This man is no longer in office as governor, but as far as I am concerned, it remains congruent for him to be addressed as His Excellency; he’s really a great man. I’m not bothered about anybody’s opinion of him. I don’t want to concern myself with the issues of his antecedents whatsoever; I rather want to confine myself to the veracity of the matter: Orji Uzor Kalu is a colossus. This piece is not meant to represent sycophancy of any kind; I’m not targeting anything from him, I just admire him, he’s one of my role models. In fact, I don’t just admire Orji Uzor kalu, I place him on a pedestal. I don’t mean to sing his praises, but I extol his accomplishments. In case you don’t know him, he’s a former governor of Abia State (1999-2007). He’s the Chairman/CEO, Slok Group of Companies. He’s the publisher of Daily Sun, Soccer Star, and New Telegraph newspapers. Slok Holdings is a conglomerate of many subsidiaries with business interest cutting across the various sectors of the economy (Manufacturing, Oil and Gas, Publishing, Shipping, Aviation, Real Estate, etc). Slok Airline used to be the official airline of Gambia. Daily Sun is the favourite newspaper of many Nigerian Elites and intellectuals. In 2007, Orji Uzor Kalu founded a political party (PPA), and the party, upon its foundation, won 2 governorship seats (Imo and Abia), and he also came 4th in the presidential election of that year on the platform of the party. Two times consecutively, he achieved a feat (CAF Champions League) for Nigeria with Enyimba Int’l Football Club of Aba. There are many things to say about this man. It is only unfortunate that in this part of the world, we tend to focus attention on the bad aspects of someone’s personality or antecedents, turning blind eyes to the good ones. You may have negative things to say about Orji Uzor Kalu, but I choose to recognize the good things about him over and about whatever negative ones; there is no perfection in anybody and there is no saint anywhere.
Orji Uzor kalu is a multi-billionaire, the richest igbo man in the world. As far back as 1998 when the Nigerian currency was a bit more valuable, Orji Uzor Kalu donated 500 million Naira to the formation of PDP (People’s Democratic Party). Before anybody accuses me of trying to promote avarice amongst students, that Orji Uzor Kalu is extremely wealthy is not even the crux of the matter here. I extol five remarkable qualities in him, which I also wish to have:
1. He is a streetwise character
2. He is resourceful and enterprising
3. He is diligent and industrious
4. He is courageous
5. He is very, very clever. Show me a man whose name is a representation of cleverness, and I will show you His Excellency, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu.
With several thousands of persons on his payroll as employees, with his huge relevance on the Nigerian economy, with his astronomic contribution to politics in Nigeria, just to mention but a few; you will agree with me that Orji Uzor kalu is an accomplished and illustrious Nigerian whose life of greatness should be looked up to by the youngsters of today; this is the crux of the matter.
Thanks for reading this article.
Kingsley Onwuka. (onwukavoice@gmail.com, +234 9086585050 - sms)