Senator Isaiah Balat’s body was committed to mother earth on February 26, 2014 in Gora, Zangon-Kataf LGA of Kaduna State. Sun set on the life of a political and economic chess master on February 18, 2014 at the National Hospital, Abuja. His has a rough, yet a magnificent ascension from relative obscurity to political and economic limelight. He peddled through many rivers of challenges and crossed hurdles of tribulations in his quest to leave his mark in the sand of history. From all standards of measurement, one can audaciously pique: he came, saw, and conquered; and passed on.
He was a man of many endeavours. However, he was mostly known in economic and political terrains. Through hard work, careful planning and mountain moving faith, he established a strong business empire that led to his election as Chairman of Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KADCCIMA), an indication that he was a big time economic player. It was during his tenure that KADCCIMA laid the foundation for the present permanent site of Kaduna International Trade Fair Complex, along Kaduna-Zaria Express Way.
Above all, Balat was more popular in the political field. His political career came to limelight in the Second Republic when he was the State Chairman of UPN. When the neck of Second Republic was broken and spine shattered on 31st December 1983, he went underground. He was not an active player in the aborted Third Republic. Balat bounced back in 1998 when the junta of Gen. Abubakar rolled out its transition programme. He was part of the early if not founders of PDP in Kaduna State and the last man standing from Southern Kaduna with the previous demise of Col. YohannaMadaki, Engr. Stephen Shekari and Garba (Charles) Madaki Ali.
From 1998 to the day he died, he occupied elective and appointive positions. In 1999 he was one of the pioneer ministers of Obasanjo’s regime, but was controversial dropped from the council after nine months. Before his ousting as minister, he used his tenure to attract federal presence through construction of roads and placing of roads under state list on Federal list. Most of the good roads standing in Southern Kaduna today got attention during his tenure as Minister of State for Works.
Balat in 2003 challenged incumbent senator, snatched their party ticket, won the general elections, and set a record of the senator with the most popular votes in the history of Nigeria. He was an active senator owing to his clout but on entering the red chamber he set his eyes elsewhere i.e. the governor seat of Kaduna State. He put up a good fight by stretching the process to a re-run before finally losing out to the present Vice President in 2007. Three years after his defeat in PDP primaries, he was appointed a Presidential Advisor designated to the Office of Vice President- a position he held till his death.
From 1998 to 2014 Balat was the Head Boy of Southern Kaduna political class. He was in the middle of it all and a strategist that made Southern Kaduna a colony of one party (PDP). Balat commanded an army of crusaders that committed genocide on the seed of opposition in Southern Kaduna and labeled actors with dissenting views recalcitrant elements. He was a great party fanatic to the level of sticking to the party even after his humiliation in 2007. His party loyalty was demonstrated through his refusal to work for Gen. Thaddeus Ashe of Democratic People’s Party a candidate that elders brought to challenge Namadi because of the way Balat and people of Southern Kaduna were treated by PDP.
Since his death, the old and new media have been saturated with talks of the void his exit has created in the politics of Southern Kaduna. Some went to the extreme of asserting that Southern Kaduna is now like a herd of sheep without a shepherd. Such brazen display of sententalism and hiding of salient issues under the carpet is normal with us. And it’s a very bad way of rigging history and refusing to state facts as they are for this and future generations to learn from.
Note: (a) The death of Balat is a great loss to Southern Kaduna; (b) Balat was a great political player but a poor mentor of other political heavyweights of the area; (c) Balat knows how to use people for political ends and also perfect in dumping them after achieving or failing to achieve his end(s); (d) Balat played politics of solipsism through promotion of personal agenda like the Nigerian politics is being played; (e) Balat was part of old players that institutionalized gerontocracy that denied the zone of rising stars that today their services are needed; (f) His voice was not heard when a 63-year-old man from Southern Kaduna was chosen as deputy governor to a 44-year-old governor; (g) Balat was instrumental to the ministerial nomination of a 65-year-old grand-mother from Southern Kaduna.
Despite these shortcomings which eclipsed his contribution in providing a clear sense of direction and agenda for his people, his funeral was full of speaking well about the dead. Some home truth wasn’t told by using his deliberate or otherwise miscues as a guide to those alive.
Balat’s death should serve as a big lesson for people of Southern Kaduna to expand the political theatre to increase value and protect collective interest in an increasingly tense political environment of Kaduna State. The old guards must immediately prepare their handover notes or pass-on the baton to younger players who can read the thin blue lines in every political equation in the state and Nigeria.
All I have done or tried do was holding up a mirror for us to see our true self; breaking the mirror won’t help, as well as cutting up the hand that stands the mirror. Truth is like a scar on the forehead, which can’t be hidden even with a Mexican hat on the head. This should be taken as quinine, so bitter but good in combating malaria.
Danfulani, PhD, wrote from Political Science Department, Kaduna State University, Kaduna.
