Tribute to Malam Balarabe Musa

Sometime in December 1984, Malam Rufai Ibrahim, of blessed memory, a veteran journalist, a committed Marxist, one of the intellectual backbones of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), wrote an open letter to Malam Balarabe Musa, after close to a yearlong detention following the military coup of December 31, 1983. The open letter earned Malam Rufai […]

Sometime in December 1984, Malam Rufai Ibrahim, of blessed memory, a veteran journalist, a committed Marxist, one of the intellectual backbones of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), wrote an open letter to Malam Balarabe Musa, after close to a yearlong detention following the military coup of December 31, 1983.

The open letter earned Malam Rufai a detention ticket to join Malam Balarabe and other political detainees across the country, largely because of the clarity of message in the letter in terms of communicating many of our failures as a nation, but also significantly as acclaimed revolutionaries. Part of the message sent to Malam Balarabe by Malam Rufai was, “as a long standing and prominent member of the left yourself, you are already very familiar with the problems the Nigerian left was facing up to the demise of the Second Republic. Unorganised, lacking own medium through which it could make itself heard, crippled by the opportunism of some of its members, under-funded and too obsessed with bourgeoisie morality to take some necessary steps to improve its financial position, the left didn’t make as much impact as it ought to have made even in the Second Republic.”

Sadly, like Malam Balarabe, Malam Rufai died since April 16, 2016. And, at the time the death of Malam Balarabe was being announced in the morning of Wednesday, November 11, 2020, a tribute session was taking place in honour of Prof. Yima Sen, another Marxist scholar and activist.

Less than two weeks ago, there was another loss of Dr. Salihu Bappa of the English Department, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. It is as if the traffic moving left activists and radical politicians out of this world is assuming supersonic speed.

Part of the tragedy of our current reality is that debates about creating a new order have disappeared and, in its place, we talk of change with hardly much substance. Notion of sacrifices are more like tales by moonlight. Ideological struggles for justice in society, economy and politics are at best academic exercises, if at all. Even then, with our educational institutions in permanent crisis, academic exercises have been exported out of Nigeria. Compounded by the lack of knowledge-driven organisations, activism has been reduced to the level of show business with the title ‘Comrade’ being perhaps about the only marker. Opportunism is all over the place.

It is really worrisome how so much has changed during our short life span. Reading the letter of Malam Rufai to Malam Balarabe, there was constant reference to literature and books in recognition to Malam Balarabe’s disposition for reading. It was a strong reminder that everyone who makes any claim to belonging to the left ideologically should have some minimum values, which must include hunger for knowledge, the courage to speak out selflessly without fear of repercussion and being able to live within ones’ income. These are issues that distinguishes in varying ways a whole generation of left leaders in this country.

I will not in any way claim to be close to Malam Balarabe, but I was very close to many of his associates, including Malam Rufai Ibrahim before his death. I first met Malam Balarabe way back in 1983 in the build-up to the 1983 general elections. I was together with friends, Mohammed Bello Shehu and Falalu Umaru Madaki. I may not be able to remember the details of our discussions in his small library room in his modest house in Kaduna where he stayed throughout his 18-months tenure as Governor of old Kaduna State. What I can recall was that he was very relaxed talking to us and taking his time to tells us the challenges of politics bordering on how some leaders easily renege from providing selfless services on accounts of vested interests.

To younger generation of Nigerians, Malam Balarabe may be the best example what leader should not be. But, if anybody is interested in identifying a good example of a charismatic leader, Malam Balarabe is that person. For 18-months, he managed the old Kaduna State government with a very hostile state assembly, who refused to approve his list of Commissioners. He was able to run the government with a team of committed intellectuals led by Dr. Yusufu Bala Usman, supported by young, intelligent scholars and professionals of the time such as late Dr. Saad Usman, Mr. Richard Umaru, Malam Lawal Batagarawa, Malam Lamis Ibrahim Katsina, Mr. Tom Mataimaki Maiyashi, Malam Balarabe Abbas Lawal, among many others. Being a very knowledgeable and creative leader, he was able to steer the affairs of the state such that his industrial blueprint for Kaduna State remained about the most ambitious industrial plan embarked by any government since the Second Republic.

