BENJAMIN KALU’S SELF-SERVING POLITICAL DRAMA OVER NNAMDI KANU’S CONVICTION: A DESPERATE POWER GAMBIT WRAPPED IN EMPTY SYMPATHY
The press release issued on November 20, 2025, from the office of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, claiming that “all hope is not lost” for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has once again exposed the Deputy Speaker’s deepening desperation, political opportunism, and relentless appetite for power at the expense of the very people he claims to represent.
Coming barely hours after the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced Nnamdi Kanu to life imprisonment, Benjamin Kalu’s sudden sermon about a “political solution” reeks of calculated self-promotion, not compassion. It reads less like a statement of concern and more like a carefully crafted script meant to push a tired political agenda, one he has been chanting for months:
“…to connect Abia State to the centre.”
Benjamin Kalu’s hurried intervention appears designed to project himself as the supposed “messiah” of the South East, a role no one asked him to play, and one he has repeatedly failed to live up to.
If indeed the Deputy Speaker cared about Nnamdi Kanu’s plight, why did his “political solution” suddenly become possible only after the court delivered its judgment? Why did he wait for the cameras, the headlines, and the political tension before announcing what he claims could have been done long ago?
Benjamin Kalu’s post-conviction epiphany is nothing but a political afterthought, triggered not by justice but by the approaching 2027 elections and his personal ambition to hand over Abia State to the APC, an ambition he has marketed repeatedly, even arrogantly, to the point of declaring himself the “Number Six man” in the country.
Yet, despite his proximity to the centre, what exactly has he achieved for the Igbo nation? Nothing worthy of note.
Instead, he has become a symbol of political emptiness, loud in promises, feeble in delivery.
In moments like this, the South East does not forget those who have genuinely stood by Nnamdi Kanu through his incarceration and legal battles.
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, fearless, consistent, principled, never politicized the struggle.
Hon. Obi Aguocha, dedicated, relentless, morally grounded, followed up on the matter with seriousness and dignity.
Both men maintained principled advocacy without turning Nnamdi Kanu’s ordeal into a political bargaining chip, and without attempting to score cheap public-relations points on a sensitive national issue.
Neither of them rushed to the media within hours of the judgment to “market” themselves as the political gateway to Nnamdi Kanu’s freedom.
Benjamin Kalu should take lessons in sobriety, honesty, and genuine representation.
What Benjamin Kalu released on November 20 was not a statesmanlike message but a publicity stunt, a predictable attempt to stay politically afloat in a region that has increasingly seen through his theatrics.
To claim that “all hope is not lost” when one contributed nothing meaningful to keeping that hope alive is political hypocrisy.
To promise a “political solution” only after the court has spoken is intellectual laziness.
To manipulate the emotions of the Igbo people for personal political gain is betrayal.
The people of Abia State and the wider South East are not fooled. They can separate genuine concern from political manipulation. They can differentiate between leaders who stand for the people and those who stand on the people.
Benjamin Kalu’s press release has made one thing glaringly clear: He is more concerned about 2027 than he is about justice. More focused on securing Abuja’s approval than standing boldly with his people. More invested in APC’s takeover agenda than in the real fight for equity, fairness, and the rights of Ndigbo.
This is not leadership.
This is not representation.
This is an audition for political relevance.
As the dust settles over Nnamdi Kanu’s conviction, it has become obvious that the Deputy Speaker’s sudden display of emotion is a poorly disguised attempt to exploit a painful moment in Igbo history for personal political mileage.
The Igbo nation sees through it.
Abians see through it.
Nigeria sees through it.
Benjamin Kalu should hide his face in shame.
The struggle for justice for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu deserves sincerity, courage, and unwavering commitment not political actors who dance around the corridors of power seeking validation while their people bleed.
By:
Ijeoma Okoroafor Ezikpe
