John Nwaigwe
AN OPEN LETTER TO HON. UCHENNA OKORO KALU
Honourable Uchenna Okoro Kalu,
I am not writing this because an election is approaching, nor to spread rumours. I am writing because the controversy surrounding Abam land raises a fundamental question of representation: when one of the five clans you were elected to represent needed its voice carried into the rooms of power, what did you actually do?
The Abia State Government’s engagement with PRESCO Plc/SIAT over large-scale agricultural investment and land has generated serious concerns in Abam. When Abam stakeholders, including people at home and in the diaspora, met with government officials seeking answers, you were present. Your reported response was: “This is the state government decision… that was all.” If that quotation is inaccurate or incomplete, correct the record publicly. But if it accurately reflects your position, then Abam deserves to know why its elected representative appeared to accept a government decision rather than interrogate its implications for the communities he represents.
When I raised this concern, some of your supporters accused me of exploiting the land controversy for political purposes. But questioning decisions affecting ancestral land is not political opportunism; it is citizenship. The issue should not be whether Ike Okorafor benefits politically from asking questions. The issue is whether the people whose land, livelihoods and future may be affected received the representation they were entitled to expect.
And we must be precise. Whatever the exact legal status of the proposed acquisition, allocation, lease, concession, or investment arrangement, the questions remain: What land is involved? What rights have been granted or proposed? Which communities consented? What compensation, equity, employment or community benefits are guaranteed? What protections exist for farmers and future generations? And, Honourable Kalu, what did you personally do to ensure these questions were answered before decisions affecting your constituents advanced? These are questions that deserve documents and answers—not political insults.
You were not elected to represent one clan. Arochukwu State Constituency comprises Abam, Aro, Ihechiowa, Ututu and Isu, five clans under one mandate. Whoever occupies that seat must behave like the first son of all five. When one part of the family believes its inheritance is threatened, its representative should not merely explain what government has decided. He should ask difficult questions, demand transparency, insist on consultation, and make the people’s position impossible to ignore.
This is therefore bigger than PRESCO, bigger than me, and bigger than the next election. It is about the standard by which representation should be judged. A legislator may not possess the executive authority to allocate or revoke land, but he carries a representative responsibility to speak, question, advocate and account to his constituents. That is the responsibility for which I am holding you accountable.
So I ask you publicly and respectfully: What specifically did you do before, during and after these discussions to protect Abam’s interests? What position did you communicate to the government? What consultations did you hold with the affected communities? What safeguards did you demand? And what will you do now?
The people do not need propaganda from either side. They need the record.
The seat you occupy was never given for comfort. It was entrusted to you to represent people when representation becomes difficult. Ultimately, Arochukwu voters not supporters, opponents or social-media commentators will judge whether that mandate was exercised when it mattered.
