RT. HON. BEN KALU : Evolving Leadership Through Education

By Marcus Nkire

Education is the main character in the flow state of man’s evolution. The ability and willingness to learn is a key cog in the ethos of leadership, one that is essential to growth.

Recently, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Ben Kalu attained a Doctor of Philosophy in Policy and Strategic Studies (PSS) from Yakubu Gowon University, Abuja; adding more weapons to an already stacked arsenal of academic proficiency.

After bagging a bachelor of Law (LL.B)  and a Master of Laws (LLM) degree from the University of Calabar amongst a plethora of other qualifications, Rt. Hon. Kalu didn’t just stand still, a PhD followed and a Doctor of Laws ( LL.D) is already in pursuit.

Having been a mainstay in Nigerian politics for many years, Kalu is also responsible for and complimenting  various limit-testing and boundary-pushing economic projects under the President Tinubu-led administration such as the Renewed Hope Agenda and  a regenerative project in the South-East known as Peace in the South-East Initiative (PISE-P).

Decorated for playing a major role in the fight against tuberculosis, Kalu clearly has a soft spot for welfare and has shown clear positive intentions towards people in need.

His project thesis during his PSS studies touched the depths of ergonomics and climate change, its physical dangers, infrastructural impacts, contributions to food insecurity and above all, threat to human life and property.

His Doctorate thesis titled “Government Capacity to Integrate International Climate Adaptation Strategies and Policies in Nigeria” sought to provide answers and a deep glance into how third world countries like Nigeria can effectively react to environmental hazards, natural disasters and climate impacts causing floods, prolonged droughts and food insecurity across the nation.

Due to the volatility of the Nigerian climate, the northern region experiences severe droughts leading to starvation and desertification while the southern coastal areas are exposed to erosion and flooding which threaten the living conditions and infrastructure of citizens living in those areas.

In his presentation, whilst being received by the Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Patricia Manko Lar, Hon. Ben highlighted the nation’s overreliance on rain-fed agriculture as a major constituent of environmental instability and susceptibility to climate struggles, citing the rising sea levels as an intrinsic variable to the increase the risk of coastal erosion and flooding.

“These environmental challenges have reached alarming proportions, with the 2024 flooding events alone damaging over 1.5 million hectares of cropland across 29 states, affecting more than 9 million people, and contributing to acute food insecurity for approximately 25 million Nigerians – a number projected to rise to 33 million by mid-2025,” Hon. Kalu stated in the background to his study.

In his quest for answers and solutions throughout his political and  academic career, Kalu has never shirked from the challenge of exploration, with his primary focus on the well-being of the people whom he is elected to represent and  protect.