IGBEAKU ORJI reports 
IGBEAKU ORJI reports on the recent interface between members of OUK Movement and Reality Organisation, two political support groups funded by the Senate Chief Whip, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, to retool their election-winning machinery ahead of the 2023 general election
As the clock ticks towards the 2023 general election, any keen political watcher will agree that the battle will be titanic in Abia State, the most crucial being the office of the governor.
No party or candidate, who is serious about grabbing any office, will joke with preparations and groundwork. For those who are indeed serious, this is the time to mobilize and strategize for the battle.
It is time to service, retool, lubricate and roll out the tanks for the battle. And in an effort to reinvent the winning strategies in previous electoral victories, a former governor of Abia State and senator representing Abia North at the National Assembly, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, last week at his Camp Neya, Igbere country home, summoned a meeting of members of his political family, the OUK Movement and the Reality Organisation, which appear to have taken the back seat since he left as Abia State governor. Reality Organisation and OUK Movement are political groups with presence in the 295 Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC) wards.
It was Reality Organisation founded by Kalu’s mother, Elder (Mrs.) Eunice Uzor Kalu that drove the cart through which Kalu rode to victory, first as member of the House of Representatives and later as governor. Reality Organisation remained relevant throughout his tenure, growing and expanding to an international organization with offices and branches abroad.
Kalu not only became governor, his siblings also became prominent political stakeholders. For instance, Nnanna Uzor Kalu won the Aba North/South Federal Constituency seat, while Mascot Uzor Kalu became the Chief of Staff to Kalu’s successor, Chief Theodore Orji. Similarly, OUK Movement has been a formidable political structure behind the electoral victories of its members, including Senator Kalu.
Interestingly, Kalu has kept the political groups alive, active and functional. Having been in politics for some time now, he has mastered the ropes. First as member of the House of Representatives, next as governor and now as senator, all elective offices,
Kalu no doubt, has come a long way. He knows what it takes to win elections. It was the same structure that worked against all odds, to deliver Kalu’s successor as governor, now Senator Orji in 2007. No doubt, pro groups and political structures are critical to winning elections.
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) lost the 2015 governorship election in Abia State
loylargely due to the absence of these factors. Beyond the edge of popular goodwill there were no stakeholders to defend the party’s votes. Despite this fact, some politicians are still under the illusion that the rabble is enough to win and retain election victory. Truth is, not many politicians have the capacity to build and fund political structures.
Election victory is not a game of chance. You either have the structure or you belong to an existing one. Senator Kalu is aware of the crucial role of political structure and that it will be futile to attempt the battle of 2023 without the strength of the groups.
On the other hand, the groups, organizations or structures can achieve nothing without a capable leader. And with Kalu taking the lead, the organisations are motivated and purpose-driven to accomplish incredible feats. They are sure Kalu will stand by them to the end as he promised.
“You know I am not coming back as governor, or House of Representatives member. Neither am I coming to become a member of the House of Assembly. It is from among you that the next governor will emerge.
You are the ones to provide the local government chairmen and councilors. The House of Assembly and House of Representatives members will come from you. And you know our slogan, he who works will be rewarded,” he said.
He reminded them that it was time to mobilize for the 2023 election in order to capture the vital offices, especially the Abia governorship seat since the tenure of the incumbent governor will end in 2023. “You are foot soldiers, you are fishers of men. Go home
and ensure that you have the voters’ card. Also persuade your family members to do the same because that is the weapon for the war,” he said. The Senate Chief Whip also reminded members of the two groups of the need to be united, saying obstacles would be easily surmounted with unity of purpose.
The turnout was overwhelming and Kalu confessed that he did not envisage the crowd that came to the meeting. He had made provision for a few hundreds in the lawn tennis court of his home but the overflow was much more than the capacity of the tennis court. People stood under the enervating heat with the excitement that they have bounced back to political reckoning.
Addressing the crowd, the member representing Bende in the House of Representatives and House spokesman, Hon. Ben Kalu, said Senator Kalu has made the greatest impact ever recorded in Abia North in the Senate. He reminded members of the organisations that to be with Kalu was to be with victory and urged them to remain steadfast.
“There is no single day he does not raise an issue about Abia North on the floor of the Senate. From the 2022 budget greater things are going to happen in the senatorial zone,” he said.
Also speaking, chairman of OUK Movement, Engr Ndukwe Agu, called for greater support for Senator Kalu whose representation at the Senate has turned Abia North into a huge construction site.
He said has brought unprecedented infrastructural development to Abia North. The former member representing Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal Constituency, Hon. Arua Arunsi, reminded members of the two groups that the greatest asset in politics is loy
alty. He added that they should cooperate with the effort to revive the two organisations for future election victory. The senator’s mother and founder of Reality Organisation, Elder (Mrs.) Kalu and his brother and former House of Representatives member for Aba North and South, Hon. Nnanna Uzor Kalu, were among other dignitaries present to encourage the members. Senator Kalu made it clear that the meeting was not for party members but the inner political family who will determine who will be where in 2023.
He said: “The greatest job the family needs to do is to make the governor of the state, and so return it to the good old days when I was governor. You know the slogan of the family: He who works will be rewarded. You can be sure no one will usurp or displace others after the work is done.
“When I was governor, teachers were being paid, pupils were going to school free, that is what we want to return to. Have that at the back of your mind as you return to your wards.
Now as senator, I have taken Abia North higher than others not only in Abia State but the entire country. I am the only senator who has taken development to all the constituent local government areas and beyond. I’m building a road in Ariaria in Abia South. I’m building another in Isiala Ngwa South because of one of my aides who have no road to his community.”
He also used to event to appeal for support for President Muhammadu Buhari whom he said meant well for the Igbo and Nigeria in general.
After Kalu’s admonishment, there was no doubt that of a better motivation that members of Reality Organisation and OUK Movement need than the assurance of the former governor to provide to support any candidate they chose as their governorship candidate in 2023.
