RE: Orji Uzor Kalu’s BEHOLD THE FIDEL OR INFIDEL?
March 26, 2008 by 
Che Oyimnatumba
“…What is this that is come upon the son of Kish?
Is Saul among the Prophets?”-1st Samuel 10 vs. 11
Since the glorious exit of the pre-colonial nationalist leaders, Nigeria has being in search of a philosopher king. We have people who it wasn’t their wish to rule, ruining the country. No leader of Nigeria after 1966 ever wanted to rule yet unwilling to leave. Some were gunning for a lesser post and the highest post was conceded to them. Some fresh from prison, brandishing born aganism and armed with a copy of Women in the Bible, was given a stool bought by his brother’s blood. I wonder why Nigerian politicians are shying away from writing down their experiences and pontificate towards a better Nigeria. Of all those clamped into deserved detention by Buhari/iIdiagbon, its only Alex Ekwueme’s book I have read, which is a mere clarification of NPN stand and not a visionary way forward for Nigeria.
Against this background, I was excited when the then governor of Enugu State Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani started a lecture series. My desire to read a blue print of how to reposition ndi igbo in the national equation and arouse the sleeping giant called Nigeria, was quashed when I saw through the lecture series as a mere political rabble rouse, aimed at positioning the would be ex-governor in a better bargaining slate in the quest for life after government house. His hide and seek game with EFCC, puts an indelible question mark on his intellectual activism as a governor.
In deed wise men come from the east. Another eastern ex-governor has arisen my interest, with his publication-The Kalu Leadership Series- published by the SunNewspaper on Saturdays. Governor Oji Uzo Kalu was the executive governor of Abia State for eight years under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The people of Abia can testify to the degree of development under a Kalu’s administration.
In March 15th edition of The Kalu Leadership series titled Behold the Fidel or Infidel?, Kalu commenting on the change of leadership in Cuba, adduced conclusions that makes me question his credibility as an emerging philosopher king.
According to Kalu, “the Cuban people are tired of same system and same people, therefore would have wished that the Castro system would come to an end…the Cuban people are abreast of the fact that communism has aggravated all Cuba’s basic material problems to the point of desperation…”
The smooth transition of power from Fidel to Raul, without the crashing in of Cuban exiles from Florida USA shows that the people on the Island are not tired of the Castro system. As an aspiring scholar, Kalu should have known that in the revolution to oust Batista, the big three (Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Raul and Fidel) played an equal important role.
It is unfortunate that his Excellency was misinformed on the person of Raul Castro. According to Orji, “Therefore to have handpicked Raul as the successor is a wrong move because at 75years, his age is a liability, let alone his lack of charisma and inability to command respect like his predecessor. Raul lacks the strength of character and command his predecessor Fidel had…” In as much as I agree that a revolution that has spanned this long and survived the hatred Cuba had gone through, the leadership would have groomed a member of the younger generation to take over and pilot the activities of Cuba in line with changing trend in the world without losing the core of the revolutionary principles that gave birth to the regime. Raul, is a steel, forged and tempered by revolutionary life, lived in the jungle and not like the bread and butter politicians in Nigeria, whose claim to leadership qualities, is their hereditary membership of Eze’s cabinet, or boot licking of the military and most recently their selfish fight against their co-looter during the third term debate.
Arguably, scholars believe that had Che been alive, Castro would have handed over to him, despite Che being an Argentine. This hierarchy was established by blood on the battle field for the emancipation of Cuba from American multi-national companies, agent of imperialism and rouge puppet president. These men put their lives on the line of fire for the nation and the nation accepted their leadership, not based on the manipulative strength of the ruling party or endorsement from America, unlike in Nigeria. This are men who have been consistent in ideology and Spartan life style, men who led the revolution not from the safety of exile, but actively participated with their less than 100 cadres through the bushes to the triumphant entry into Havana. Their credibility has never been in question. These are men of courage, who wrote their will and farewell letters (as they would rather die fighting for liberty than compromise) before engaging the rampaging monster in Latin America called humane-less American style capitalism. I shall recommend Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson, The Bolivian Diary by Che, Castro: A political Biography by Matthew, Herbert. In fact his Excellency should commission one of his aides to google search Casrto, Che, Raul and the 1959 Revolution. His result will show him that Castro is a leader worthy of cloning and adapted into West Africa to complete the good works started by Thomas Sankara, Awo, Aminu Kano and Nkuruma.
