Isaiah Balat


Isaiah Chawai Balat was a Nigerian politician and businessman from Kaduna State. He was the Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing for Kaduna South from May 2003 to May 2007 and, a member of the People's Democratic Party.
Prior to his election to the Senate, he served as the Minister of State for Works and Housing in the cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo form 1999 to 2000. In May 2010, Balat was appointed the Special Advisor to the President on Special Duties where he served until his demise in 2014.

Early life and education

Isaiah Chawai Balat was born on 23 October, 1952 in Gora, a village in Zangon Kataf local government area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. His father was from Gora while his mother was from a village called Kamuru. He was born into a polygamous family which was very common at the time. Balat's mother died shortly after his birth. He spent his formative years in relative poverty, working on his father's farm rearing cattle.
He started his early education at SIM Primary School in Gora in 1959 and later moved to SIM Primary School Ungwar Tabo, where he completed his primary education. He subsequently went to the Commonwealth College of Commerce Jos in Plateau State between 1966 and 1970 for his secondary school education. After completing primary and post-primary education, Balat attended a sandwich programme in Marketing at the Kaduna Polytechnic between 1976 and 1978.
For his executive education, he attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in Boston, in 1991. Later, Balat undertook postgraduate courses in Petroleum Management at St. Clements University, in prospect, in addition to a certificate from the Oxford Princeton Programme, Oxford, United Kingdom, between 1996 and 1998.
In 2004, Balat attended the Public Utility Research Centre/ World Bank Training Program on Utility Regulation and Strategy at the University of Florida, Florida, USA.

Career and business

Isaiah Balat worked for BP plc in Kano State before being transferred to their Kaduna branch in 1973. He was promoted to managerial level before leaving the company in 1978 to establish his own private oil and gas services company, , of which he was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
While in business, Balat established the CB Finance Group, a holding company with interests in oil and gas services, banking, insurance and agro-allied industries.
Balat held several high management appointments and positions in the private and public sectors. He was a member of the Kaduna State Urban Development Board, a member of the Plateau State Committee on Revenue Sources and, the pioneer Chairman of the Katsina Steel Rolling Mill from 1980 to 1983.
Balat also served as a member of the Council, from 1987 to 1994), Chairman of the Kaduna State Distribution Agency from 1987 to 1992, Chairman of the Kaduna State Industrial and Finance Company from 1994 to 1998 and a Member of the Board of Nigerian Coal Corporation from 1991 and 1994.
Balat was also the President of the Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture from 1987 to 1991, during which period he initiated and commenced the construction of the .
He was the Vice-President, Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture from 1985 to 1987, Chairman of the British Council and a member of the National Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, from 1993 to 1996.
He served as a Non-Executive Director of Guinness Nigeria from 1996 to 1999.

Politics and appointments

Early Political Career

In 1978, Isaiah Balat was the Chairman of the Nigerian People's Party in Kaduna State where he led the coalition that ensured the election of Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa as the first civilian governor of Kaduna State in the Second Republic of Nigeria.
After the termination of the Nigerian Second Republic, he went back to his private business. However, with the advent of party politics during the Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida’s administration, he joined the Social Democratic Party where he was known for his close relationship with the SDP presidential candidate, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola.
Balat continued his involvement in party politics and in 1998, Balat became the Kaduna State Coordinator of the Obasanjo Campaign Organizations.

Minister for Works and Housing (State)

In June of 1999, Isaiah Balat was appointed Minister of State for Works and Housing in the cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo. As Minister of State for Works he discharged oversight duties and supervised projects of the Ministry which included but not limited to:
In 2003, Balat was overwhelmingly elected a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing Kaduna South Senatorial District of Kaduna State.
During his senatorial tenor, he was the Chairman Senate Committee on Privatization for two consecutive years during which he led the Senate and House Committees on Privatisation on a study tour on ports reform to the USA and Mexico, where far reaching ideas on Ports Privatization and Management was acquired.
Aside from his work on advancing legislation on privatisation, he also served as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Anti-corruption and where he worked to promoting bills advancing transparency in governance.
During his tenure, Balat also served as member of the Senate Appropriation and Finance Committee, Senate Committee on Defense and Senate Committee on Power and Steel.

Kaduna State 2007 Governorship Candidate

In 2007, Balat was a frontline candidate contesting for the Gubernatorial Primary of Kaduna State under the PDP, losing to Arc. Namadi Sambo in a run-off election.
For his Governorship Campaign in 2007, Balat used the term – “Wadata” which means “Stock” in Hausa language. The word became very popular during the campaign period and was used to signify a movement of change in the state.

2010 Northern Political Summit Group ("The G-20")

Balat was instrumental in setting up the Northern Political Summit Group - The G-20 - which held in Kaduna on the 16 and 17 of March 2010.
The theme and the focus of the G-20 was to evolve an agenda for social and economic transformation of the North of Nigeria. It successfully attracted participation of a large number of the political, economic class, academia, professionals and technocrats across all sectors and parts of the country. Its conclusions and resolutions were incisive and far reaching, culminating in drawing up of a Northern Economic Blueprint.

Special Adviser for Special Duties (Office of the Vice President of Nigeria

In May 2010, Isaiah Balat was appointed the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties where he served till his demise.
Other committee memberships included the National Council on Privatization – Committee on Privatization of New Nigerian Newspaper and the National Council on Privatization’s Ad-hoc committee on BPE tax liabilities.

