By Emeka Alex Duru
Erstwhile Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, captured it all in describing his late Kaduna counterpart, Balarabe Musa as a great pan-Nigerian consummate politician, a thoroughbred progressive, who deployed honesty in all his political engagements. None has held a contrary view to this. Rather, Musa was widely seen as one who brought ideology to flourish in his political engagements and nurtured that ideal under the Peoples Redemption Party, till his very last breath.
In a way, he fits into the ideological left or so-called progressive wing of the country’s politics. Some saw him as a radical, others as a gadfly, but most knew him as an uncommon politician who was cut for cutting deals, a tendency that saw him on collision course with the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) – led House of Assembly, resulting to his impeachment in 1981, the first in Nigeria’s political history.
Even out of office, the late accountant remained unbowed, taking on successive administrations in the land, not pandering to ethnic or religious considerations. His principled stance on national issues, accounted for his selection as the chairman, Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), a forum that galvanized opposition political parties and offered platform for institutional criticism on the policies of the then Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – led federal government. The emergence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the ruling party in 2015 and Musa’s failing health, accounted for the current dwindling fortunes of opposition politics in the land
Whether in or out of office, the late governor was seen as being neither materialistic nor was he carried away by the allure of power and the paraphernalia of office. He was simple, ideologically grounded, and dialectically opposed to politics of acquisition. Courage was his second name. In the words of Oshiomhole, “He never shied away from speaking his mind on any issue no matter the risk involved. He was blunt and his vitriolic “missiles” were often directed at the right quarters. He was bold and fearless”.
Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa (21 August 1936 – 11 November 2020), was elected governor of Kaduna State in 1979 on the platform of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), a party founded by Mallam Aminu Kano. Other radicals in the party included Abubakar Rimi, Sabo Bakin Zuwo, Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila, Michael Imoudu, Chinua Achebe, Yusufu Bala Usman, Uche Chukwumerije, and Sule Lamido.
His face-off with Kaduna state house of assembly, which was dominated by NPN members, made him unable to form a cabinet since he refused to nominate NPN members and the House refused to ratify his candidates. Eventually the House impeached him in June 1981, making him the first Nigerian state governor ever to be impeached.
A Marxist to the core, a story was told of how, when the Kaduna Polo Club sent Musa an invitation to join along with a mallet, he refused the invitation and gave the mallet to an aide, saying “I don’t play polo … It is the game of the rich and powerful, of neo-colonialists”.
Musa later said he was impeached 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. He did initiate some state-owned companies, but they were unprofitable and all were eventually closed down.
In their various tributes, Nigerians were agreed that the late activist will remain a reference point in political discourse especially on the subject matter of ideological politics.