Why I boycotted launch of my biography - Balarabe Musa
- Details
- Category: Report
- Written by Ibraheem Musa, Kaduna
- Hits: 413
Alhaji Balarabe Musa, one of the leading opposition politicians in the country, said that he decided to boycott the launch of his biography on Thursday, 17th December, because he did not want to be present when praises would be showered on him like a feudal despot.
In a telephone interview with Weekly Trust, the former governor of Kaduna State said that he gave the author four conditions when he approached him to write his biography. “First, I told him that he didn’t need any permission from me because I choose to regard myself as a public property and therefore everyone is free to approach me and find out my stand on issues,” he said, adding that this is the same open-door attitude that he adopts for reporters.
“Secondly, I told him that while I will not tell him all that he wants in the course of writing the book, I will also not recommend him to anybody. He has to do his work his own way”, Balarabe said.
“Thirdly, I told him that I will not even read the draft of the book, because I don’t want to influence anything that will be written”, he added.
“Finally, I told him that I will not be at the launch of the book because I don’t want to ridicule myself and be present at a book launch where people will be praising me in my presence like a feudal despot,” the left wing politician further said. Balarabe who told Weekly Trust that he has read the book said that there is nowhere that his stand on issues was misrepresented.
Titled, “The Incorruptible Balarabe Musa,” the book was written by Mr Enuma Okoli, and over N1 million was realised with the Akwa Ibom State government giving the highest donation of one million naira.
Attendance at the event which started about two hours late was very low and it was chaired by Alhaji Lema Jibrilu, an industrialist and former presidential aspirant. According to Lema, he knew Balarabe about 25 years ago when they “worked together or rather tried to work together” at the then Kaduna State Co-operative Bank.
As chief accountant, Balarabe disagreed with the normal format of annual Central Bank of Nigeria guidelines, but all other banks complied and the co-operative bank was risking losing its licence, Lema who was the chairman Board of Directors recalled. In the end, Balarabe left the bank and joined politics, he added. As governor, Balarabe didn’t serve a full tenure “because of what his critics called his extreme views and intransigence.”
This lack of compromise, Lema added, “gave rise to widely-held view that Balarabe is more of a ‘social critic’ than a politician”, adding that the former governor has “come to be associated with controversy on each and every subject under the Nigerian sun.” According to the chairman of the occasion, Balarabe’s full name is Balarabe Musa Kaya, Kaya being the name of his hometown.
Articles
Why I boycotted launch of my biography - Balarabe Musa
Category: Report Written by Ibraheem Musa, Kaduna Hits: 413
Alhaji Balarabe Musa, one of the leading opposition politicians in the country, said that he decided to boycott the launch of his biography on Thursday, 17th December, because he did not want to be present when praises would be showered on him like a feudal despot.
In a telephone interview with Weekly Trust, the former governor of Kaduna State said that he gave the author four conditions when he approached him to write his biography. “First, I told him that he didn’t need any permission from me because I choose to regard myself as a public property and therefore everyone is free to approach me and find out my stand on issues,” he said, adding that this is the same open-door attitude that he adopts for reporters.
“Secondly, I told him that while I will not tell him all that he wants in the course of writing the book, I will also not recommend him to anybody. He has to do his work his own way”, Balarabe said.
“Thirdly, I told him that I will not even read the draft of the book, because I don’t want to influence anything that will be written”, he added.
“Finally, I told him that I will not be at the launch of the book because I don’t want to ridicule myself and be present at a book launch where people will be praising me in my presence like a feudal despot,” the left wing politician further said. Balarabe who told Weekly Trust that he has read the book said that there is nowhere that his stand on issues was misrepresented.
Titled, “The Incorruptible Balarabe Musa,” the book was written by Mr Enuma Okoli, and over N1 million was realised with the Akwa Ibom State government giving the highest donation of one million naira.
Attendance at the event which started about two hours late was very low and it was chaired by Alhaji Lema Jibrilu, an industrialist and former presidential aspirant. According to Lema, he knew Balarabe about 25 years ago when they “worked together or rather tried to work together” at the then Kaduna State Co-operative Bank.
As chief accountant, Balarabe disagreed with the normal format of annual Central Bank of Nigeria guidelines, but all other banks complied and the co-operative bank was risking losing its licence, Lema who was the chairman Board of Directors recalled. In the end, Balarabe left the bank and joined politics, he added. As governor, Balarabe didn’t serve a full tenure “because of what his critics called his extreme views and intransigence.”
This lack of compromise, Lema added, “gave rise to widely-held view that Balarabe is more of a ‘social critic’ than a politician”, adding that the former governor has “come to be associated with controversy on each and every subject under the Nigerian sun.” According to the chairman of the occasion, Balarabe’s full name is Balarabe Musa Kaya, Kaya being the name of his hometown.