Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa facts for kids

Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa (born August 21, 1936 – died November 11, 2020) was an important Nigerian politician. He was known for his left-wing ideas, which often focus on helping ordinary people. He served as the Governor of Kaduna State in Nigeria from October 1979 until June 1981. He was the first Nigerian state governor to be removed from office.

Later, he became a leader of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP). This was a group of different political parties that worked together against the ruling party.

Early Life and Education

Balarabe Musa was born on August 21, 1936, in a place called Kaya, in Kaduna State. He went to school at Zaria Middle School from 1947 to 1952. After that, he studied at the Institute of Administration in Zaria.

He started his career as an accounts clerk in 1953. Then, he worked as a school teacher until 1960. For many years, from 1960 to 1976, he held different management jobs in accounting. During this time, he also studied in London to get more qualifications.

Becoming Governor of Kaduna State

In 1979, Balarabe Musa was elected as the governor of Kaduna State. He belonged to the People's Redemption Party (PRP). This party was started by Mallam Aminu Kano and other important people.

After he became governor, he faced a big challenge. The state's House of Assembly (like a state parliament) was mostly made up of members from a different party, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). They did not agree with his choices for his government team. He refused to pick NPN members, and the House refused to approve his own choices. This caused a big problem.

Because of this disagreement, the House of Assembly removed him from office in June 1981. He was the first state governor in Nigeria to be impeached, which means being officially removed from office.

Balarabe Musa was known for his simple lifestyle. Once, when a rich polo club invited him to join, he refused. He said polo was a game for the wealthy and powerful, not for him. He later explained that he was removed because he wanted the state to start small and medium-sized businesses. He believed this would help ordinary people, but it would stop NPN members from starting their own businesses. Some state-owned companies were started, but they didn't make money and were later closed.

His Later Political Work

Even after being removed as governor, Balarabe Musa stayed very active in politics.

• In 2003, he ran for president as the PRP candidate. However, he didn't have enough money to even print posters, so he wasn't successful.
• He became the chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP). This group brought together different parties that were against the ruling government.
• In 2004, he strongly criticized the government's policies. He said they didn't help ordinary people and only made politicians rich.
• For the 2007 elections, the CNPP supported Muhammadu Buhari as a strong choice against the ruling party's candidate.
• In 2009, he spoke about the economy. He believed that the way the economy was set up was leading to problems like slavery. He thought that people needed to stop being greedy and competing unfairly.
• He also talked about how elections were often unfair. He believed that a big change was needed in Nigeria's political system.
• In 2009, he worried that Nigeria's economy was based on selfish interests. He said there was too much corruption and waste of public money.

In 2010, Balarabe Musa said that the election system was designed to favor rich people. He was not sure if changes to the election rules would really help. He hoped that alliances between different parties could challenge the main ruling party in future elections.

On August 31, 2018, Balarabe Musa decided to stop active politics because of his health. He also resigned as the chairman of the People's Redemption Party.

Balarabe Musa passed away on November 11, 2020, in Kaduna, due to a heart attack.