It’s a show of lack of understanding of communism for the ex-governor to opine that communism is responsible for the desperation of Cubans which have led many of them to embrace the shark infested sea in search of Eldorado in Florida. Since the botched Bay of Pigs, the successive American government has made the fall of Cuba the centre of their foreign policy. There is no trick in and under the books America has not tried to collapse Cuba. The desperation Kalu wrote about, is the same American propaganda that has made Nigerians sleep at American Embassy in Lagos, in a bid to get Visa to wash corpse in NY, drive cabs in Washington and deliver newspapers house to house at the heart of winter. Will it then be proper to say that democracy has failed in Nigeria and have driven Nigerians to desperation of dying in Libya, Canary Islands, or acquiring multiple refugee passports of war torn African nations? If Nigeria were 90 miles off the coast of America, I am sure a good number of Nigerians would have swarm to America.
Communism as an ideology is one of the best system of governance. According to Karl Marx’s definition of scientific socialism, no country has attained Communism. What happened in Russia in 1917 was Leninism and subsequently Stalinism which was an aberration of communism which Marx said will emerge from the gradual collapse of capitalism due to the inherent contradictions in the system. It is the understanding of this that has made many western countries to introduce welfare measures to calm ruffled nerves from exploding. Even the United States, is a fertile ground for recruitment of communists and indeed had a communist party.
Kalu in a bid to demonise Castro and parrot CIA propaganda, failed to acknowledge the role of Cuba in the liberation struggle in Africa. This was the reason behind Nelson Mandela’s visit to Havana after he was released from prison. I shall recommend to ex-governor Kalu, a copy of The Nation Newspaper of Friday, February 2008, especially page 13, for a balanced view of the change of power in Cuba and the achievements of Cuba under Castro. A copy of BBC Focus on Africa Magazine of April-June 2006 especially page 60, is a bird view of the role of Castro in Africa’s quest for liberty and right to direct her affairs which neo-colonial forces made sure Africa got only paper independence that did and still does not worth the ink they were executed with.
Let me do Castro a disservice and compare his Cuba to Nigeria. But can you compare the glory and majesty of the Sun to the fluorescent tube without provoking the Sun?
Fidel’s Cuba and Nigeria.
According to Kalu, “little wonder the people of Cuba were unhappy because they could not contribute to how they are governed” This is pot calling kettle black. We know how PDP governors since inception of the party have been capturing party tickets. In Nigeria, nay in Abia under Kalu, did the people contribute how they were governed? How many Deputy Governors served under Kalu? It took the intervention of the federal might for the Bakassi boys, who became an instrument of terror in Abia, to be dismantled. Did the governor listen when people cried about the arbitrary murders committed by these miscreants?
Every ant in Cuba knows that it is a dictatorship of the proletariats, with its internal democratic selective process. The Cubans as is the case ever where in the world, careless if it’s one family ruling, so long as the basic needs are met. America’s strongest alien in Middle East, is still ruled by one family, why hasn’t America preached open democratic selection of leaders in Saudi Arabia? Even in the almighty America, a family has produced two presidents within one generation, yet nobody has had of the Bush dictatorship.
Was PPA primaries free and fare? Must the founder of the party be Chairman Board of Trustee? If Kalu feels he should midwife the party, why won’t Fidel safe-guard the revolution and hand it over to a trusted comrade? If the just concluded PDP convention is the best form of democratic selection process, most of us would rather be a Cuban, living under Castro and remain a faithful party member and our time will come.
In Nigeria, how many out-going governors handed over to their deputy? Even in Abia, an awaiting trial inmate (ATM) worn an election. A prior feat had been achieved in Osun State, where a murder suspect was elected senator.
In Cuba, which ex-governor Kalu wants us to believe has been run aground by Castro, life expectancy and quality of life is far better than in Nigeria. Cuban’s healthcare is one of the best in any developing country. Their patriotic sports exploit exceeds the money induced performance by Enyimba. Nigeria had had to employ a boxing coach from Cuba.
Fidel’s Cuba and corruption.
At the last count, about 600 (six hundred attempts have been made on Fidel’s life. All these numerous assassination attacks on Castro, none was master minded as a result of corruption or enriching himself with state fund. Can same be said about Nigeria? How many ex-governors are free from EFCC? Even the kindergarten governors whose rigged elections are being challenged are not better off. At the last check, Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State, had a check in at Scotland Yard over some euros found in his hotel room. Has such ever been heard about Castro, Raul or any member of the Cuban revolutionary movement, especially members of the July 29th Movement.
Since patriotic Nzeogwu struck on January 15 1966, all government in Nigeria have been given the boot due to corruptly enriching herself. The successor becomes worse than the predecessor. The filth oozing out of the power sector, is a nightmare unheard of in Cuba. I need not to tell Kalu that if it were to be in Cuba and one is drunk enough to loot the treasury and take light while the el comandante is delivering a speech, (as was the case when Yar’Adua was addressing the Northern zone PDP delegates to the just concluded PDP Bazaar) when he is sober, will commit hara-kiri. But in Nigeria, such a thief is glorified with chieftaincy title and a civic reception organised for him.
