On Wednesday, 11 November 2020, Nigerians woke up to the news of the demise of elder statesman and former governor of Kaduna, Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa. Balarabe was among the few principled nationalists who contributed to the success of Nigeria’s democracy.

Here are ten things we learnt from the life and times of Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa:

1. His impeachment did not deter him from fighting for Nigeria’s democracy

Balarabe Musa was a left-wing politician who was elected Governor of Kaduna State in the Second Republic and was in office from October 1979 to 23 June 1981 when he was controversially impeached.

He was a renowned statesman and one of the nationalists who fought for the return of democracy to Nigeria during the military era.

2. He stayed true to his political ideology

Balarabe was the first state governor ever to be impeached in the history of Nigeria while serving on the platform of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP). He was impeached by members of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN); the opposition party which had the majority in the State House of Assembly.

The House did not ratify his candidates because he refused to nominate NPN members; hence, he was unable to form a cabinet for his government.

Despite his impeachment, he never defected to another party throughout his political career unlike many of our politicians do today partly due to a lack of political ideology of their own.

3. He had a relatively successful political career

Only very few politicians in the country have survived prominence across the second, third and fourth republic. This wasn’t the case for Musa who maintained relevance and continued to mentor younger politicians.

He was the leader of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), a coalition of opposition parties during the Fourth Republic. He was also the presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) in 2003.

4. He was very principled and an inspiration to many

Balarabe was known to be a very principled man who pursued a particular ideology in his lifetime. He was described as rigid and uncompromising by some and admired by many for his principles. He was also seen as a global citizen as he appeared to be well-exposed, detribalised, and intellectually sounds.

5. He refused to be swayed by pressure

Balarabe once said “he was impeached by the NPN because he planned to have the state open small- and medium-sized industries, and this would deny the NPN members the opportunity of establishing their own enterprises.” 

It is widely believed that he was impeached for his principles because his ideologies clashed with the NPN. True to this, he stands tall in opposition politics as he wasn’t among those in the opposition during the day, but go on to hob-nob with the ruling party at ‘night.’

6. He provided exemplary leadership

He was known for his responsible leadership and securing citizens’ rights. His leadership was also anchored on progressive change, inclusive-governance and participatory democracy. 

Balarabe was a Marxist. He believed in equal opportunity for all and was against capitalism which he believed widened the gap between the rich and the poor. He empathized with the poor and oppressed and always sought ways to fight for their rights. A quality that is lacking in most of our politicians today who only seek to loot the national treasury and leave the masses impoverished.

Shehu Sani, a former Senator who represented Kaduna Central in the 8th Senate, described the late Balarabe as the best Governor Kaduna ever had.

He added that “Balarabe Musa lived an accomplished life of Honesty, simplicity and service to humanity.”

7. He was among the few governors who were said to have left office untainted

Balarabe left office without any allegations against his government – an uncommon achievement for most politicians today.

8. He stood for the right things

Balarabe also stood for justice, equity and rule of law. He reflected the ideals of true democracy. 

9. His legacy is recognised by many

To some, Balarabe is an unsung hero. In an article, he was described thus:

“When the fourth Republic emerged, Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa contested as Presidential candidate under the P.R.P. as one of the newly registered party he met a resistance not because he is bad but because the system is bad – a system infested with deception by conmen-in-politics and supported by the arrant vulnerabilities of the citizens of the country. Even when he was impeached as the civilian Governor of Kaduna State during the Second Republic, it is as a result of contempt that left Alhaji Balarabe Musa on the path of honour.”

10. He advocated for the restructuring of Nigeria along regional lines

In an interview in June, Balarabe opined that the solution to Nigeria’s problems was to restructure the country along regional lines.

He said:

“The request for restructuring is valid, but those people who are supporting it should then make it clear to Nigerians what restructuring constitutes; is it ethnic nationalities problems because some of the people are thinking that it is about creation of more states.

“As far as we are concerned, our restructuring idea is that, we have now seen the problem of weakening our regional government. When we had regional government, we had more responsible leadership and we had more progress. Let us go back to the regional arrangement, where we had Eastern Region, Northern Region, Western Region and later, Mid-Western Region, and we saw more sense of responsibility in the leadership and we also saw coordinated progress, so, let us go back to that arrangement.

“Let us restructure the country and go back to the regional arrangement, and so, should abolish the states and go back to regions; instead of the 36 states, we should have six or seven regions. Let each regional government decide how many states and local governments it wants to have and finance.”

The 84-year old former governor of Kaduna announced his exit from active politics in 2018 due to health issues and resigned from his position as chairman of the People’s Redemption Party.

Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa was born on August 21, 1936, in Kaya, Kaduna. He studied at Zaria Middle School and at the Institute of Administration, Zaria. He also studied at different colleges in London. He worked as an accounts clerk and later a school teacher before venturing into politics.

Balarabe would be missed for his principles and ideologies which stood him out from the average Nigerian politician.