Abba Kyari
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 published on 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.”