BRIEF REMARKS BY CHAIRMAN OF THE OCCASION, ASIWAJU BOLA AHMED TINUBU AT THE PUBLIC PRESENTATION OF THE BOOK: ‘’ BALARABE MUSA”. LADI KWALI HALL, SHERATON HOTEL, ABUJA. APRIL 10TH, 2014
The man of the hour is my friend and brother Balarabe Musa. We gather today to salute him and the launching of his book. Thus, we gather for a fine and noble reason as Balarabe Musa is a fine and noble man.
Bola Tinubu
To do complete justice to Balarabe, we should not even allow him to sit at the so called high table. He should either have a seat by himself or be among the people in the crowd. You ask why do I say such a thing about this rare man?
If he believes in an issue, he is prepared and not afraid to stand alone if standing for what is right requires that he stands alone. This man has shown he is willing to pay a high personal and political price to maintain his principles by standing alone against the tide and ill whims of absolute power.
When I said we would do better to let him sit in the audience, I offered that suggestion not as an insult or to demean him. I did so to praise his humility and to highlight that he has always been a man of the people.
Most Nigerian politicians are men of the elite and creatures of greed. Balarabe has been a true guardian of the public welfare and the voice of its conscience.
While others only recall common and poor people exist at election time, Balarabe would spend everyday with the humble rather than with the exalted.
He would rather take food at the small table of the poor than banquet in the vast halls and mansions of powerful.
This indeed is a rare Nigerian. As governor, he held the reins of wealth and power firmly in his hands. Yet he sought not his own enrichment nor did he allow the already well-oiled elite to fatten themselves at the expense of the poor and broken.
He dared do what few would think, let alone attempt. He used his office to benefit the voiceless, faceless, and powerless crowd. He sought to aid the people, to lift them from penury, to divorce them of poverty and to introduce them to dignity and justice.
For this was he hounded and ridiculed. For this, the powerbrokers sat behind closed doors and plotted his removal. For this, he still wages battle when most men of his exalted age and experience have eased into a life of comfort and contemplation.
This is a warrior of principle and democracy. I have seen him go to battle many times. I hold him in the highest regard for he is made of the rarest qualities and has been tempered by the unique challenges the Nigerian political system casts before those who seek its reform.
I have seen many politicians talk tough only to wilt when the battle is on and the heat and pressure draw near. Yet, I have never seen Balarabe flinch or retreat. If you have Balarabe on your side, you no longer worry about your flank. He will be there through good and bad times, through the thick, the thin, the dark and the invisible. He will plant his feet and stand. This is the type of man we all want to be but most of us are not. This is Balarabe Musa.
Balarabe has been a warrior all of his life and I exhort him to fight on. He no longer holds office but he does not need office. His reputation is his title and his love of the people is his staff of office.
This book describes the triumphs and trials he has gone through in his attempt to make Nigeria a more just, democratic, principled and honorable land.
Thus, the book is necessary reading if you want to know how difficult the struggle has been, if you want to understand how conservatives and reformists wrestle each other to control this nation, and if you want to know why we still must battle despite the heroic exertions and sacrifices of Balarabe and people like him.
Balarabe is not a perfect man. No one is. Like all of us he has made his share of political miscalculations and mistakes. But he has nothing of which to be ashamed because his mistakes were those of love and passion for democracy and the people and not for his bank account or investment portfolio.
It is this humanitarian passion that keeps him going, always moving forward, and always stating the case as he sees it.
Look, I may not always agree with Balarabe on an issue or on strategy and tactics to advance reform. Yet, he has my utmost respect for he is a man of high principle, courage and honesty. When he speaks, it is from a true heart, not crooked motive. He says only what he believes and believes what he says.
Upon such foundations of trust, truth and honesty that a democratic, just society is founded.
While this book is timely, it is also a touch premature. I say this because I hope Balarabe’s finest chapter is yet to be written.
I hope all of our finest chapters are yet to be for we have a mighty challenge staring us squarely in the face and squarely must we stare back at it.
There is no need to fidget of squirm. Retreat will do us no good.
Elections fast approach and they will determine the fate of Nigeria for years to come. The alternatives are now starkly drawn.
On one hand, there stands the conservative elite that has held power since 1999. They have been there too long to have done so little good.
On the other, stands a merger of reformers who seek to make Nigeria into its better self. We seek to do for Nigeria what the ruling party cannot do.
On one hand, stands the perfection of greed and unbridled ambition. On the other, stands a band of imperfect reformers.
Balarabe will have a role to play in which way Nigeria turns. It is not necessary that he carry the banner of party or any affiliation except that with the Nigerian people.
Let him speak to the people and speak to them the truth as he sees it. We need this now more than ever.
If he does so, it will help guide the people and Nigeria will become a better place. More importantly, this fine book will have to be updated to include what will be Balarabe’s finest chapter.
You are indeed a brother and friend. Nigeria needs you. I salute you and this excellent book about your public life.
With this, I hereby present this book about one of your foremost sons, to you, Nigeria.
Thank you.
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu
