Balarabe Musa’s open gate

His name is Balarabe Musa, the former Governor of old Kaduna State who unlike many other high profile personalities leaves the gate to his six bedroom bungalow wide open throughout the day.
Whoever visits his residence at any time of the day gains free access into the compound, without any form of barricade or obstruction.
Born on August 21, 1936, Balarabe Musa was elected Governor of Kaduna state during   Nigeria’s Second republic on the platform of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP).He held office from October 1979 until he was impeached on June 23, 1981. The impeachment makes him the first state governor in Nigeria ever to be impeached. After the impeachment, the Marxist continued to be active in politics, and he was the PRP candidate for the Presidency in the April 2011 elections.
When our reporter   interviewed him on why the gate to his house is always open in spite of the security challenges ravaging the country, he said, he does that because he cannot afford proper security.
“Even when I was the Governor of Kaduna state, after I was sworn in as Governor, I stayed in this house for about six months. I left because my party leader, Aminu Kano insisted that I move to the Government house, saying the  security  team  were complaining to him that I was giving them difficulty.
“Secondly, this place was always full of party people which made the work of security agents more difficult. Eventually, I decided to move to the Government house,  but I could not stay there because it was too big for men.There were about 18 bedrooms and I had a wife and two children then, so it was just too big for me. So, I secured a three bedroom bungalow in a place which was occupied by a military officer. I lived there as Governor,” he said.

The 78 years old man said that he leaves his gates open because he cannot afford to have proper security in his house. His words: “If I want proper security, how can I afford it? Proper security means I will have to pay for about eight people to guard me and I cannot afford it. I can’t afford it and even if I can afford it, I can’t prevent anything from happening. There is insecurity in this country, nobody is secured. Even the president of the country is not secure. So why should I bother myself, how can you prevent a determined person who wants to harm you? How can you stop such a person?”
“Armed robbers came to my house about 11years ago, They left my guard paralysed until he died and nothing happened. I reported to the police, but they didn’t do anything, and neither did they carry out any investigation. This is the country we live in.So, why should I bother about something I cannot afford and something I cannot prevent. I see it as an unnecessary expense and deceit?” he said.

While he mentioned that he is not unaware of the insecurity ravaging the country and the risk Nigerians are exposed to, he reiterated that he cannot afford the security of his house. “Secondly, in Nigeria, you cannot prevent security risk. I can tell you that, as it is now, no Nigerian is safe, even the President is not safe.So, why should I bother about what I cannot afford or provide.”
To him locking the gate will not stop a determined person from gaining access into the house. “The gate is usually left open from 6am to 10pm, when it is locked. I am not young, I am old. I have been in this country for a long time,  and I know what  a security risk is. If I were young, you could  caution me but I am old. I have been through everything,” he repeated.