Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa, a Second Republic governor of Kaduna State under the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), has passed on.
Musa died on Wednesday morning after a protracted illness, one of his sons Kasimu Balarabe Musa confirmed to Dateline Nigeria.
He was buried at the Unguwar Sarki cemetery after funeral prayer led by Dr Ahmad Gumi at the Sultan Bello Mosque, Kaduna.
Born in August 1936, Balarabe Musa was Kaduna governor from October 1979 to June 1981.
His death is coming a day after one of his classmates Alhaji Yusuf Ladan Dan Iyan Zazzau died in Kaduna.
He was among the group that fought for the rerurn of democracy from military rule in Nigeria.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Musa was born on Aug. 21, 1936, in Kaya, Kaduna State.
He studied at Zaria Middle School from 1947 to 1952 and at the Institute of Administration, Zaria, 1952 to 1953.
Musa, who was an accounts clerk and a school teacher, held various managerial positions related to accountancy from 1960 to 1976, while studying at different colleges in London to gain additional qualifications.
He was elected governor of the old Kaduna State in 1979 on the platform of the PRP, a party founded by late Mallam Aminu Kano.
As governor, he was prevented from constituting a cabinet by the state house of assembly, dominated by the opposition National Party of Nigeria (NPN) members.
Eventually, the House impeached him in June 1981, making him the first Nigerian state governor ever to be impeached.
He was the PRP candidate for the presidency in the 2003 elections, and later Chairman of Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP).
On Aug. 31, 2010, Balarabe Musa quit active politics due to health issues and announced his immediate resignation from chairmanship of the PRP.
NAN also reports that Musa, in a last interview he granted NAN on Oct. 4, said that the aspirations of Nigeria could be achieved if both the leadership and followers resolved to play their part in earnest nation-building.
“Honestly, the country has not fared well at 60. It is very disappointing that this is where we are.
“But things can be better; we can still achieve the dreams of the founding fathers if we all play our role in nation-building,” he said.
He urged leaders to always make the welfare and well-being of the people the focus of their policies and programmes.
The former governor stressed that political and economic restructuring of the country was key for progress
“We need to restructure the country politically and economically. We need to ensure that power actually resides with the people.
“The economic and political models we are currently operating only empower a few. Governments must be structured to impact positively on the masses,” he said.
