Former President, Chief Olusegun has described the first civilian governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, as a great patriot.
In a release signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, on Wednesday, Obasanjo said the deceased had an unwavering belief in a greater Nigeria.
“The late politician emerged the first civilian Governor of Kaduna State on the platform of the moribund National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in 1979 and re-affirmed himself one of Nigeria’s most articulate Governors at the time.
“And, he accordingly gave the best of his remarkable talent and ability in pursuit of this goal.
“Despite his latter impeachment as the Governor of Kaduna State in 1981, he contested an elective office for the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) where he ran as Presidential Candidate in the 2003 election which unfortunately he lost.
“The late Alhaji Balarabe Musa will be remembered for his invaluable contribution to Nigeria’s political evolution.
“He brought renewed activism, verve and resourcefulness to bear on the nation’s polity.”
Meanwhile, the Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has commiserated with government and people of Kaduna State on the death of a former Governor of the old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, who passed on Wednesday.
Fayemi in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode, described the former Governor as an icon of democracy in Nigeria and a champion of the downtrodden.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) said the late Balarabe Musa was a politician who gave his all for the people he served without expecting anything in return.
He noted that the late Balarabe Musa was a highly principled politician who saw public service as a sacrifice and not as an opportunity to acquire wealth as he lived a simple life throughout his lifetime.
Fayemi eulogised the late former Kaduna Governor as a father figure of opposition politicians who spoke the truth to the governments of the day without fear or favour.
He also described the late Balarabe Musa as a rallying point of progressive politics in the North and a respected voice in the quest for a better Nigeria.
Fayemi said the late Balarabe Musa was a perfect example to prove that Nigeria still has politicians with ideology contrary to the belief in some quarters that politics of ideology is dead in the country.
According to him, the deceased stood to be counted in the struggle to restore democracy after long years of military rule which came into fruition in 1999.
Similarly, former governor of Ogun State, Chief Gbenga Daniel, described the death of the former Kaduna state Governor as a painful passage and a great loss to Nigeria.
“The death of Balarabe Musa is a painful passage and a great loss to Nigeria. It is like another good part of Nigeria silently chipped away.
“It is so Sad! Nigeria has lost another Democrat, a consistent fighter and outspoken voice for the ‘talakawas’, one of the few that reaches beyond the frontiers of unnatural political division in our country.
“Balarabe Musa would be greatly missed as a man who had an unrepentant conviction of his political beliefs and ideology, and he was so consistent and passionate about them. He lived and died as a vocal advocate of the masses, especially the poor,” the former governor said.
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