Fidel’s Education and Nigeria’s leaders.
According to Kalu, “Notwithstanding his below average performance in school, Castrol had a distinguishing similarity with some former dictators here in Nigeria, primary is “remarkable memory”. The remarkable memory of remembering those who offended you while in school and taking revenge on them one after the other, when you are in a position to serve the country”. I wonder where Kalu got this information. Throughout the half page article dragged and supported by adverts to give the impression of a full page, Kalu never acknowledged any author or sited an authority to buttress his claims. It is obvious that Kalu has never been to Cuba, never did an independent on the field research on Cuba, and so what was the source of Kalu’s information on Cuba? It would have enriched the reader if Kalu gave examples of the witch hunt by Castro. Hear him, “Historians would agree with me…”On what basis? Scholarship is about seeking the truth and questioning the truth, for Kalu to sit in the comfort of his Igere country home and dish out what cannot pass as a WAEC easy on Castro’s Cuba is the height of intellectual laziness, in this era of internet services and pyramid of information.
Kalu shows his little understanding of leadership qualities. In Nigeria, the minimum qualification as entrenched in the 1999 Constitution for the highest office in the land is primary six. Before Yar’Adua, no graduate has ruled Nigeria. In the 2nd Republic we had intellectuals in political parties. Our dear late Chike Obi, Bola Ige, Chinua Achebe threw in their cerebral strength in shaping party manifestos. What do we have now? Money bags who were beneficiaries of the rape of Nigeria by the military in the helm of affairs in a good number of the political parties.
Our own Kalu was a University of Madugri drop out and questionably finished in Abia State University when he became governor. Apart from being a businessman engaged in import and export, what was Kalu’s qualification? According to Machiavelli, in The Prince, the means of acquiring power may be ruthless, but once power is acquired, it must be exercised morally. Did Castro do well as a leader? Did his lengthy speeches fire up patriotic feelings and heroic acts by Cuban? The emergence of Hugo Chevez, is a reminder that as a leader, Castro did not fail in mentoring others. Can same be said about the leadership class in Nigeria? Which leader do Nigerian youths look up to? Apart from the pre-colonial nationalist Nigerian leaders across the ethnic nationalities, Nigerian elected leadership class is a bunch of chaff, an orchestra of fraud that no composer can keep in one accord. The stench oozing from the Probe in the Power Sector by the House Committee is nothing compared to other sectors that the government has kept a sealed lid on. Yar’Adua for close to a year, has been the Petroleum minister, to save Nigeria from embarrassment, I hope the hunter will not become the hunted when the rot in NNPC will be exposed.
Since 1959, Castro has been consistent, despite the dismantling of one of his benefactors the Socialist Soviet Republic by imperialist America. Can same be said about Nigeria politicians, whose stock in trade is fair weather and stomach driven political alignment? If not, how will one justify an ex-governor in control of three (3) senatorial zones scrambling to be a senator? What other service will he render that he couldn’t when he had uninterrupted revenue both from the federation account and internally generated? How many ex-his Excellency, seek Medicare in the hospitals they built while governors? Castro the Kalu took pains to run down, has been ill for over a year, yet he has not been flown abroad for treatment. Cuban Medicare is fantastic, leaders do not have to fly to Germany to amputate their legs, cure common cold or trim their corruption bloated stomach, nor do they keep their wives in a sanitarium, employ psychiatrics to cure their children from substance abuse and deter them from copying the kleptomaniac genes from their father. People should be reminded that those who live in a glass house do not throw stones.
Inconsistency and dearth of political ideology in Nigeria has been held responsible for the hydra-headed corruption in Nigeria. Chinua Achebe’s classical pamphlet on leadership-The problem with Nigeria; Arthur Nwankwo’s The Igbo Leadership and the Future of Nigeria, clearly point out that the absence of ideology is the bane of Nigeria’s leadership crisis. A particular ex-governor at the heat of passion, promised to expose the corrupt practises of former president Obasanjo. Up till date, apart from a kangaroo panel that indicted Yar’Adua, nothing has been heard of the dossier on corrupt practises of Obasanjo. Castro has survived many American presidents and his message has not changed.
Let me conclude with Kalu’s conclusion if it was Kalu that wrote the piece. “The answer remains that our continent is still battling with true leadership. True representatives of the people and until we get them right, unanswered questions would persist” Interesting hypocritical conclusion from a man who imposed an awaiting trial inmate, who never campaigned on the people.
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