International work

Isaiah Balat participated in the United Nations organized colloquium preceding the South Commission Report under the Chairmanship of the Late Dr. Julius Nyerere, former President of Tanzania, which examined and recommended modalities for bridging the gap in the standards of living of peoples in the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
Balat led Nigerian Trade Delegations to South Korea, the USA, the UK, Canada, Germany, Japan, Brazil, South Africa and Namibia to encourage investors in the those countries to invest in the Nigerian economy.

Philanthropy

In 2005, Balat established the Isaiah Balat Foundation, with the goal of vaccinating over a million people across Kaduna State against Meningitis.
Balat engaged in several benevolent empowerment projects. Through the Isaiah Balat Foundation, he provided free medical assistance to the poor, weak and vulnerable in the society, especially in rural communities. Balat sponsored and supported the education of less privileged children.

Honours and awards

Isaiah Balat has earned many honors in recognition of his service to his community the state, country and internationally. In 1990 he was awarded the Gold medal of the Chamber Europeene Pour la Development Du Commerce fe I’Industrie et Finances, for the promotion of trade between Nigeria and the European Union. In 1991, he received the Kaduna State Students’ Merit Award for his contribution to the economy development of the State.
In 2000, Balat was awarded the International Trade and Development Award for promotion trade and investment between the USA and Nigeria by the Africa-USA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Los Angeles, California, USA. In 2000 he was also made Honorary Life Vice-President of the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture.
Balat was a Fellow of the prestigious Institute of Directors.

Death and legacy

He passed away on the 18th of February 2014 in Abuja after a brief illness. He was buried in Gora Bafai, Kaduna State.

Quotes

Education

“Education is the bedrock of every development effort and the key that opens doors of opportunity for our citizens. In this era of information and communication technology, our youth should be well grounded in science and technology, and it is our duty to do everything to enable our students excel in their studies, by putting in place a well-trained and motivated teaching staff, adequate classrooms, laboratories, workshops, science equipment and books under a conducive learning environment.”

Collaboration with international donor agencies

“I believe that collaboration with international organizations such as WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, NGOs and other governmental organizations is very vital to attract the desired international finance for development.”

Health

“The quality of life of our people has deteriorated owing to the prevalence of preventable diseases. I believe that every citizen should live a healthy life by having access to good food and potable drinking water; by having access to hospitals and health centers that are adequately staffed with doctors, nurses and technicians, where the required drugs, infrastructure and medical equipment are sufficient to meet the needs of our people.”

Agriculture

“I have informed everyone I speak to that for provision of infrastructure to be meaningful to the majority of our people, we must raise the productivity of our farmers, so that they can produce more and better quality crops and livestock, earn better incomes, eat better food, get better education and live healthier lives. The farmers and their needs should be the main focus of our agricultural policy and action.”

Shelter

“Housing should be cheap and affordable to urban dwellers and rural people alike. Cooperatives and home ownership societies should be supported by government to enable medium and low income earners build their houses.
I am also of the opinion that mortgage financing should be further developed and enhanced through government support and private investment by banks and employers of labor if the millennium development goal of full housing delivery is to be achieved by 2015. “

Water supply

“We can, and we must, provide safe drinking water to all our people through partnership with state, local governments and communities. I advocate for the construction of earth dams in the local government areas to enable our farmers engage in dry season farming.”

Electricity

“This is why I keep emphasizing on the need for adequate and full power supply; any meaningful project that can bring development must be backed up by adequate supply of Electricity. Right now such efforts are being hampered by inadequate supply of electricity in the rural areas.”

Infrastructure

“Infrastructure such as good access roads, electricity, water supply, telecommunications, should be made available in order to reduce the burden and high cost of doing business, reduce the cost of producing agricultural and industrial goods, and attract investment and provide the enabling environment for growth and development of local goods and services.”

Transportation

“Kaduna state is blessed with a network of federal trunk roads. What we need now is to continue with the on-going expansion of rural roads.
There is need to invest more in urban and rural mass transit to lower the costs of transportation so that our farmers can take their produce to market more cheaply, and ensure that our workers will not spend all their wages on transportation.”

Youth Empowerment

“The youth have to be well educated for them to be able to compete for jobs and business opportunities. My youth empowerment initiative will be in the area of cottage industries, by getting them to acquire the requisite knowledge and skills. We intend to encourage people to bring projects that will create employment and boost the standards of living of the youth.”

Women and development

“We should begin to compensate women for their great contributions to our families, communities and the nation as a whole. I want to see more women in business; they should be holding responsible positions in the local, state and federal institutions and services. They cannot do this unless we give them equal opportunities in education; equal access to finance, agricultural resources that will empower them to make decisions that will make their lives better.”

Environmental protection

“We live and work in environments that are becoming increasingly hostile to human habitation. Our degraded farmlands have to be rehabilitated. We have to save our forests and grasslands by stemming the tide of desertification. We need to urgently address industrial pollution of our rivers to safeguard our drinking water.”

Tourism development

“We have many beautiful tourist sites in Kaduna state; hills, caves and monuments, water falls and city walls. The challenge is developing these for the benefit of our people.”

Agro-allied industries

“Our greatest resources are the people and our agricultural lands. We must add value to our farm produce by promoting agro-allied industries for processing grains, cassava, fruits and vegetables, so that our farmers can fetch better prices.”

Poverty reduction

“I have come to the conclusion that it is more dignifying to take care of your personal needs by yourself than to rely on someone else. For us to achieve this, we must empower our people with the skills, provide the material, financial and technical resources, that will enhance their dignity as human beings.”

Sports and recreation

“The health of a community is measured by the achievements of the youths in sports. Sporting facilities have to be fully developed in all our local government areas to enable our young men and women the opportunity to excel in sports since it has become an export commodity.”