Malam Balarabe’s knowledge, scholarship, politics and leadership is very rich. He was a successful chartered accountant, farmer, politician and one-time publisher of the Analyst – an ideological monthly magazine. He worked with a team of sharp and successful left intellectuals as a block of socialist collectives. A member of the team, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, later emerged as the Senate President of the defunct Third Republic. With all these credentials, unfortunately, he is being wrongly described as a poor man. If my memory is correct, Malam Balarabe never, throughout his life, accepted the label of being poor. He was once reported during the Second Republic to have described himself as a rich farmer. That he lived a frugal and humble life doesn’t mean he is poor. He was a productive leader in every sense of it as he was able to create value on account of which he was able to earn a living.

Being a productive person with the conservative orientation of challenging everyone around him to be equally productive, he wasn’t able to accommodate the flamboyant characteristics of Fourth Republic politics, which was why his electoral impact was far from what it was during the Second Republic. His virtue in politics was everything associated with the Weberian charismatic qualification based on ‘devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him.’

Above all, he earned for himself a ‘personal trust’ based on which he repeatedly demonstrated charismatic powers and his followers maintain their belief in him. It is easy at this moment for everyone to glorify him. But the very important question, which all of us with claims to some values that are associated with, or close to Malam Balarabe must ask is, why are we unable to emulate him? Even those who are in PRP today, how close are they to the values of Malam Balarabe?

Without being personal, it is important that as political actors, who respect Malam Balarabe, we ask ourselves the question, are we in politics to serve, or are we in politics to be served? Given that part of the political impact of Malam Balarabe and his party, PRP, is that they have representatives in the National Assembly, how different are these members from those of us that are in other political parties? How knowledgeable are these PRP representatives?

The reality of today’s politics is quite disturbing. Like Malam Balarabe once remarked during his many battles in the Second Republic, ‘we live in times of great danger’. This was a remark made as far back as 1980 but even more valid today. This is because our politics today is contemptuous of any knowledge.

As politicians desirous of producing a new order, which should be knowledge-based, why should we play politics very submissively. Why did we have to go to school, to acquire all the so-called knowledge we have only to end up as proxies? What values do we really want to pass on to the coming generation?

This is where those of us who are in anyway associated with the ideological left, need to do some soul searching. The kind of courage we used to have in terms of capacity to engage our leaders by being honest and selfless has waned. This is largely because in different ways, we have compromised ourselves. The same leaders we referred to as thieves and all manner of negative descriptions are the source of our livelihood. If anything, these very leaders are far more honest given that they don’t make the kind claims of being selfless as many of us do. Many of us are liable to charges of diversion of public resources but audaciously accuse our political leaders in a manner that suggest we are innocent. From our political leaders to ordinary people on the street, any discerning mind can see through us and logically recognise the fraud in our claims. This is the basis of our moral deficit, which is why when we accuse our leaders of lack of accountability, transparency and fraud, it bounces back at us because as much as our leaders may be have questions to answer, it also reflects our reality.

Malam Balarabe’s politics is my source of inspiration. As a politician that was loyal to Malam Aminu Kano, he never shied away from expressing his disagreement. Together with late Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, he broke away from Malam Aminu Kano based on principles. And later in 1983, on account of disagreement with Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, again on account of principles, he broke away. The details of Malam Balarabe’s struggle in PRP are well documented.

The borderline is, what is our perspective in terms of the new society we want to build? How deep is our knowledge and how are we able to apply our knowledge in politics? This is where Malam Balarabe Musa lived ahead of his time. We can, for whatever reasons, fail to immolate him. But the reality is that he is the best of embodiment of charismatic leadership whose followers maintained a belief in him till his death. It’s a blessing, which no amount of money can buy.

Malam Balarabe must have died a contented person even as he must have been grossly disappointed at the turn events in the country and the world. May Allah (SWT) reward his services to Nigeria and humanity and forgive all his shortcomings.

Salihu Moh. Lukman sent in this tribute from Abuja