The epic fight between Goliath the giant and young David of Israel may replay in the Abia North Senatorial zone in January 2027 when the mighty and long-serving political games master, Orji Uzor Kalu, will face one young but bold fighter, Kalu Prince Ukoha.
Orji Kalu is of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and is known as a President Ahmed Tinubu man; while Ukoha is holding the spear of the African Action Congress (AAC) the way the Labour Party held it in 2023 and won.
Prince, as he is popularly called even by his master, Uzor Kalu, lives both in Aba and Port Harcourt. In Abia State, he is most known as the man behind the ABGRASSORD scheme which was to groom young football talents and process them for the foreign scene.
In an interview with BusinessDaySunday in Port Harcourt where he runs an NGO, the young tusk said it is time for the big guns of the zone to allow younger ones to bring in fresh ideas.
He gave his political background in Ohafia in Abia State as deep and rich.
“I was a students’ union leader in my days and I have not only worked with many top political leaders in Abia State, I also contested for the House of Representatives in the last elections.
“Now, I am the senatorial candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) to represent the good people of Abia North senatorial district of the state.
“My senatorial constituency (Abia North) has five local government councils. We have Ohafia LG which is the headquarters of Abia North. The zone is actually known as Ohafia Zone just as the state also has Aba Zone and Umuahia Zone. In Ohafia Zone, we have Ohafia, Bende, Arochukwu, Isuikwuato, and Umunneochi. These LGAs have 56 wards. Ohafia Council has 11 wards, Bende 13 wards, Isuikwuato 10 wards, Arochukwu 11 wards, and Umunneochi same 11. In total, we have 987 polling units in Abia North senatorial zone.”
He said Ohafia Zone is very viable and is known as the back bone of Abia State.
“This is because the economic power of Abia State is Abia North. The academic power of Abia State is Abia North. The industrial power of Abia State is also Abia North. Indigenes of Abia North are regarded as warriors who go out to do great and mighty things and come back.”
He admitted that it’s actually about Goliath and David.
“The moment people hear I am contesting for the Senate from Abia North, they would ask, is it not the zone Orji Uzor Kalu, former governor, is sitting on. Is it the zone you want to come and represent?
“My answer is straight yes. Abia North is the home of His Excellency, Orji Uzor Kalu, the Ahaejiejemba 1, former governor of Abia State and two-time senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the former member of the House of Representatives. So, that’s actually the zone I’m contesting to lead. And to the glory of God, I’m contesting against him and other great and mighty sons of Abia North such as Bourdex, candidate of the Labour Party; Mao Ohuabunwa is there, the candidate of the PDP. Great personalities are there. That’s actually the zone.”
When they hear this, he added, “They ask how I got the courage to contest against these great men. They end up saying I too must be a great man to boldly step out against these giants.
“I only laugh because these giants are all my masters, my leaders, and they have done their own bits and shifts. They performed well, and they’ve done great things. So, I think that this is actually the time for them to leave the stage, let the people with fresher ideas come into power.”
Talking about fresher ideas expected from another generation of leaders, he said he has often shared some of them.
“I don’t believe in the way or the modus operandi that a lot of people use. For instance, the Senate; most persons go in there and use their constituency allowances to do things. For me, my mindset is to come out with another perspective. To me, there is no social problem in this world which doesn’t have a basic amelioration therapy.
“I think we should go farther than this, to the point that we must gain access to those ameliorations and remedies that exist to enhance the functioning of our people.
“So, Abia North has a lot of problems. We have erosion in Ohafia and Bende. In parts of Bende such as Itumbauzo and some other interior places such as Isu in Arochukwu, they have glaring needs; basic needs. The solution to their needs is not to come at campaign time and give them rice and money, and get their vote and go. No way. They are part of Abia North, and they must benefit from the fact that they are all Abia North people. So, for us, putting our people first is a major thing. So, remedying their plight is our major desire.”
He admitted that, yes, the masses are tired of hearing at election time from a new comer showing anger over the plight of the people but when they win the love of the people and get in, the people seem to see same old suffering. The new person usually tends to forget all the things they said. “We hear that it is for such reasons that the masses decide to settle for the handouts of the rice and small money. They want to manage what they can see now because they may never see anything bigger because they have seen serial disappointments over the years.
