In Gusau, capital of Zamfara State, turbaning ceremonies don’t just crown individuals; they canonise legacy. And on this particular day, with a swirl of regality and political theatre, Senator Orji UzorKalu became JaruminGusau (Warrior of Gusau). This is a title steeped in northern prestige and wrapped in a soft silk of national reconciliation.

For the former governor of Abia and serving senator from the South-east, this wasn’t just another feather in his cap.

“I consider this recognition from the Gusau Emirate as a very big honour,” Kalu declared in gratitude.

The Emir of Gusau, Ibrahim Bello, bestowed the title, affirming not just friendship, but fraternity across Nigeria’s sometimes uneasy divides.

Beneath the ceremonial flourish, however, lies a curious dance between symbolism and statecraft. Kalu wasn’t just in Zamfara for the turban and tribal drums. He was also on hand to commission the newly renovated Ministry of Women Affairs and the transformed College of Arts and Sciences: projects led by Governor DaudaLawal, whose knack for infrastructural rebirth is earning bipartisan nods.

Kalu was effusive. “This is transformation,” he said, gesturing at a Ministry that now breathes modern governance instead of bureaucratic fatigue.

He didn’t stop there. With characteristic pragmatism, the senator nudged Governor Lawal toward “political economics,” a gospel Kalu preaches often. “Don’t abandon your party,” he advised, “but for the sake of Zamfara, work with President Tinubu.”

Such is Kalu’speculiar genius: able to speak from the Southeast, serve in the North, honour tradition, and coax cooperation out of political polarity. He is, as ever, a politician fluent in multiple dialects: of tribe, of party, and of power.

And now, with the turban to prove it, he adds one more: the dialect of honour.