Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs, says Abba
Kyari, the late chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, was his ‘best
man’ when he wedded in the Catholic church many years ago.
A best man acts as one of the witnesses in a wedding and is
usually one of the groom’s closest friends.
In his tribute to Kyari, Onyeama said the late chief of
staff to the president was also the godfather to his first son during his
baptism.
Kyari died on Friday after battling COVID-19.
In the tribute published on THISDAY on Sunday, the minister
said he first met the late politician in 1977 in 1977 at Warwick University in
England.
He recalled how the two officiating ministers at his
wedding, and at the son’s baptism, were surprised to see Kyari, a Muslim, in
the role of his best man and son’s godfather respectively.
Onyeama wrote: “When I left Warwick University for
Cambridge, Abba came to Cambridge to introduce me to his friends there as he
had studied in the city for his Advanced levels.
“After graduating from Warwick University, Abba went up to
Cambridge to study law. We kept in touch throughout the last 43 years. We ended
up together in Lagos in 1982 to attend Law School for a year.
“When I left Nigeria in 1985 to work in Geneva for 30 years
Abba came to Geneva often to stay with me and whenever I was in Nigeria, he
made it a point of coming to see me wherever I was.
“When I got married in Owo to my wife from Idoani, Ondo
State, Abba was my Best-Man. The officiating Vicar was somewhat perplexed
because I was a Roman Catholic Igbo, marrying an Anglican Yoruba in an Anglican
church with a Muslim Kanuri/Shuwa Arab Best-Man from Borno State!
“The officiating Catholic priest in Geneva, Switzerland, two
years later, during the baptism of our first son, was equally perplexed when a
muslim Abba Kyari and a muslim Muni Attah-Sonibare were the Godfather and
Godmother respectively!
“Abba was a Pan-Nigerian, global citizen, who recognized no
boundaries between peoples, be they racial, ethnic, religious, class or
political. He made friends with everyone.”
‘THE SAFE WHERE KYARI KEPT UNSOLICITED GIFTS’
Onyeama also said Kyari was a man of integrity and
“absolutely incorruptible”.
“I remember after he got married to his wonderful wife,
Kulu, he told me how he showed her his first paycheck so she would know that he
was not wealthy and would not steal!,” he added.
“It broke my heart to see all the false allegations against
him on issues of corruption. He showed me the safe in his office where he put
any unsolicited gift .
“I remember asking him about the rumours making the rounds
that he was making money from the fine imposed on MTN. He immediately showed me
the memorandum setting up the Committee to deal with the issue and he was not
even a member.
“He also showed me how he had been able to block attempts by
many influential and powerful persons to make a lot of money at the expense of
the country.
“He knew that fighting corruption with such single
mindedness and fearlessness would see him at the receiving end of the venom of
very powerful forces but was undeterred and preferred to ignore all the
defamation against him.”
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