In the early hours of Wednesday, a former governor of Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa, is dead.
He was 84 years.
Musa’s death was announced by his political associate and former senator, Shehu Sani.
“Alhaji Balarabe Musa has died.May Allah forgive his souls and grant him Aljanna firdausi.Amin,” Mr Sani wrote on Twitter.
Balarabe Musa was elected governor of Kaduna State in 1979 but was later controversially impeached and removed from office.
He is considered a progressive and worked with people of like minds to mobilise against the military junta of late Sani Abacha.
He was elected Governor of Kaduna State, Nigeria during the Nigerian Second Republic, holding office from October 1979 until he was impeached on 23 June 1981.
During the Nigerian Fourth Republic he was leader of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), a coalition of opposition parties
Musa was born on 21 August 1936 in Kaya, Kaduna State.
He studied at Zaria Middle School (1947–1952) and at the Institute of Administration, Zaria (1952–1953).
He was an accounts clerk (1953–1955) and a school teacher (1955–1960).
He held various managerial positions related to accountancy in the period 1960 to 1976, while studying at different colleges in London to gain additional qualifications
Musa 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, with others such as Abubakar Rimi, Sabo Bakin Zuwo, Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila, Michael Imoudu, Chinua Achebe, Yusufu Bala Usman, Uche Chukwumerije, and Sule Lamido, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) challenged his election unsuccessfully.
His party was initially a member of the PPP alliance in opposition to the NPN, but later quietly withdrew.
As Governor he was stalemated by the Kaduna state house of assembly, which was dominated by NPN members.
He was 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, when the Kaduna Polo Club sent Musa an invitation to join along with a mallet he refused the invitation and gave the mallet to a servant, 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
