Again, The Abia North Jigsaw
By Mike Nwachukwu
In an article on the above subject, it was pointed out that the bid by former governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, to represent the people of Abia North puts the latter in a quandary. That article was informed by my worry over Kalu’s case at the Supreme Court in which he was asking the apex court to free him of corruption charges by the nation’s anti-graft agencies. At the time I did the article, the people of Abia North were preparing for a re-run for its senatorial seat following an Appeal Court ruling which upturned an earlier one by the lower tribunal upholding the election of Senator Mao Ohuabunwa in March, 2015.
But since after the re-run, the Supreme Court has ruled on Kalu’s case, refusing to let him off the hook. The case is now back in full throttle. Before the Supreme Court ruling, Kalu and another contender, Bourdex Onuoha, of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, had filed a petition at the National Assembly and Governorship Election Tribunal, challenging the election of Senator Ohuabunwa at the re- run.
In a ruling that lasted between eight and nine hours, the tribunal upheld the election of Ohuabunwa for a second time. The high point in the ruling was the subtraction of over 4,000 votes from the total number of votes earlier recorded in favour of Kalu by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Interestingly, Ohuabunwa’s other opponent, Onuoha, had conceded defeat in the spirit of the general decision of the Abia North electorate to rally round Senator Ohuabunwa. Now, Chief Kalu has again challenged the ruling of the tribunal at the Court of Appeal. That is where the people of Abia North are now, a re-enactment of an earlier scenario. Should Kalu not respect the verdict of his people for now and seek an opportunity next time, after hopefully clearing himself of the charges against him in court? My answer to the first question is “No” and to the second “yes”.
My fear on Kalu’s legal recalcitrance is that he is repudiating the goodwill he has among the people of Abia North. Yes, Kalu is held in high esteem by his people but for reasons that are not far- fetched, they have simply decided that as far as the senatorial seat is concerned for this season, they prefer Senator Ohuabunwa. That is where the people are now and there is almost a certainty that they will continue to express their preference in favour of Ohuabunwa even if the election is conducted 10 times over.
Kalu should therefore respect the verdict of his people and save both the people and the Senator any distraction. From his posturing, Kalu seems to suffer a mindset, namely that since he got a favourable ruling last time, the Appeal Court will give it to him again. This is most unfortunate because it shows that he does not understand that no two elections are the same and that the Judges look at the merit of each case.
Apart from what looks most certainly like chasing a mirage, Chief Kalu is fast making himself vulnerable through his utterances and posturing while pursuing this case. For example, during a recent television interview, he had posited that he will not stop playing politics because if he does, “fools” will rule him. As expected, that statement has been seriously frowned at by every well-meaning citizen of Abia State. By that statement, Chief Kalu went off guard to insinuate that only fools have been elected or appointed into offices in Abia State since he left as governor since 2007.
That is most unfair and unfortunate. Such unguarded utterance is an assault on the collective psyche of the people of the entire Abia State who, as far as I know, take full responsibility over every mandate they have given out to all Abians currently holding elective offices. To insinuate that outside him, only fools can emerge as political leaders of the good people of Abia State is to totally repudiate every modicum of brotherly love that could have existed between him and the people who once gave him their mandate to preside over their affairs for eight years. In my view, the current trend could lead to an end of a once vibrant political career.
Personally, I am an admirer of Chief Kalu and even as things are, I believe there could still be a lifting up for him. But that is dependent on how he handles the current situation. If he continues to sound desperate and in disdain to the verdict of his people in Abia North, he will certainly sink into further political abyss. After all, it is not for noting that the Abia North electorate not only elected Senator Ohuabunwa first in 2005 and went ahead to re-elected him at the re-run.
In the Red Chambers, Mao has leveraged on his experience as a two time legislator to become one of the most vibrant senators in the entire country. Earlier this year, even as he was grappling with his re-run challenges, he bagged the prestigious BV Nigeria Democracy Man of The Year Award, an internet live screaming media awards in Africa styled after the CNN Heroes awards. Apart from being a vibrant legislator, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa confers an advantage to the people of Abia North more than the other top contenders to the seat.
If Chief Kalu should tell himself the truth, he would agree that his only saving grace today is his involvement in newspaper publishing. To be sure he has done quite well there and we commend him for that. But he has also seen that newspapers do not elect people into offices, or sustain them in office.
