He played in the
background so well. Abba Kyari was the mystery of the presidential villa.
Unobtrusive and self-effacing, yet his influence was palpable beyond the
cloistered Aso villa. He understood his job as the president’s right-hand man
and never did he outshine the master. He capered as the unseen but dutiful
connoisseur of the throne; greatly misunderstood, uncelebrated, but feared.
In August 2015,
Kyari was appointed as President Muhammadu Buhari’s chief of staff. There was
minuscule information on this figure at the time – basically because there were
no records of him featuring prominently in any government in the past. Really,
Kyari was a seasoned administrator without the affectations and contaminations
of politics before he enlisted in the Buhari administration.
According to his
profile on Wikipedia, Kyari graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology
from the University of Warwick in 1980, and also received a bachelor’s degree
in law from the University of Cambridge. He was called to the Nigerian Bar
after attending the Nigerian Law School in 1983.
He obtained a
master’s degree in law from the University of Cambridge in 1984. And he later
attended the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne,
Switzerland and participated in the Program for Management Development at the
Harvard Business School, in 1992 and 1994, respectively.
Kyari worked for the
law, firm Fani-Kayode and Sowemimo for some time after his return to Nigeria.
And from 1988 to 1990, he was editor with the New Africa Holdings Limited
Kaduna.
In 1990, he served
as a commissioner for forestry and animal resources in Borno state. From 1990
to 1995, Kyari was the secretary to the board of African International Bank
Limited, a subsidiary of Bank of Credit and Commerce International.
He was an executive
director in charge of management services at the United Bank for Africa, and
was later appointed the chief executive officer. In 2002, he was appointed a
board director of Unilever Nigeria, and later served on the board of Exxon
Mobil Nigeria.
As a matter of fact,
his shadowy disposition fuelled speculations. Let me rephrase that. His vague
posturing was exploited by fortune seekers and opportunists who tinted him in
dark and sinister hue. He was ‘’the cabal’’ and the troglodyte impeding the
progress of the country. His public persona was that of an overbearing
interloper who puppetered the president for insular ends. This was the
perception of him by many. But Kyari will not get the chance to be heard.
In the controversies
spawned by leaked memos, Kyari was the fall guy. He took the blame. He breasted
the slingshots pitter-patter. He was blurbed as a cankerworm of the
administration. But he never revealed his own side of the story. He remained
taciturn, acquiescent and non-combative until the end.
I had wished Kyari
survived COVID-19. When the news of his affliction broke, I wrote in an open
letter: ‘’But Dear Kyari, I really pray you survive this affliction. I believe
you will. And you will. When you come around, push for deliberate action on and
sustained investments in the country’s parlous health sector. This should be an
epiphany for us all. When it comes down to it; home is home. We must build
Nigeria for Nigerians.’’
I saw his affliction
as a sign; I reasoned at the possibility of a change in the government’s
operations when he turns a corner. I believed he could have effectuated some
change. But life is not mine to give.
I will mourn Kyari
for the dead are to be mourned. I will not mock a man who exited this temporary
plane for I am a dead man still breathing waiting for my time to be called
home.
It is the end of an
era. But who will tell Abba Kyari’s story?
Fredrick Nwabufo is
a writer and journalist.
Twitter:
@FredrickNwabufo
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