I Sold Guns to Countries, Anyone Willing to Pay – Orji Kalu Opens Up
Former Abia State Governor and Senator, Orji Uzor Kalu, has revealed that he previously engaged in international arms trading, saying he sold weapons to individuals and countries willing to pay for them.
Kalu made the revelation during an interview on Arise News, where he discussed his business dealings and longstanding relationships with several African leaders.
Speaking during the interview, the former governor confirmed that dealing in arms was once one of his major businesses outside Nigeria.
When asked whether he was an arms dealer, Kalu responded, “Yes,” confirming that he sold weapons to make money.
He, however, explained that his parents eventually persuaded him to abandon the business.
“My mother and my father came and said I must stop, and I stopped,” he said.
Kalu also dismissed suggestions that he was concerned about how the weapons would be used, insisting that his primary interest at the time was making money.
“I was selling guns to make money. Whether they blow [up] people was not my business,” he stated.
Asked whether he supplied weapons to the African National Congress, ANC, during the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, Kalu denied that the organisation was his specific customer.
“No, I was selling to anybody who wants to buy,” he said.
He further disclosed that his arms business operated across different countries, adding that he was willing to sell to anyone with the financial capacity to purchase the weapons.
When asked whether he had sold arms to former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Kalu maintained that his business was open to any interested buyer.
“To anybody that has money to buy, when I was selling,” he said, while describing Gaddafi as “a good man” and adding, “May he rest in peace.”
The interviewer also questioned Kalu about the sources of the weapons and the identities of his suppliers, particularly against the backdrop of concerns over the proliferation of small arms in Nigeria.
However, the former governor declined to disclose where he obtained the weapons, describing the information as his private business.
Kalu’s revelation came while recounting how he established relationships with prominent South African political figures, including former presidents Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.
