Ayomide
The tragic passing of Jubril Bala Muhammed in an accident in 2001 shocked his family, friends and comrades all around the world. Bala was a truly remarkable scholar, revolutionary and friend. My relationship with him dated back to about 1980; along with Issa Aremu, Chom Bagu and Abdulrahman Black, they were some of the best representatives of our generation of activists in the Nigerian student’s movement. At that most radical phase of our existence what struck me even then was Bala’s level headedness and intense sense of duty and an unaffected commitment to the ideals of a progressive Nigeria. Bala did his national service at the HERALD newspaper in Ilorin, and that further cemented our relationship, and his presence gave added fillip to the organizational work we did with students and the working people in Kwara state. I was hospitalized for many months in 2000, as a result of a terrible motor accident. Bala came all the way from Maiduguri to check me at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital! That was the kind of person he was, never forgetting his friends and comrades, even in adversity. His death robbed Nigeria of a genuine patriot and a committed internationalist. It is fitting that a memorial fund is being launched in his honor today at the Nigeria Labour Congress’, LABOUR HOUSE
