Baba never helped his children find jobs – Kassim Balarabe Musa

Kassim Balarabe Musa, the fourth child of ex-governor of the old Kaduna State, Balarabe Musa teaches Computer and Software Application packages at the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna. Kassim talks about the Balarabe Musa that the public knows little about and how time in prison changed him.
 

Daily Trust on Saturday: How would you describe your father away from the public?
Kassim Balarabe Musa: He is very patient, disciplined and nice. He took care of us very well, throughout our stay with him; we never lacked food, clothing, school fees and other essentials of life. The only thing my father will not give you is a job, he never got a job for any of us after graduating from tertiary institution. We did that on our own, but every other thing he gave to his children. Although, things have changed now, that you have to know somebody before you can get a job after school. My father knows many people and many people know him but he never used that as an opportunity to get his children jobs.
DT: How many children does he have and how do you address him?
Musa: He has nine children. We all address him as baba.
DT: What food does he like most?
Musa: He likes tuwo, wheat and miyan kuka.
DT: How does he unwind?
Musa: He relaxes in the evening after seeing visitors and after retiring from farm. He goes to the farm both during rainy and dry seasons; so my father is a farmer and a politician. He is a lover of people, as such, he receives visitors every day, so if we have any confidential or serious matter to discuss with him we wait till evening after he must have been through with his visitors and also come back from farm. He relaxes by staying indoors and watching television.
DT: What is it about childhood with him that you miss the most?
Musa: My father was living a comfortable live until he was taken to prison between 1983 and 1985. When he came back from prison, his live changed, as he started complaining about lack of money and I could even observe from his vehicles then that regularly broke down. In fact, he had to stop the allowances he used to give his children because there was no money and he was not working. Since my father became a governor, he has not engaged in any salaried job. So as a child then, I wished the good life we enjoyed before he went to prison never ended.
DT: What habits does he have that people don’t know about?
Musa: People’s problems are his problems, what he gives to other people he doesn’t give us half of it. He hardly gives us 20 percent out of 100 percent of the things he gives to people who meet him with their problems, including men, women and even young people. So, most of his wealth goes to people, this explains why he hardly saves money in the bank because there will always be a need for such money when people come around. He considers the public problems before that of his family. My father is a very free man and a grassroots politician who has human feelings and that is why you will always find the gate to this house open, showing that anybody is welcome at any time.
DT: What traits did you inherit from him?
Musa: I think I took after his love for farming and people. I am a lover of people too and I pray that I will be able to help people solve their problems. He is a pauper helper and that is why he is not rich because almost everything he has goes to them.
DT: How will you describe your father as a former governor?
Musa: He is poor, sometimes, I buy newspapers for him. Even though, he tried to enroll us in good schools as children, we never had the luxury of cars and houses that the children and family of other governors had.
DT: What would you say he enjoyed most from being a governor then?
Musa: He enjoyed farming, politics and helping people as a governor then.
DT: Did you see him then as a governor or as a father?
Musa: I saw him as a father because I didn’t know much about governance then, neither did I know the polices in place but later as I grew older, reading history books, listening to people’s comments and observations, I discovered that my father tried to help the people of Kaduna State and Nigeria as a whole. But when he was a governor, I didn’t know how effective his policies were, I only knew him as a father and a good one for that matter.
DT: When you grew up to understand governance better, how did you feel about his impeachment?
Musa: Well, I was not surprised considering the kind of system we have in Nigeria. I know that he was impeached because he does not want to compromise. He had issues with the state house of assembly, which demanded some items before they would approve his list of commissioners and that was why he didn’t work with commissioners for almost two years that he served because he told the lawmakers that he didn’t have what they were demanding and he would not take from the public to give them.
DT: Your father is a friend of the media, why do you think he is like that?
Musa: He does that because he is a man of the public, once the public have a problem, he has a problem and I am sure that is why he is into politics even though he is old. Unfortunately, the system could not produce young people who can be honest and sincere in terms of change for development. Most of the young politicians are opportunists and they are after acquiring wealth because youths are supposed to be at the forefront of the politics of Nigeria.
DT: How has being his child influenced you?
Musa: One thing I also benefited as his son is that I know how to interact with people of different classes, including the rich, the poor, those in government, educated and illiterate. Being his son has also helped me to be humble and gentle, because if you are harsh, people will not come close to you. We are always happy to see people in our house when we were children and when we didn’t see people coming and going, it meant our father was not around. So, being his child has made me a lover of people.
DT: What is his philosophy about life?
Musa: Helping the needy first before his family and that is why he is always an advocate of policies that will be in the best interest of the people, especially the poor or the common man.
DT: What does he talk about most?
Musa: He talks more about politics and solving problems.
DT: What are the things that surprise him the most?
Musa: What really surprises him nowadays is how smart young people are in acquiring wealth for themselves. He will always say that it wasn’t that easy during their time.
DT: You described him as a simple and loving father, were there times you disagreed with him?
Musa: When you have a bad result, or when you disobey in school, he gets angry but ordinarily, he is a simple man. He hardly interfered in our lives but he doesn’t joke with educational matters. Also, I get angry with him when I demand for something from him and he cannot give me. Before he went to prison, he always gave us whatever we demanded, including bicycles, toys and even allowances, but after he came back from prison, it became difficult for him to meet our needs and you know a child will always behave like a child but when I grew up, I understood that whatever he didn’t give me, he didn’t have and then I also understood his passion for solving people’s problems even before considering his family.
DT: What do you admire most about him?
Musa: He is a prominent person that is loved by people. I am always happy when I see people care for him. During festive periods you will see people bringing all sorts of gifts to him, including food items and rams among others. I cannot remember the last time my father used his money to buy ram for Sallah because people he has helped present him with a variety of items.
DT: What was he like before he became a governor?
Musa: He was a civil servant before he delved into politics. I read in some books that when he was working with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and in banks, among others, people who worked with him enjoyed working with him and I also learnt he helped a lot of people even before he became a governor, though the level of poverty at that time was not as bad as it is now.