METROGIST: 01/01/2009

Quite a number of A-list events took place during my “break-in-transmission” . Unfortunately, I won’t be able to post most of them in order not to bore you with ‘stale’ news. However, there is this particular one that took place few hours to the end of 2008 which i felt i should not dump in the 2008 archive.

It was the “FORMAL RETIREMENT CEREMONY(Igboto Nma) OF EX-GOVERNOR ORJI KALU’S MUM, MADAM EUNICE ORJI KALU FROM POLITICS”. The very colourful event held inside the ex-Gov’s expansive country home in IGBERE, BENDE LGA, ABIA STATE on 30th Dec, 2008. In attendance were top personalities and power brokers like ex-military ruler Gen Ibrahim Babangida(retd), Dep. Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, Govs Theodore Orji of Abia state, Ikedi Ohakim of Imo state, Dr. Babangida Aliyu of Niger, Lyel Imoke of Cross River, Adams Oshiomole of Edo, Information Minister Dora Akunyili (who represented President Yaradua), Foreign Affairs Minister Ojo Madueke, Sen Jubril Aminu, ex-Gov Bafarawa and a host of others.

SHORT GIST FROM THE EVENT

WELCOME TO 'CAMP NEYA'
Really, I’m yet to find the right set of adjectives that accurately describe the awesome structures erected by Ex-Gov Orji Uzor Kalu in his place of birth, the sleepy town of Igbere, in the Southeastern state of Abia, Nigeria. Popularly known as ‘CAMP NEYA’, it comprises of several units of eye-popping buildings and other exotic structures which stand elegantly on a massive piece of land that is large enough to host a town of its own. As you meander your way towards the main entrance of Camp Neya, what attracts your attention is the lavish array of well-nurtured flowers and a carpet of plush green grasses that cover the entire surface of the premises. A tour through some parts of the Camp would later convince you that the owner of this place is a national politician of no mean status. This is because, almost all the buildings and structures were named after one national or international leader. For instance, there was Nnamdi Azikiwe House, Gen Abdulsalam Abubarkar Square, Gen, Ibrahim Babangida Hall, Bill Clinton Fountain, and several others. Apart from these, there was also this particular sprawling edifice which contains 37 rooms with each named each of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Interestingly, Camp Neya was said to have been completed 100% long before Kalu became the Governor of Abia in 1999.

WHO IS NEYA?
Neya is Dr Orji Uzor Kalu’s first child. Very pretty, cool-headed and sociable, the camp was named after her to confirm her status as the heiress apparent to the gigantic Orji Uzor Kalu dynasty. 17 year old Neya played the role of the Chief Hostess during her beloved grandmother’s ceremony and really, she did it well. She is a student of an exclusive institution in the United States.
However, talk is rife in the streets of Igbere that Neya has already been espoused to a young Igbere chap and both of them are currently being groomed in the states.

'IGBOTO NMA'
‘Igboto Nma’ or 'Mgboma' is the Igbo word for ‘retirement’.. 70-something year old Madam Eunice retired after 61 years of active politicking. Indeed, there is no doubt about the fact that she has seen it all and she looked so radiant and fulfilled throughout the ceremony.

A TALE OF TWO BABANGIDAS
In Nigeria today, there are two prominent personalities among several others who bear the name BABANGIDA: former Nigerian Military President, Gen, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB), and the incumbent governor of Niger state, Dr Babangida Aliyu.. Both are from Niger state and have engaged each other in a cold war for quite a while over who controls the state’s political machinery. The duo extended their acrimony to the Orji Kalu's event, as they tactically avoided each other throughout the event.

ADAM OSHIOMOLE CHANGES STYLE
Well, those who still expect Edo Governor, Comrade Oshiomole to stick to his usual Labour Khaki style now that he is a governor might be slightly disappointed by this. The peoples' governor has changed his style. He stormed the Orji Kalu party in a smooth, smart and well designed French suit.

BETWEEN TEE MAC AND GODDY ANABOR
Factional President of PMAN, Tee Mac Omatsola, came to the event in company with controversial international businessman, Goddy Anabor. I’m still trying to figure out what the two have in common.
IS ALL WELL BETWEEN ORJI KALU AND T.A. ORJI?
Gov Theodore Orji is the incumbent governor of Abia state. He won the governorship election from prison last year April to succeed Orji Uzor Kalu on the platform of the Peolple’s Progressive Alliance (PPA). Going by Nigeria's Political culture the latter is suppose to be the former's godfather but recently, gist has it that the duo have fallen apart and as if to confirm the rumour spreading in town, the two hardly interacted throughout the event .

Below are some of the pictures of the event as presented by Sola Folowosele.