state. Teachers, health workers, pensioners and other category of civil servants in the state have not been paid in more than ten months and counting, youth unemployment is about the worst in the region and social infrastructure is nothing to write home about.
Abia has the worst road network in all of south east Nigeria and it is rare to see public schools that can match what we have in neighbouring states. The general observation by many is that kids from Abia suffer severe malnutrition and growth deficiencies due to rampaging poverty in the state. What is however indubitable is that Abians have not lived their best lives in the last 20 years following the return of democracy in the state.
The state, in the views of observers seems to be in a certain covenant with mediocrity and this cuts across every sphere of the state’s public life. Roads constructed in the state are washed way after a few months of heavy downpour, public buildings are constructed with inferior materials and in terms of recruitment into public service, the best minds are relegated to the background while mediocres are brought in to man sensitive agencies of government.
Uzor Kalu’s boys
Abians have become frustrated with what their state has become in the last 20 years and in the estimation of many, Orji Kalu, now serving prison term for embezzling more than 7 billion naira during his eight year reign as governor between 1999 and 2007, laid the ugly foundation for the many ills that have made life unbearable for the common man in the state. Those who hold Kalu responsible for the leadership mess in the state point to the preponderance of his former aides in leadership positions in the state today.
It is the general belief that these individuals learnt all they know about public service from their former mentor. The current governor of the state- Okezie Ikpeazu served Kalu as a political advisor after his stint as LG transition chairman for his native Obingwa. Theodore Orji, Kalu’s immediate successor- was his chief of staff for eight years. Many of the commissioners you have in the state, those in the state house of assembly, and other senior appointees of government were formerly “OUK’s boys.” Abia would have gone far beyond its semi-urban status if only Kalu had sought to emulate the leadership strides of late Sam Mbakwe who ruled old Imo state between 1979 and 1983 before Major Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s military coup on December 31 1985 ended the second republic.
The world at his feet
Kalu came into governance with loads of promises. He was about the youngest governor at the time, less than 40 years, an international businessman and by most accounts, a billionaire. The impression Kalu created when he was running for the office in 1998 was that he would have no motivation to steal since he has made more than enough money to last him ten lifetimes. Kalu boasted at several campaign stops that he was richer than the state.
When Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu came to campaign for the APP governorship candidate – Vincent Ogbulafor, his admonition that Abians avoid voting a “419ner” as governor was brushed aside. Kalu was poised to do great things and not even Ojukwu’s cynicism would stand in the way.
The PDP candidate was elected and sworn in on May 29, 1999. Kalu started smartly, awarding contracts for road rehabilitation on some troubled spots in Aba, getting the landlords involved in development efforts in Aba and Umuahia and brought charisma to governance.
Songs were composed in his name and several traditional rulers (even outside the state) nervously implored him to take chieftaincy titles from their clans. In no time, Kalu became the most visible and outspoken Igbo political leader, taking on Olusegun Obasanjo and challenging whatever he perceived to be an attempt to cheat or maltreat the Igbos. He was the new star and many predicted he would shine forever.
The monster of pride
Pride however got in the way. Kalu in no time developed an exaggerated view of his person and began to show contempt for former allies including his then deputy- Enyi Abaribe- who now is the minority leader in the senate. Kalu, it was alleged masterminded the removal of Abaribe by the house of assembly a few months into his reign as deputy governor. Kalu would go on recruit and sack three other individuals in the same capacity within his eight year reign. The former governor according to the people who knew him before 1999 was a jolly good fellow, a generous man who loves to offer a hand to those in need.
Power however changed all that. It was alleged that Kalu allowed his mother- Eunice Uzor Kalu too much leverage on core governance issues such as contracts awards and appointments that the woman became the de-facto governor while Kalu was a mere puppet. Others said it was his family that ruined his regime with two of his biological brothers very active in government business while he was governor.
29 Nweke Street where the Kalus had a family house in Aba at the time was the Mecca of politics in the state. It was inside this building that key government matters, appointments, business deals, admission into state owned tertiary institutions; recruitment into civil service and all such matters were discussed and formalised. The government house in Umuahia was said to be a ceremonial office and any decision made there could be reversed at 29 Nweke Street if it does not pass certain criteria. The Kalus required total loyalty from all appointees and dissenters were crushed using any means necessary.
When some elders of the state including Vincent Ogbulafor, Onyema Ugochukwu and late Ojo Maduekwe rang the alarm bell concerning Kalu’s leadership style and the introduction of “mamacracy” into the state, they were quickly muffled and their protests dismissed as the antics of sore losers. Eventually, they were muscled out of the local chapter of the PDP forcing them to relocate to Abuja for patronage and patronage. It was not long however before they returned to push the Kalus out of the PDP and took total control of the party structures.
The Kalus were so powerful from 1999-2007 that when it was time to hand over, their choice candidate- Theodore Orji- though in prison defeated Olusegun Obasanjo’s backed Onyema Ugochukwu of the PDP. Many pointed to Orji’s victory as another evidence that Kalu indeed was born to do great things. He was vocal in his opposition to Obasanjo’s third term ambition, did not allow his ouster from the PDP to affect his resolve to plant a successor and even when the man was bundled off to Kirikiri, he still went round the state campaigning for him and ultimately, getting him elected. The party Uzor Kalu formed- the Progressives Peoples Alliance also won the 2007 guber election in Imo state. Kalu, it was believed at the time- would one day dominate the politics of eastern Nigeria.
Well, that dream now is a remote possibility. Kalu would spend a dozen years in a correctional facility and unless he files a successful appeal, his best years in politics are now behind him.
Where did it all go wrong for Kalu? We shall look at three factors that turned the former “action governor” to public enemy in less than two decades:
Greed: Kalu was convicted by a Federal High Court in Lagos for stealing N7.6 billion belonging to the Abia treasury. How does anyone justify taking away such a humongous sum from the purse of a poor state like Abia? Did Kalu consider the future of the state and its children? How can a man be so callous that he had no qualms stealing the collective patrimony of his own people? Remember, this man was reportedly wealthier than 99% of Abia citizens before coming to power? Why steal to add to your fortune when others can’t even find a decent meal in a whole day?
Pride: Kalu achieved success at a young age so it was natural to view himself with some sense of exaggerated importance. Kalu forgot that leadership is a call to service and made himself a lord over the very people that employed him to serve their interest. Kalu adopted several names to announce his arrival at the big state and as we have now realised, humility would have served him better.
The woeful performance of his successors: If only Theodore Orji had performed. If only Okezie Ikpezu had been able to wipe the tears of the people.
People remember the bad leadership foundation Kalu laid in the state because it is responsible for the mess we find the state today. Abians are passing through the toughest times in their history because salaries and pensions have since been forgotten by the leadership, the youths roam the streets unemployed and the state’s infrastructure is decrepit because the state is being led by the visionless man and women Kalu groomed.
So sad for a people.
