Kalu and impactful representation of southeast
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
Each time I read the above quote, my contemplation leads me to Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives who entered the federal legislature as the representative of the great people of Bende federal constituency of Abia state. He is just 53 but has already mastered the art of purposeful and impactful representation, and result-oriented leadership. The role he has played so far from his exalted office has been such that the stars are shining for him. Perhaps, it was for him that Martin Luther King Jr. coined the above quotation.
Encountering Kalu at an event organised by the Ndigboamaka Progressives Market Association in Lagos, opened me to his persona. On that special day, not only did he awe the audience with his oratorical skills, but his understanding, dissection and focus on issues that are vital to the development of the southeast geopolitical region, left many wondering if he is the awaited political leader of the zone in the current dispensation. He might as well be given that he is currently the highest-ranking political office holder from the zone –a reality that demands of the Nigerian people nothing more but support for his programmes, especially, those that impact the southeast region most.
Not long after that initial encounter, Kalu hit his home region with a new vision for accelerating growth and development through the conceptualization, development and launching of PISE-P, an acronym for his pet project named ‘Peace In the Southeast Project.’ Though he has the signature of other members of the House of Representatives from the zone on the project, it, however, stands out as his well-intentioned programme for the restoration of peace in the region and the rejuvenation of its social and moral values. He aimed to restore the region to its pre-eminent position as the most peaceful zone in the country and through it, reinvigorate its commerce, education, sports, hospitality, tourism and all.
With PISE-P, Kalu is focused on driving programmes and projects that will re-orientate the southeast people towards national unity; identify remote and immediate causes of conflicts and affect their management; carry out programmes and projects that will create and sustain national peace and harmony; positively impact constituencies with dividends of democracy and also, embark on strategies, programmes, and projects that will politically, economically, socially build the youths as leaders of tomorrow. He is working at achieving these using education as a tool through which capacity and political guts will be built to establish and renovate schools in conflict-affected areas; develop curriculum and training programs on peace education, conflict resolution, and human rights; enhance teacher training and provision of teaching materials; establish scholarship programs for vulnerable and disadvantaged students, and foster dialogue platforms within educational institutions in the region.
PISE-P became a mandate which Kalu pursued with so much vigour and restless passion such that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with whom he had struck a good working relationship, gave a stamp of approval for the project and flew to Bende to launch it in December 2023, through representation by his deputy, Kashim Shettima. That action spoke volumes about the value Kalu had brought into the progressive discourse between President Tinubu and the southeast region especially as it involved ending the sad story of the marginalisation of the zone by Nigeria’s governments. The working partnership is something the Southeast people appreciate and are grateful for. This, they demonstrated by respectfully heeding the call by Kalu to support the President’s programmes by staying off the national protest against the administration, in reciprocation.
By agreeing not to protest against President Tinubu, the southeast zone affirms its support for Hon. Kalu, and also expresses its gratitude to the president for signing the Southeast Development Commission (SEDC) Bill into law. The significance of this is huge. The SEDC bill was introduced by Okezie Kalu. His success in pulling it through is a testimony to the support and friendship he enjoys from his peers in the lower legislative chamber. Pulling through its concurrence at the Senate also speaks to the value of the friendship, support and love that Kalu enjoys at the upper legislative chamber and among the leadership of the National Assembly. Finally, getting the president to append his signature to the bill, thus making SEDC an establishment of the law of the Federal Republic, attests to the beauty of the relationship that Kalu has developed with President Tinubu. All these, he had to do, in the good interest of his southeast geopolitical zone.
Essentially, Kalu has positioned himself as one who has mastered the art of leadership. And, he is leading well as well as delivering results for his constituents. He also demonstrates this whenever he presides over the plenary of the House. Though he was elected as a representative of Bende federal constituency, Kalu, now as Deputy Speaker of the House, no longer just represents his federal constituency but leads as the strongest political voice for the southeast in his political party, All Progressives Congress (APC). This is why the youths of the southeast region still look up to him to drive the momentum for political change and the strategic re-alignment of the region, and also build relevant bridges with other regions of the country as well and drive the attention of development partners towards the strategic interests of the zone.
No doubt, Kalu has a lot on his shoulders. And he is carrying on well with a very strong back. By his dutiful representation, Kalu is raising the interest of youths of the region in politics. He is encouraging a lot of them to take the plunge and aspire. He has demonstrated that result-oriented and people-centric leadership is not rocket science. Interestingly, he has done these quietly and without presenting himself as avaricious. Kalu has learnt how to represent and how to lead, and he is representing and leading very well.
