From John Adams, Minna
Former Abia State governor and eminent businessman, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu said the late former governor of Niger state, Engineer Abdullahi Kure would be remembered for the role he played in ensuring that the third term ambition of former President Olusegun Obasanjo did not succeed.
“It was Kure, my humble self and Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu who stood our ground then that the third term agenda must not succeed. We went through hell in the hands of the State Security Service (SSS),” Kalu said.
The former Abia governor, who spoke in Minna, yesterday, shortly after paying a condolence visit to Kure’s family said that role ensured the survival of democracy in Nigeria.
“Without that fight against third term, there wouldn’t have been President Goodluck Jonathan and President Muhammadu Buhari today. Kure was our arrowhead in killing third term, and he will be remembered for that role we all played.
“But, I paid dearly for the fight against third term; they grounded all my businesses, including Slok Airline and Hallmark Bank, in the fight for the survival of democracy.
“We were prevented from holding our meeting everywhere we went. At a point, they even sealed off Niger State Governor’s Lodge and we took it to Abia State Governor’s Lodge, in Abuja,” he recalled.
Kalu said many Nigerians did not know what happened during the third term, and added that “people continue to deny that there was nothing like third term, but, I can tell you there was serious plan for third term; money exchanged hands and we fought them.”
Speaking further on the unity of the country, Kalu said no country fights two civil wars and survives and therefore, warned that there must be peace at whatever cost.
He described as unfortunate, the killings in Southern Kaduna, stressing that Nigerians should not be killing Nigerians because “we have no country than Nigeria”.
Kalu said the activities of MOSOP do not, in anyway, portend any threat to the unity of the country.
“IPOB or MOSOP are armless people; they are different from Boko Haram, so we will continue to appeal to Nigerians because there must be peace. What is happening in Southern Kaduna State is not right, people should stop killing their fellow Nigerians, we should manage rumours very well.
“We are Nigerians, and we will remain in Nigeria because it is our place, we have no other place to go; there is no basis to compare the activities of Boko Haram insurgents with those of the Biafra agitators in the name of MASSOB and IPOB,” he said.
Kalu said Boko Haram is by far deadlier than MASSOB and IPOB.
“None of those Biafra agitators carry arms; they are not violent. They don’t constitute any threat to the unity of Nigeria. Politicians should stop spreading rumours on social media to impress people. Nigeria is our home. We have no other country.
The former Abia governor, who is also the “Banan Zakin Lapai”(shinning Lion of Lapai) in Niger state, paid a courtesy call on Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, to condole with him and the state government on Kure’s death.
Kalu was also at the Palace of the Emir of Minna, Alhaji Dr. Umaru Farouk Bahago, where he thanked him for “ensuring continuous peace among the diverse ethnic groups” in his domain, and reiterated that there can be no development without peace.