In an article on the above subject, it was pointed out that the bid by former governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, to represent the people of Abia North puts the latter in a quandary. That article was informed by my worry over Kalu’s case at the Supreme Court in which he was asking the apex court to free him of corruption charges by the nation’s anti-graft agencies. At the time I did the article, the people of Abia North were preparing for a re-run for its senatorial seat following an Appeal Court ruling which upturned an earlier one by the lower tribunal upholding the election of Senator Mao Ohuabunwa in March, 2015.
But since after the re-run, the Supreme Court has ruled on Kalu’s case, refusing to let him off the hook. The case is now back in full throttle. Before the Supreme Court ruling, Kalu and another contender, Bourdex Onuoha, of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, had filed a petition at the National Assembly and Governorship Election Tribunal, challenging the election of Senator Ohuabunwa at the re- run.
In a ruling that lasted between eight and nine hours, the tribunal upheld the election of Ohuabunwa for a second time. The high point in the ruling was the subtraction of over 4,000 votes from the total number of votes earlier recorded in favour of Kalu by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Interestingly, Ohuabunwa’s other opponent, Onuoha, had conceded defeat in the spirit of the general decision of the Abia North electorate to rally round Senator Ohuabunwa. Now, Chief Kalu has again challenged the ruling of the tribunal at the Court of Appeal. That is where the people of Abia North are now, a re-enactment of an earlier scenario. Should Kalu not respect the verdict of his people for now and seek an opportunity next time, after hopefully clearing himself of the charges against him in court? My answer to the first question is “No” and to the second “yes”.
My fear on Kalu’s legal recalcitrance is that he is repudiating the goodwill he has among the people of Abia North. Yes, Kalu is held in high esteem by his people but for reasons that are not far- fetched, they have simply decided that as far as the senatorial seat is concerned for this season, they prefer Senator Ohuabunwa. That is where the people are now and there is almost a certainty that they will continue to express their preference in favour of Ohuabunwa even if the election is conducted 10 times over.
Kalu should therefore respect the verdict of his people and save both the people and the Senator any distraction. From his posturing, Kalu seems to suffer a mindset, namely that since he got a favourable ruling last time, the Appeal Court will give it to him again. This is most unfortunate because it shows that he does not understand that no two elections are the same and that the Judges look at the merit of each case.
Apart from what looks most certainly like chasing a mirage, Chief Kalu is fast making himself vulnerable through his utterances and posturing while pursuing this case. For example, during a recent television interview, he had posited that he will not stop playing politics because if he does, “fools” will rule him. As expected, that statement has been seriously frowned at by every well-meaning citizen of Abia State. By that statement, Chief Kalu went off guard to insinuate that only fools have been elected or appointed into offices in Abia State since he left as governor since 2007.
That is most unfair and unfortunate. Such unguarded utterance is an assault on the collective psyche of the people of the entire Abia State who, as far as I know, take full responsibility over every mandate they have given out to all Abians currently holding elective offices. To insinuate that outside him, only fools can emerge as political leaders of the good people of Abia State is to totally repudiate every modicum of brotherly love that could have existed between him and the people who once gave him their mandate to preside over their affairs for eight years. In my view, the current trend could lead to an end of a once vibrant political career.
Personally, I am an admirer of Chief Kalu and even as things are, I believe there could still be a lifting up for him. But that is dependent on how he handles the current situation. If he continues to sound desperate and in disdain to the verdict of his people in Abia North, he will certainly sink into further political abyss. After all, it is not for noting that the Abia North electorate not only elected Senator Ohuabunwa first in 2005 and went ahead to re-elected him at the re-run.
In the Red Chambers, Mao has leveraged on his experience as a two time legislator to become one of the most vibrant senators in the entire country. Earlier this year, even as he was grappling with his re-run challenges, he bagged the prestigious BV Nigeria Democracy Man of The Year Award, an internet live screaming media awards in Africa styled after the CNN Heroes awards. Apart from being a vibrant legislator, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa confers an advantage to the people of Abia North more than the other top contenders to the seat.
If Chief Kalu should tell himself the truth, he would agree that his only saving grace today is his involvement in newspaper publishing. To be sure he has done quite well there and we commend him for that. But he has also seen that newspapers do not elect people into offices, or sustain them in office.
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