Former Governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu says Nigeria is on the part of painful recovery.
According to the business mogul, what is required for Nigeria to blosom and boom in all sectors, was a resolution of the energy and power challenges and the gaurantee of the security of life and property of residents in every part of the country.
Kalu in an exclusive interview with signaturetv.com.ng in Abuja said what is happening in Nigeria today could be likened to the proverbial tailor who cuts a cloth to pieces and deligently sews it together to produce a beautiful design.
He said all the various agitations by sections of the country could be distructive, if it is not aimed at building a more prosperous, stronger and united Nigeria.
The founder of PPA who recently joined the APC in what he said was his quest to lead the Igbos into main stream Nigerian politics, is of the opinion that what occupy the minds of patriotic Nigerians was how to deploy our diverse and different potentials to productive enterprise.
He frowned at the use of divisive rhetorics and hate language by prominent Nigerians especially those in positions of authority warning that the experience of Rwanda and Burundi should serve as a warning to all.
Meanwhile Kalu says “rather than dissipate energy agitating for secession, IPOB and Igbos should up their political ante and play politics of inclusion, which can earn the Igbo the nation’s president sooner than later”.
Kalu spoke in Lokoja, weekend, while delivering a lecture at an Igbo gathering for the inauguration of Igbo Support Group for Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, which he entitled: “Mainstreaming Igbo into Nigeria Politics.”
He said: “We must fix Nigeria to work. We, Igbo have made progress but it is not yet uhuru for us. This is not the time to pop champagne but a time for conscious reflection on the road we have passed, where we are and where we intend to be in the years ahead.
He also took a swipe at Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State over his comment in a recent interview that Kalu was misleading the Igbo to embrace the All Progressives Congress, and also on Fayose’s comments on President Muhammedu Buhari.
“When I was a governor, I was at loggerheads with former President Olusegun Obasanjo but it was purely on government activities. I never went personal.
Fayose should take a cue too. His recent interview where he said I was deceiving the Igbo into joining APC is uncalled for. I’m taking the Igbo to the central stage of politics and decision taking. I advise Fayose to stop hate speeches”, he concluded.
