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Chuks Onuoha
Chief Daniel Akwari, the Campaign Director of the Senator Representing Abia North in the Senate, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu is one politician cum businessman who has seen it all locally and internationally. He spoke to Daily Sun recently on various issues.
Not all successful business people venture into politics because of the fear that politics is a dirty game; why did you venture into politics?
By creation and by nature, every human being is a political animal, but what actually forced me to look into politics is the way it is played here in Nigeria. Considering that I am that kind of person that has seen it all in developed nations, I have seen that democracy is a game of numbers, that it is government of the people by the people and for the people. I have seen these whole thing in developed societies; when I look at it vis-à-vis what obtains here locally, I don’t see the balance, so, that provoked me, and I said that if there is anything, I will bring back to this country. Among other things is to see whether I can tap into some of these things, how they are being practised out there and see how our people will now begin to see that democracy is a game of numbers, a game where the minority will have their say but the majority will always rule. I ventured into politics to see if I could right the wrongs from what I see that operate or that is in vogue in other countries that are not in tandem with what I see here. I came in here to see if I can change the paradigm shift.
You played a very vital role during the 2019 elections by working as the Campaign Director of the former Governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, who is now the Senator representing Abia North in the Senate, why did you choose to work with him, as somebody that has seen it all, giving your full support to him ?
In life, you choose your friends and those that would be your role models; nobody coerced me to work with him. I found out that the qualities which nature bestows on him are qualities that are worthy to be emulated. This is somebody who has not only seen it all, but still remains level headed. His doors are open to all manner of human beings, not minding where you are coming from. He dines in the same table with his gardeners, security staff and every person that is in his house the moment there is food on the table. He does not discriminate in anything he does, when he asks you to move, he will remain solidly behind you; the moment you are with him, he would always encourage you to persevere and that thing that was proving difficult will one day become successful, that there is no short cut to success. So, nobody forced me to work with him, I looked at him and said to myself that he meets all the qualities that I am looking for in a mentor. That is the reason why I keyed into his vision.
Can you tell us some of the qualities you are talking about?
As Governor of Abia State, he was a trailblazer, like somebody I would call Nostradamus of our time. What he was doing then, considering his age, having got into governance, not as an old man, but in an age of agility, surpassed the things people of his age could do. Many things worked for him, not only natural intelligence, but he also has providence which speaks volume for him.
Most of the things he did as a governor of this state, all those that came after him are yet to meet his target, in areas of health, education, etc, and I said, let me tap into the mentorship of this young man, which was the reason why I gave my support to him. I put everything I had to see him succeed in his Senatorial bid.
In the past, elections in Abia North were like civil war, where incumbents then did everything within their reach to ensure that they remained in power, but you came in, and victory has come your way. What challenges did you face as a Campaign Director?
Past elections were characterized by irregularities, thuggery, etc. We witnessed it all in 2015, we were cruising to victory when forces of darkness appeared After then, we did not fold our hands but folded our sleeves and decided to work again. We know that power belongs to the people, and so we embarked on house to house campaigns, from ward to ward and started talking to our people. We explained to them that it was not yet Uhuru, that we still had a lot of work to do. Following the president’s directives that this time, the elections must be transparent, we decided to market our candidate to the people as the power belongs to the people and the result is what you are witnessing here today, the emergence of a man of the people. Our candidate is a household name, and we went house to house, church to church, streets to streets, town union to town union while others were waiting for a time when they would do what they were used to, to grab victory. The masses voted and stood and their votes counted; that was what made the difference.
I remember that in one of the past elections, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu came out to vote, only to behold a military Armored car stationed in front of his house, and I think it was Zik of Africa who said that only a foolish man would confront a man with a gun with bare hands, and that is committing suicide, and since Kalu is not the desperate type, he quietly went back into his house to rest throughout the election and the desperadoes did what they planned to do.
Before this time, Abia North seemed to be asleep, but since after this victory, the whole place has become alive once more. What do you think has caused this magic.
Since 1999, we have had General Ike Nwachukwu, Uche Chukwumerije, and Ohuabunwa as senators, but the contributions of these ones in their whole tenure put together cannot be compared to what Kalu has done within these few months he emerged as a senator. But of all of them, the worst is Ohuabunwa who was given 1, 460 days in office, and he just wasted our time. Abia North had no senator in the 8th Assembly, but under two months, what Ohuabumwa could not do in 1,460 days, is what OUK has achieved within two months.
Whether we have taken off in our service to the people, yes, but whether we have got to where we are going, no, we have just taken off, and we are about entering into the cruising level. Take your time and randomly go and conduct opinion poll in Abia North by asking every person you meet to speak on how they feel about Orji Uzor Kalu being in the Senate, and they will tell you that God has answered their prayers, that it is what they have been praying for, for a very long time.
Now, the zero-percent interest-free loan is in place again, the sharing of improved palm seedlings has resumed, giving of cassava stems, all free of charge. Kalu’s agrarian policy has taken off, the free interest loan as a petty trader, scholarships etc are all there for the people of Abia North to enjoy. No one in Abia North will tell you that he is not feeling the vibes within these two months. I expect more harvest of democracy dividends for Abia North people because their senator is a go-getter, not seat warmer. In no distant time from now, Abia North will have what they have been denied of for many years. Abia North should expect more democracy dividends, more infrastructure, more manpower development, etc., these packages will soon come to them. Skill acquisition is already going on as the wind of Orji Uzor Kalu is blowing across Abia North senatorial zone now.
Abia has clocked 28 years of age, do we have any reason for celebration?
It does not call for bravo or any form of hallelujah when you compare the state with others that came into being with Abia. The truth remains that we are blessed with human and material resources, but the problem has been the person that will harness all these potentials to the benefits of the citizenry, that is what the state lacks. When you take a ride to Ebonyi State and come back, you will ask God what we have done wrong. You will see a whole lot of infrastructure, they have taken a very big leap from where we are. Unfortunately, who do we blame, we blame the leadership, because if you know you don’t have anything to offer, why vying for such position because you cannot give what you don’t have. If you know you cannot be there to turn situations around for mankind, why insisting that you must be in that office, when you don’t have what it takes to drive that position.
Do you think that the state government can make any change with all these catalogue of challenges?
I am afraid, looking at the present situation, I doubt if the government can pull any magic wand again, because this is his second term in office, the first term in office was the first four years and we did not see anything. This time, from the indices available to me, I am afraid if there will be any reasonable departure from what is on ground; I stand to be corrected. Whether the governor is operating one man squad or solo, I don’t know. Governors in other states of the Federation have hit the ground already, he is going to be 100 days in office, but as we speak, his cabinet is yet to be constituted.
What then is the way out?
I think that he needs to come out himself because I believe that he knows what to do, but because I think he is in chains, that is why he needs to brave up and be that man that would say, I have had enough of this bash from people. Let me do that thing that would make people at the end of the day, to say, I have done well, so that posterity will record his name in gold. I am afraid he does not have that luxury of time because the clock is ticking every second. If he wants to rewrite his history, he still has some years that will enable him to go back and say ok, this time, we have to do it like this otherwise, we may need God’s intervention to get it right.
