Between 1979 and 2023, the South East has produced a Vice President,5 Senate Presidents and 2 Speakers of the Federal House of Representatives . Igbos have also occupied sensitive positions of trust, government appointments of the highest order, including Governor of the Central Bank, Chief of Army Staff, Inspector General of Police, and grade one ministerial portfolios. Very few of these public officers of Igbo extraction impacted the South East in any tangible way. For one reason or the other,Igbo leaders of yesteryears couldn’t bring home a substantial portion of the “national cake” or they simply weren’t allowed into the main parlour where the national cake was shared. A typical Igbo man is known by his intelligence, diligence, aggressive pursuit of success and the hunger to achieve and to excel. Igbos have exhibited these sterling qualities at home and abroad; in business academics, the professions, and every sphere of human endeavor. Sadly, Igbos have not excelled in Nigeria’s national politics .
We only have local champions who betray the Igbo cause in Abuja and are content with the peanuts they collect, while the other regions of Nigeria go home with the lion’s share of projects and strategic appointments. This ugly narrative has been banished with the emergence of Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Reprentatives. Benjamin Kalu, a man imbued with uncommon political sagacity and a burning passion to excel, spiced up with the typical Igbo swagger,burst onto the national political limelight and has remained a strong voice and a force to reckon with for the Igbo nation. On the 13th of July 2019 ,on his first day as a fresh member of the House of Reprentatives,he was given the floor, and he moved the very first motion of the 9th Assembly . The motion which drew the attention of the nation to the erosion and ecological menace bedeviling Bende Federal Constituency was well received and the House mandated the relevant federal agencies to take action.
That motion led to swift intervention by the Presidency, resulting in the replacement of the colonial Nkpa iron bridge, the building of two other bridges a the construction of multiple roads,culverts and other ecological interventions at an estimated cost approaching 10 billion naira. This astonishing feat was accomplished by a first timer who moved a motion on his first day on the floor of the house. Of course, people began to take notice. Still basking in the euphoria of his first impression,he was chosen as the House Chairman of the Committee on Media, becoming the spokesman of the Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila led House. The House Committee on Media is not considered a “juicy” or strategic committee in the Parliament. But to the surprise of everybody, Hon Benjamin Kalu transformed the Committee on Media into the centre of attraction. It is on record that Hon Kalu is one of the best chairmen of the House Committee on Media in the history of the Federal House of Reprentatives. The House of Reprentatives had its first standard in- house magazine under his leadership . All through his first tenure in the House of Reprentatives,Hon Kalu’s profile continued to soar .
He attracted countless projects to Bende,his constituency, while earning a reputation of being a strong voice at the national level. It did not come as a surprise that he was overwhelmingly reelected to represent Bende Federal Constituency in 2023. And this is where the real story begins to unfold. Hon Benjamin Kalu declared his intention to become the Speaker of the 10th Assembly and began to reach out to his colleagues across the nation for their support. After the ruling All Progressives Congress zoned various positions in the National Assembly, the party reserved the position of Deputy Speaker for the South East and Hon Benjamin Kalu had to adjust accordingly. On the 13th of June 2023,Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu became the Deputy Speaker of the 10th Assembly of the Federal House of Reprentatives. He was elected unopposed. There was not a single dissenting voice in the entire Green Chambers. The position of Deputy Speaker made Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu the number 6 citizen in Nigeria and the highest Igbo political office holder in the land.
Many people didn’t expect much. People expected to hear the same old story. What was a Deputy Speaker of the lower House going to do for the South East? Nothing much . But Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu had other ideas. He launched a double barrel attack; Peace In South East Project and the actualization of the South East Development Commission. The Peace In South East Project ( PISE P)is an NGO aimed at restoring peace, security and prosperity in the South East . The Unveiling of the Peace In South East Project in Bende on the 29th of December 2023,was the largest gathering of political, leadership and business elite in the history of the South East. Never has such a roll call of eminent personalities congregated in Igboland. The President of Nigeria, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was represented by Vice President Shettima. The Senate President, Speaker of the Federal House of Reprentatives, Secretary to the Federal Government, National Security Adviser,Obi of Onitsha, Ooni of Ife,Emir of Kano and many other Emirs , President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Arthur Eze,Governors , businessmen… everybody that was somebody in Nigeria was in Bende that day. With one move,Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu had turned the full attention of Nigeria and indeed the world on the South East. With everyone focused on the South East, the Deputy Speaker played his main joker.
The South East Development Commission Bill had failed to see the light of day in the 8th and 9th Assemblies. Why? Because the South East didn’t have anyone with the focus, passion and political leverage to make it happen… because the South East didn’t have anyone who knows how to get things done in Abuja… because the South East didn’t have a Benjamin Kalu. The Deputy Speaker saw to it that the South East Development Commission Bill was speedily passed in both chambers of the National Assembly. By February 22nd 2024, the Senate had passed the South East Development Commission Bill and the bill was transmitted to the President for his assent. The Benjamin Kalu factor had been at work all along. After serious horse trading and high level political engineering both in the Parliament and in the Presidency, the South East Development Commission became a reality when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed it into law on July 23rd,2024. The South East Development Commission seeks to rebuild and remedy the damage and losses suffered by the South East as a result of the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-1970. By delivering the South East Development Commission to his people, Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu has broken a 54 year jinx.
The pain and the suffering of the Igbo man in the Nigerian federation will be mitigated to some extent by the projects and programmes of the South East Development Commission. Anyone who understands how Nigeria works will tell you that it is not easy to make the South East Development Commission happen. Let me repeat myself. Since 1979, Ndigbo have produced a Vice President,5 Senate Presidents,2 Speakers of the Federal House of Reprentatives, etc. No one has carried the interest of the South East, no one has delivered tangible results like Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu. He has been Deputy Speaker for less than 14 months. You can imagine what he will achieve for the South East and for Nigeria by the end of this tenure. Benjamin Kalu is a man who gets things done,a man who produces results. He operates above bickerings, controversies and petty quarrels. He is not fighting with anybody. Everybody is his friend. He is only interested in bringing a large chunk of the national cake to the South East.
He is making friends in the South West, South South and in the entire North. He has rallied the entire South East Caucus of the Federal House of Representatives into a formidable force, united across party lines in the Igbo interest. When you see a man that will go far, you will know. Benjamin Kalu will go very far. A new leader is emerging in the land of the Black Jews. A breath of fresh air is blowing across Igboland. A new star is rising from the East. His name is Benjamin Kalu. Remember the name.
Okey Iboko is the Publisher of SouthEast Reporters.