There is something excitingly different and encouraging about Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives. And it is encapsulated in the words of Brian Tracy, a Canadian-American motivational public speaker and self-development author with over 80 books to his credit, when he stated that “leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems.” For Kalu, the vision for now is about a new reality for the South East region. It is about a reality that would pull the region away from where it is currently to where it desires to be. Kalu’s vision has already birthed the Peace in the South East Project, which is also attracting support from many people who love to see the southeast region rise above setbacks, self-inflicted and imposed, to regain its place in the Nigerian nation.
Through the Peace in South East Project, also known as PISE-P, Kalu is pursuing a new vision for the region. It is a vision that would encourage people of the southeast to rebuild their region and re-position it for investments by both local and foreign investors. It is a vision that will encourage the people to regain the confidence of their friends and neighbours and regenerate economic and social activities that once thrived and worked for their good. It is a vision that would regenerate the capacity of people of the region to indeed, become, once again, their brother’s keeper, guardians of the orphaned and the widowed as well as community builders through the much-cherished value of communalism, which they once used to build community schools, hospitals, roads, town and village halls as well as offered fully-funded educational scholarships to their sons and daughters.
In seeking to push a new narrative of growth for the region, Kalu focuses on programmes and projects that will re-orientate the citizens towards national unity; identify remote and immediate causes of conflicts and 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.
The PISE project is also structured to develop the agricultural potentials of the region to ensure improved access to agricultural inputs, tools, and technologies; promote sustainable farming practices and diversification of crops; provide training on modern farming techniques, post-harvest management, and value addition; establish and enhance the capacity of cooperatives and farmer associations for enhanced market access and collective bargaining as well as support small-scale farmers through micro-finance initiatives. This comes alongside the focus on ‘weaponising’ commerce and industry as a tool for the promotion of entrepreneurship and provision of vocational training to young people; establishment of business incubation centers with access to start-up capital; strengthening market linkages and support value chain development across the sectors; encouraging the establishment of cooperatives and business associations, and also, facilitating trade and investment fairs for economic growth and job creation.
Kalu also focuses on the industrial regeneration of the region through an infrastructural development that would cause an improvement in road networks, bridges, and transportation systems; enhance access to clean water and sanitation facilities; develop rural electrification programs; renovate public buildings and facilities and promote sustainable urban planning and housing initiatives. This will be complemented by culture and tourism development for the region through which he envisions the preservation and promotion of indigenous culture and traditions; the development of cultural centers and museums to showcase local heritage as well as organizing cultural festivals and events to foster unity and understanding, enhance community-based tourism initiatives to attract visitors and encourage cultural exchange programs and inter-community dialogue.
The plans, as I got to learn, will develop alongside sports and the creative industry which has already employed numerous Nigerian youths. However, for Kalu, the focus is on establishing more sports facilities and recreational centers in the southeast as well as organizing annual sporting tournaments to foster unity and reconciliation, support grassroots sports development and talent identification, promote cultural and artistic festivals and events, and, encourage youth engagement in sports and entertainment activities as alternatives to violence. All these will be built on the solid foundation of governance and leadership which will help to strengthen the capacity of the people of the region to build on conflict resolution and peacebuilding mechanisms that will promote transparency, accountability, and inclusive governance, establish community-based dispute resolution mechanisms, enhance civic education and citizen engagement in decision-making processes while also fostering partnerships between government institutions, civil society, and community leaders for sustainable peace.
According to Kalu, the PISE-P project, will, over five years, aim “to address the root causes of conflict and promote lasting peace in South Eastern Nigeria.” As American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou said “If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.” Kalu may be sharing a solitary fantasy as a solitary optimist. However, his optimism may just be the tonic needed to galvanize support, and participation, in the task of rebuilding the region into a future of a million realities for the good of its people, its future, and that of the Nigerian nation. This has become imperative because the region’s progression southwards is a story that needs to end. It need not continue.
I guess this is why Kalu stated in his position paper on PISE-P that “we believe that sustained engagement in education, agriculture, commerce and industry, infrastructural development, culture and tourism, sports and entertainment, and governance and leadership will contribute to building resilient communities, fostering social cohesion, and facilitating sustainable development,” in the southeast region of Nigeria.