Permit me to begin this presentation by sending my message of condolences to the family, friends, political associates and all who indeed have been personally affected by the demise of the chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari. Kyari, without any shadow of doubt was an accomplished man, a UK trained lawyer, business guru and board member of several leading business organisation across Nigeria. His was a full life not diminished by his death to coronavirus.
His death expectedly has provoked diverse reactions from Nigerians across ethnic, religious and political divides. The mystery of death is that most times, it brings us to the point where we momentarily forget our differences and reflect on the finality of life itself; the realisation that none of us would be here forever, that we shall one day depart this mortal plane and leave behind all that we had acquired, our sorrows and setbacks and present the account of our existence to our Maker. This realisation may have informed the quick tributes paid Kyari by several Nigerians from the opposite side of the political divide, those who never saw eye to eye with him in the political sphere.
Kyari is gone and one won’t be surprised to learn that schemes to replace him may have reached advanced stages. In a matter of days or weeks, a new chief of staff would be announced and the political class would carry on as if Kyari never existed. Attention would shift to the new man and depending on the influence he wields with Buhari, he may become the next go-to person for favour seekers and political hangers-on.
The only group that would mourn Kyari sincerely are members of his immediate family and friends from way back. The people he met after he had become one of the most powerful men in Aso Rock will be quick to ingratiate themselves with whoever becomes Buhari’s next closest confidant.
What happens in the days ahead will have immense bearing on the politics of 2023. Will power remain in the north; will it shift to the south, what is the fate of Yemi Osinbajo? Is he going to succeed his boss or will he be thrown into political obscurity? How about Bola Tinubu? For sure he will be want to have a say on who succeeds Abba Kyari as that would have direct relationship with his rumoured 2023 power games.
Before the politics of Kyari’s succession and the permutations of 2023 takes over the conversation, a careful evaluation of Kyari’s term as chief of staff would be apposite. The circumstances surrounding the death of the Borno born lawyer remains shrouded in mystery. Apart from the fact that he died of COVID-19, not much is known to the public. Speculations were rife around the end of March that he had been flown to a foreign medical facility for proper attention. Many media houses even reported that the presidential jet was sighted at a London airport. Not long after, it was rumoured that the late chief of staff had been flown to Cuba where a cure for the ailment allegedly exists. Few days later, the rumour mill went abuzz again that Kyari was receiving treatment in a private location in Lagos. Do not also forget that days after his COVID-19 status was made public, reports emerged that two ventilators at the Gwagwalada Isolation centre had been dismantled and taken to Aso Rock for the exclusive use of the chief of staff.
The presidency did not help matters by keeping Nigerians in the dark through it all. Everything was shrouded in secrecy unlike what we saw when the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson also came down with a similar ailment. At every point of the way, the public was kept in the know. Britons were told when their PM tested positive; they knew when he began to self isolate. When he had to be taken into the emergency unit, they were not kept in the dark. The government in the UK had maximum respect for the citizens and made sure there was little or no room for speculation. When eventually Johnson was discharged, the public was also informed promptly. Perhaps it is about time we began to question the high level secrecy that attends the health status of public officials in Nigeria. From Umaru Musa Yaradua to Kyari, it has now been established that secrecy only creates rumours and bitterness with members of the public.
One last thing to consider in all of these is the unpardonable failure of the government Kyari served in to pay serious attention to our health sector. Buhari had had to make several runs to foreign medical facilities in search of medical attention for various undisclosed ailments. Millions of naira were expended on each trip the president undertakes. At the same time, it never occurred to the president or any of his advisers that the most cost effective thing to do was to equip our health facilities and make it as good as what is obtainable in the UK.
It is a shame that while the Buhari administration virtually abandoned the Nigerian health institution, he had no qualm of conscience funnelling our scarce foreign exchange earnings to the UK health system. As we learnt during Kyari’s ill-health, Buhari was not alone in the patronage of foreign health facilities. Kyari’s medical records we were told had to be brought in from a UK hospital before the local doctors could do anything. Such a shame. Do you know any serious country in the world whose senior officials patronise health institutions in far flung countries of the earth.
Perhaps Kyari could have lived longer if he had spared a thought for the Nigerian health sector while he reigned as the unofficial president of Nigeria. Maybe he could have been spared the derision of cynics if and only if he had realised that the most effective use of a public position of influence is to explore ideas of making life better for the general citizens. Like several others before him, the system Kyari neglected returned the favour at a point the former chief of staff had no superior alternative.
Will other public office holders pick out any lesson from Kyari’s passing? Perhaps they will. But it is very likely they will not. Thankfully, no one has any immunity over death.
Rest in peace Abba Kyari.
