Balarabe tasks progressives to form platform to change governance

Former Governor of Kaduna state, Alhaji Balarabe Musa has called on the progressives in the country to form a formidable group to change the democratic governance in the country.

Speaking yesterday in Offa, Kwara state at the 19th memorial lecture of first republic politician, late Chief Josiah Sunday Olawoyin, Balarabe Musa said that the country’s political landscape has been taken over by selfish politicians, adding that “only the alliance of progressive political opposition parties can bail out the country and make the current democracy to succeed.”

The former governor said that while politicians of colonial era and first republic ruled with credible leadership and provided selfless service to the people, those that served after them in the second republic to the present time came to milk the nation dry.

Balarabe Musa, whose speech was delivered by his son, Kassim Balarabe Musa said “there is no basis of comparison between politicians of the colonial times and the first republic on one hand and the subsequent republics on the other hand.

“Even though the first republic governance was characterized by semi -feudalism and conservatism, there was credible leadership and concern for the people.

“There was a standard of public conduct nobody could go below and get away with it. The level of corruption, stealing, waste of public resources was controllable, but during the second republic and after, the level of public conduct gradually became so low that people only feared the balance of terror.

“In the case of corruption, stealing and criminal waste of resources, the level gradually disables governance and the state of the nation became negative in almost all respect but particularly national unity, insecurity, poverty, justice, lack of development, progress, equality between the people and availability of quality education.

“There is the need to change peacefully from the current system based on leadership of self interest first and public interest second or even incidental to a new system based on leadership of public interest first and enlightened self interest second.

Also, there must be free, fair and transparent election capable of establishing legitimate governance at all level.”

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He called for an alliance of progressive political opposition parties like what happened in the old Kaduna state with which he won the 1979 governorship election and the 2019 Kwara state governorship election won by the opposition.

In his address, Chief Olatokunbo Ajasin, son of the late leader of Afenifere, Chief Adekunle Ajasin urged the youths to join party politics and participate actively to give the country the good leadership needed to take the country to greater heights.