There’s a fresh love story brewing in Nigeria’s political landscape, and no, it’s not on Netflix.
It stars none other than Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (OUK), representing Abia North, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
While it may not come with roses and chocolates, it sure comes with adire fabric, and yes, it’s customised.
OUK has recently taken the art of political praise-singing to new romantic heights. Not only has he been loudly cheering the President’s every move, he’s also taken sartorial loyalty to another level, commissioning a custom adire print boldly proclaiming “Tinubu for President 2027.”
Forget subtlety. This is a full-blown political serenade.
Let’s rewind a bit. At the dawn of the 10th Assembly, OUK didn’t seem remotely interested in what was going on at the National Assembly.
While others were busy lobbying and aligning, our dear senator was globetrotting, attending executive courses at Harvard, and giving us premium “book before politics” energy.
Back then, Kalu wasn’t a fan of removing the fuel subsidy.
He bemoaned the hardship it brought on Nigerians. And when the Tax Reform Bills made their way to the National Assembly, OUK came out swinging, demanding their withdrawal for more stakeholder consultation.
He was sounding every bit like a concerned elder statesman. But politics, like the weather in Lagos, is subject to rapid change.
In December 2023, everything changed. OUK paid a private visit to President Tinubu in Lagos and emerged from the meeting sounding like a convert who had just seen the light.
“I had to pay my friend and brother of the class of 1999 Governors, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, a friendly private visit…” he said, all smiles.
He praised the President’s “courageous strides,” gave his own “independent assessment” and just like that, became a disciple of Renewed Hope.
Suddenly, the good old days as co-governors came flooding back, and our formerly critical senator turned pro-Tinubu policy evangelist.
Two things likely happened: either OUK finally cracked the code in the President’s economic blueprint, or as is often the case in politics, he simply struck a good old-fashioned bargain.
One thing is clear: OUK has made it known that he’s coming back to the Senate in 2027.
But this time, he’s eyeing a bigger chair, the Senate Presidency.
And just in case anyone thinks he’s being sycophantic, he’s quick to remind us, “Can a man like me be sycophantic? I am not running for anything. Where am I running to? I’m only running to return to the Senate.”
Uh-huh. We see you, Sir.
Kalu has long championed the cause of an Igbo Senate President under Tinubu’s administration.
But perhaps, he now truly understands that “power isn’t served à la carte,” as the President once said. It must be grabbed, served, and if necessary, sung for.
Let’s not forget how OUK’s first bid for the 10th Senate Presidency went.
He had the friendship card. Tinubu had even visited his mother and famously prostrated in respect. Surely, this meant the ticket was in the bag, right? Wrong.
Politics, as OUK learned the hard way, isn’t just about friendships; it’s about structures, alliances, and timing.
Back in 2022, when he sensed that then-APC Chairman Adamu Abdullahi was tilting toward Ahmad Lawan, OUK quickly aligned with Lawan, backing him as the anointed one. But when Lawan lost and Tinubu emerged as the APC candidate, the OUK train had already veered off-track.
The February 2023 elections came like a whirlwind. The Peter Obi-led Labour Party tsunami swept through the South East.
OUK, like many of his colleagues in the region, barely held on. Though he returned to the Senate on the APC ticket, the party lost in his own ward.
That’s a political red flag; when your people don’t vote for your party, it signals shaky grassroots control.
Still, he threw his hat into the Senate Presidency ring.
But then came the twist, Godswill Akpabio jetted off to the UK, visited Tinubu, and returned with what seemed like a divine endorsement. Akpabio had quite the résumé: stepping down for Tinubu during the APC primaries, delivering votes in parts of the South-South, and even resigning from his Senate Minority Leader post to join the APC in the 8th Senate.
By comparison, OUK’s case looked like a man who brought a knife to a bazooka fight.
As expected, the APC settled for the Akpabio-Barau ticket.
OUK, sensing the tide, stepped down and flirted with the idea of being Deputy to Yari of Zamfara. That plan also went the way of floppy disks, dead and forgotten.
But here we are again. OUK, having learnt a thing or two about the political love language required to ascend, is back with a renewed strategy.
Step one? Pledge allegiance to President Tinubu early, very early. Because 2027 is already here in political time.
Meanwhile, Akpabio isn’t folding his arms. He’s been busy, too, singing presidential praises like a veteran choir director.
He even led a team to the commissioning of the not-yet-finished Calabar coastal highway, just to mark Tinubu’s two-year anniversary.
Because in Nigerian politics, if you’re not singing or scheming, you’re snoozing, and nobody wants to snooze their way out of relevance.
So, yes, love is in the air of the political kind. And in the race for the 2027 Senate Presidency, it’s not just about loyalty.
It’s about visibility, strategy, and who can rock an adire best while shouting “Tinubu for 2027!”
