I Sold Guns to Anyone Who Could Pay – Orji Kalu

Former Abia State Governor and Senator representing Abia North, Orji Kalu, has revealed that he previously traded in guns, especially heavy weapons, internationally, selling to buyers across different countries based on their ability to pay.

 

Kalu made the revelation during an interview on Arise Television on Monday, while speaking about his longstanding relationships with former and current South African leaders.

 

The former Abia State governor, who said his business interests once extended beyond Nigeria, confirmed that he was involved in the international arms trade but eventually quit at the insistence of his parents.

 

Asked by the interviewer whether he was an arms dealer, Kalu replied, “Yes, so I stopped because my…”

 

Explaining why he left the business, the senator said his parents intervened and insisted that he discontinue the trade.

 

“But my parents, my mother, my father came and said I must stop, and I stopped,” he said.

 

When asked whether he sold weapons to individuals who intended to use them to kill others, Kalu dismissed the suggestion, maintaining that his motivation was purely commercial.

 

“No, no, no, no, no, no. I was selling guns to make money, whether they blow up it’s not my business,” he said.

 

The interviewer further asked whether he supplied weapons to the African National Congress (ANC) during its struggle against apartheid in South Africa.

 

Kalu, however, said he did not restrict his business to the ANC, explaining that he sold weapons to any interested buyer who could afford them.

 

“No, I was selling to anybody who wants to buy. If you have the money, you want to buy in D.R.C, I sell to you, you want to buy in Namibia, you want to buy…” he said.

 

Asked about the source of the weapons, the senator declined to provide details, responding, “It’s only my business.”

 

The interview also touched on the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria, with the interviewer questioning how Kalu’s account of his former business related to the country’s security challenges.

 

Kalu, however, clarified that the weapons he traded were not small arms, but heavy weapons exchanged between countries.

 

“No, no, these are heavy arms that were sold country to country,” he said.

 

Asked specifically whether he sold weapons to Libya under its late leader, Muammar Gaddafi, Kalu said his business was open to anyone with the financial means to purchase them.

 

“To anybody that had money to buy,” he responded.

 

When the interviewer suggested that this meant he had also sold weapons to Gaddafi, Kalu replied, “May his soul rest in peace. He was a good man. If you have money to buy, when I was selling, I would sell to you.”

 

Beyond his account of the arms trade, Kalu also discussed his relationships with successive South African leaders, which he traced to his friendship with the country’s late former President, Nelson Mandela.

 

He said Mandela introduced him to several South African leaders, including former President Thabo Mbeki and incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa.

 

According to Kalu, Mandela once told him that Mbeki’s father had made greater contributions to the anti-apartheid struggle than Ramaphosa’s father. He said this was among the factors that influenced the ANC’s decision to select Mbeki over Ramaphosa as Mandela’s running mate.

 

Kalu added that Mbeki later introduced him to former South African President Jacob Zuma, noting that his relationships with the country’s political leadership continued across successive administrations.