[4] Kalu was born in Owerri, Imo state, southeastern Nigeria.
He studied at Kings College Lagos from 1954 to 1960 where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Economics in 1964.
[5] He was a founding member of the Justice Party, but ran for president on the platform of NNPP during the 2003 Nigerian presidential election.
He participated in research work on developing countries and lectured at university level.
While at the World Bank East Asia and Pacific Programs Department, Kalu contributed significantly to micro- and macro-economic work on the economies of Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.