Balarabe Musa's Demise Created a Vaccum Difficult to Fill - Prof Sule Bello



Interim National Chairman of People’s Redemption Party (PRP),Professor Sule Bello said the death of a national icon ,such as Alhaji Balarabe Musa has created a vacuum which will be very difficult to fill.


According to him , Balarabe Musa did not, however, die in vain as the Party he had nurtured and left behind, the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), is poised to continue with the good legacies.


The Interim National Chairman noted ," This is not the only justification for mourning his death; it is indeed also the reason for celebrating his life and memory. He spent the greater part of his life in nurturing the Party to its present state."


Addressing journalists shortly after the 40th day prayer at the Kaduna residence of Late Balarabe Musa , Professor Sule Bello,who thanked Nigerians for the support and solidarity received during and after the demise of its National leader and Chairman ,Board of Trustees ,late Alh Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa said , " We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of condolences, from far and nearby people of all categories, particularly you – members of the Press, who were among the earliest callers to the residence of the late national icon. You have also stood with us throughout this trying period in our national history."

He speaks further : "The concerns expressed by many confirm that his loss is not only to his immediate family and the People’s Redemption Party, which he tended and nurtured up to his dying hours. His labours towards nurturing, as well as protecting, the authenticity of the party makes PRP stand out as the oldest existing nationalist political party in Nigeria – dedicated to nation-building and the well-being of the poor, due to his resilience and commitment as well as respect for the kind of principles necessary for the development of the party and Nigeria as a whole.

"We have lost a national hero: a bridge builder, a radical reformer, a progressive politician, a dogged fighter for social justice, a nation-builder and a friend of the Talakawas whose doors always remained open to the downtrodden, while his home became a sanctuary for those trampled by the stampeding cavalry of oppression, and exploitation, on the rampage in the country.

"No words would fully describe the character that constituted the personality of the late Alh Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa. He was brilliant, brave, audacious, principled, courageous, compassionate, sagacious, honest, kind and generous, almost to a fault. A perfect gentleman, Balarabe Musa was the hope of the oppressed and a scourge to the oppressors.


"Having been elected as governor of old Kaduna State under the party’s flag, he had since then kept the PRP flag flying to the present day. He remained resolutely committed to the ideals, and programmes, upon which the party stands and which clearly distinguishes it from the rest. The PRP has been a progressive political platform for patriots, right from its birth to the present, as clearly indicated in its visions, constitution, programmes and related commitments.

" The PRP will continue on this path. We are presently continuing with preparations to realign and reposition the party, from the wards to the national levels, for the greater tasks ahead. With the changes recently affected to the national leadership of the party, under the leadership of Late Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa, which brought the present interim national leadership which I am privileged to lead, into being. He remained, and continued to serve as, the Chairman of our BOT till his demise.

"Above all else we note, and fully appreciate, the grief expressed by many Nigerians, poor and rich alike, whose life the Late Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa touched in many ways.

"We cannot close this address without mentioning the stand of our great party on the existing state of our country.

"We join many other Nigerians in calling on the government to stand up and bring down the increasing state of insecurity facing most parts of the country. Our people deserve better than the wanton terrorism, and rule of fear, to which they are currently subjected due to the failure of government to deliver on its most important campaign promise,as well as its primary obligation under our national constitution, i.e. the security of life, property and the wellbeing of ordinary Nigerians.


"We similarly raise our voice against the destructive, as well as rising, levels of corruption in the country. The so-called fight against corruption must not only led by example it must also be seen to bite rather than merely, and infrequentally, bark.

"Similarly PRP draws the attention of government at all levels, to the basic fact that the only effective way to reduce poverty and expand employment opportunities in Nigeria is through the diversification and industrialization of the national economy in order to promote productivity in all sectors. Mere allocation of so-called “palliatives” donated by, or borrowed from, other countries cannot be the solution to the problems of independent wealth creation, for the benefit of the country and its teeming population.

"While we pray for the peaceful repose of the soul of the late PRP National Leader and the Chairman of its Board of Trustees, we have also resolved to name the Party’s National Secretariat in Abuja in his name as a mark of respect for the manner in which he squeezed enough from his meager resources in order to ensure that the party has a permanent secretariat at the Nation’s capital.

" Finally, we pray that God helps us to overcome the travails of terrorism, failed governments, widespread poverty, disunity and weak national resolve that presently assail us and make our conditions both desperate and precarious".

Rip