“Many ask me at the campaign grounds if there could be any assurance that I would not also do same if they entrust me with their votes and their lives like those before me.
“My answer is simple; people have different motivating factors that make them to join politics. Most of them, the quest is money, finance, wealth. But for me, the quest is not money. Yes, I will definitely need to provide basic facilities of life and will definitely take care of the people around me, but those are not the quest.
“My quest is to put my people first. I believe in this ideology: you can have everything in life, have about 50 houses and 50 cars, but when you die, your people, maybe even, those your next of kin are actually the people who use and dispose of properties at their will. So, we have the likes of the late De Sam Mbakwe as a model of good governance, but he wasn’t wealthy. He died an honourable man, not as a wealthy man. For that reason, his name still lives after him.
“My quest in life is to build a legacy that will live after my exit in this life. It’s not really about the money. I plan to bring in a model of governance where the people know what they need and go on together to ensure that their needs are being met. So, in a nutshell, my word is my bond. There is no promise I’m making. I don’t even know how much a Senator gets, and how much is at the disposal of a senator.”
He agreed that a lot of people see politics as do-or-die, and they invest everything to capture positions, especially senatorial positions. “It’s not a small fry. This makes those eager to capture power to go to every length for it, including taking life. That has necessitated the need for my camp to reassure my supporters that these other mighty men will not swallow my team up in the field, either with money or with other powers.”
First and foremost, he contended, “I’m a Christian. I believe in the word of our Lord Jesus Christ. We all know the story of David and Goliath. The Bible says David had no arrow, and specifically had no shield, but he defeated Goliath.
“So, for me and the entire members of our team of ‘Endless Possibilities’, we are not new in this. It’s just that our brand of politics is different. Our brand of politics is not geared towards using all means to win an election. No. If the people say, ‘Oh, Prince Iroha, you are our next Senator,’ nobody can change it. Some people say votes don’t count. I say, vote counts! What they do is to use that mantra to discourage people from coming out.
“Once it is voted at the polling unit, and our own BVAS determines that, oh, we’ve won, nobody can change it.”
He said his team knows their ploys. “We know their antecedents, we know their plans and their strategies. We don’t care about it. All we want is, let the people vote for us and leave the rest to us. They cannot change it.”
On his message to the voters, he said: “They are my constituency, my people. My message is simple: I humbly present myself wholly to represent you at the National Assembly as your Senator, as your servant. To lead is to serve. Leadership is not to go and acquire and amass wealth. No. You are there for the people.”
He gave the mantra of his team thus: “Putting our people first. I may not have been in government, but I know that I run an NGO. It teaches that the interest and welfare of the people, my people, are the basic priority. When I say this, some people ask whether I was okay. I say, yes, I’m okay.
“My philosophy of life is that whatever I get that I won’t use for the benefit of my people, let me not have that particular thing, and God is hearing me. The essence of life is service. And the essence of service is sacrifice.
“So, those that know me can attest to that. Those who are yet to know me or who are coming in contact with me for the first time will now get the opportunity me. If they misunderstand me because of the way I speak, so be it. All I know is that I speak well. If am not allowed to speak, then, others will not speak. The country is our own. There are people have disabilities but I am not. My only concern is the welfare and interest of my people. That is my priority.”
Right now, he said, most of the deaths in Abia and Ohafia is a result of poverty, bad road, lack of good healthcare. “When someone is sick, before you move that person from Abia, Ohafia to Ebem Ohafia, it takes a long time, almost an hour. Even when you get to Ebem Ohafia, you will not find a hospital there. You only find old and moribund hospitals. Now, you take the person to Umuahia, the state capital. So, most of these deaths are preventable.
“So, our cardinal point or our focal area as a senator is on grassroots sports, agro-economy, health, youth and women empowerment.
“We will achieve all these things through collaborative ventures, through public private partnership (PPP).
“We have done a thorough needs analysis on what we want to achieve, and we are coming forth with a different format never seen in the history of Ohafia.”
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