When William Shakespeare made this assertion, “Ambition should be made of stener stuff”, he was referring to the likes of former governor of Abia state and Chief Whip of the 9th Senate Orji Uzor Kalu.
13th of June 2023 was a typical day in the annals of Nigerian Parliament, a day that was to produce a Pandorax box from the Senate, the Dooms Day, expectation of a turbulent voyage that turned a smooth sail after all.
Nigerians expected a tug of War and clash of heavy weights. Yours sincerely did too, being aware of the three major candidates vying for the position of the number three position in the hierarchy of Nigeria’s National Assembly Presidential ascension.
One of the returnee senators, is a senator with overall best constituency projects in the 9th Senate, biggest employer of labour among the three, a political titan, Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu.
Until the eve of that National Assembly election date, many industry watchers had waited with berthed breath to see the one time governor of Abia State to pull the strings on the floor that faithful day, as the process will be secrete ballot and no doubt the Chief Whip got enormous goodwill and confidence from his returning colleagues and the new ones.
Inside the Senate Chamber, seated at the right hand side of the make shift chamber was his Excellency, the best Chief whip in Senate history as Ahmad Lawan, a man Orji Kalu gave overwhelming support during his tenure as President of the 9th Senate would always put it.
Infact, some analysts have aduced that Kalu’s undiluted support for Ahmad Lawan during the APC primaries is the reason he lost the favour of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the position of the President of the 10th Senate, debatable though, but Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has remained an unrepentant supporter of Sen. Ahmad Lawan and from his body language, he never regretted it.
Now back to the crux of this piece, the election in the Senate that 13th June 2023 and the calmness of the number 5 man in the 9th Senate, it was not open ballot like its sister chamber, the House of Representatives, therefore, a tactical network that could have caused a distortion, which was what Kalu’s supporters wanted. After all, as they say, “conspiracy gives way to security”, these are tools the former Chief Whip had on his palms to perforate the choice of APC to either clinch the coveted position or give it away. During the voting for the position of President of the Senate, many thought Kalu would have resolved to go for Deputy President’s position, but instead, Kalu chosed to give way for party loyalty over personal ambition, albeit an ambition that some of his colleagues perceived as going to evolve into a national interest, having known him, Orji as a detribalized Nigerian.
That election was peaceful and rancour free and assuaged the yearnings of the rulling All Progressives Congress because Kalu eventually submitted to party interest, a difficult decision he took days before the election, inspite of the deluge of calls from colleagues and supporters not to yield to the micro zoning of the party.
Believers of Kalu know his unbending disposition towards his convictions, but one finest feature that seperates him and the 21st century Nigerian politicians is his penchant for party loyalty. Party supremacy is boldly engraved in his political chess board.
The calmness of Kalu, is reflective of the calmness of the tiger that does not make it a weak animal.
The political and emotional maturity of Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu, especially all through the contest for the President of the 10th Senate is a topic for a social research, a calmness that even his colleagues and supporters are yet to fanthom.
