Tinubufrontier

The Rise of Rt Hon Benjamin Okezie Kalu Ph.D CFR @OfficialBenKalu and Needless Attacks From South East cabals By Yemi Itodo The name of the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, Ph.D, LL.D, CFR, is fast becoming a national anthem in Nigeria. The name which sprang up in the wake of 4th Republic in Bende, an ancient town in Abia State, where the young man emerged Chairman of the Council; later became a household name in Abia State, where he served diligently as an Adviser to the State. As a successful business man who had seen it all, both in Nigeria and abroad, where his network still persists, Kalu had severally, too, attempted to represent the people of Bende at the House of Representatives, but was asked to wait for a particular time. In each of these attempts, the ebullient young man was waxing stronger and deeper into the subconsciousness of the people. And when the time was ripe in 2019, Hon. Benjamin Kalu eventually marched triumphantly into the People's House in the 9th Assembly. Like a golden fish which could not be hidden, Kalu was mandated to speak for the entire 360 Members of the House of Representatives and the institution of Parliament, thus, getting the role of an Image Maker and Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, even as a greenhorn. That was when Kalu imprinted his name in the national anal of Nigerian politics, shooting himself to limelight and national relevance. He carved a niche for himself in the national and international space and won the hearts of most Nigerians, especially, the people at the centre of gravity of power in Nigeria. Thus, when an opportunity presented itself for a trusted Pan Nigerian Igbo man to stand as a rallying point of the Nd’Igbo for national cohesion, the name of Benjamin Kalu was not only reverberating, it was also, unknown to many, microwaving at the backend of the critical stakeholders and national leaders. And He emerged Deputy Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives, beating the imaginations of many naysayers. That was the genesis of the many troubles that would come after! First, the people of the South East did not support his ambition. The Ohaneze Nd’Igbo made it emphatically clear, and in fairness to them too, that what the people of the South East needed was a President of the Senate or nothing. They did not want a Speaker or Deputy Speaker position. Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu got his major support and endorsement from the South West, followed by the South South and the North. The South East only lent their support very late, when it was discovered that the rest zones were obviously going to return Kalu as Deputy Speaker, even without their inputs. And Benjamin Kalu eventually emerged the Deputy Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives, in a unanimous decision of the entirety of the Members of the House. Hardly had he settled down in his new office, than the Cabals from the East, who believed no one could become anything in Igbo land, except they anoint such a person, started dressing banana peels for the new Deputy Speaker. First, they came in the form of a political opponent of Kalu in the last National Assembly election in Bende Federal Constituency, with all manners of blackmail, including forging the signatures of his opponents on sensitive documents. The Court and Law Enforcement Agents did justice to it. Since then, the traducers of Kalu have never been in short supply of mischief, blackmail and social media attacks. They have successfully found veritable tools in the hands of risibly looking urchins, masquerading as Civil Society Groups in Abia State and Abuja, with their risible inanity, while some were inordinately recruited to be inaugurating diatribes against the Deputy Speaker on social media and constantly polluting the cyberspace in Abia.