The Economist of
London says Abba Kyari, the late chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari,
tried to clean up Nigeria before his demise.
Exactly one week
ago, Kyari died from COVID-19 complications. He had tested positive for the
disease after a trip to Germany where he attended a meeting with officials of
Siemens to discuss issues relating to the Nigerian power sector.
In a piece publishedon Thursday, Kyari was described as “a largely honourable man” who wanted the
best for his country.
The Economist said
Kyari was often bothered about the degree of corruption in the country and
thought of ways to end it.
An instance was
cited on how the boss of an energy company “forgot” a bag stuffed with $100
bills at his office but Kyari was quoted to have said: “much too much of our
work is spent on stopping our own people stealing”.
“While Mr Kyari was
alive, others were much less kind. Many saw him as the figurehead for a shadowy
cabal that controlled policy and appointments, and granted favours and
contracts,” the piece read.
“Cabinet ministers
grumbled that they could not get past his door to discuss important issues with
a distant and apathetic president. Mr Kyari’s economic thinking, which seemed
stuck in the 1970s, was also criticised.
“There was some
truth to these accusations. Yet there is also a broader parable of Mr Kyari. It
is one of a largely honourable man who went to the heart of a thoroughly
corrupt and dysfunctional system, aiming to reform it—but who struggled to
overcome its inertia amid a series of crises.
“He was known to
turn down offers of free upgrades to first class (he thought it vulgar) before
taking his seat in business class on British Airways flights.
“The corruption and
decay of Nigeria’s state, and the inequality they bred, dismayed and worried
him. Nigeria had to change, he argued. The question was whether it would be
through orderly reform or chaotic breakdown.”
The publication said
it is unfortunate that Kyari served in a government which took power after
crash in oil prices pushed the country into recession.
It said the late
chief of staff had hoped that Buhari’s second term “would provide an
opportunity to liberalise the corrupt oil and gas industries by making
contracts and licences more transparent and taking them out from under the
thumb of politicians.”
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The economist wasn't seeing the killings that took place in the land, largely because of the support that the Fulani herdsmen enjoy from Kyari and his Principal - Buhari. They were not aware of the removal of the formal CJN. My question is will such removal happen in the UK or there is no element of corruption in his removal. Kyari has been doing a lots of wrongs to Nigerians but the killings of innocent citizen in their sleep and the removal of CJN was what caused his death.
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