Our friend Abba

Nothing jerks you back to the stark reality of the transience of life like when death takes away someone close to you. Among other questions, as you are buried in deep contemplation, you wonder: was it all worth it? Will the sacrifices made on behalf of a family, a nation or a cause lead to […]

Nothing jerks you back to the stark reality of the transience of life like when death takes away someone close to you. Among other questions, as you are buried in deep contemplation, you wonder: was it all worth it? Will the sacrifices made on behalf of a family, a nation or a cause lead to worthwhile and enduring outcomes or will it all be for nothing?

These questions and more have gnawed at our minds as we try to process the life and times and death of Abba Kyari, our friend going back nearly half a century for two of us writers of this brief tribute and several decades for the other person.

Sully Abu and Clem Baiye got to know Abba at the New Nigerian in Kaduna in 1973 after their ‘A’ levels before going their separate ways to university. Desmond Guobadia and Abba met at Warwick University in 1977.

This association with Abba dates back to our younger days when we engaged in all sorts of youthful exuberances that formed the bonds of deep friendship and affection. We addressed each other as ‘Kabiyesi’ (taken from ‘Village Headmaster’ which he loved so much that he had all the episodes dubbed for him decades after it had been rested).

Desmond and Abba attended many performances of music stars like George Benson, Millie Jackson, Brothers Johnson etc. in Birmingham and Coventry.

But our relationship was much later based on our shared idealism primarily how to make of Nigeria a great nation which its uncommonly abundant resources demanded. We had on occasion, mostly at Abba’s prompting, engaged in such advocacy in full page advertorials in one or two national newspapers. Our visits to one another’s homes or offices were more often animated by discussions on what to do about Nigeria, how to promote rapid development and social justice. Needless to say, such discussions often came against the brick walls of contemporary realities.

Like any intellectual in public office, Abba must have faced his share of impediments and private interest collided against the public interest. The main point was his unstinting-tinted loyalty to his boss and his formidable spirit as he worked for overly long hours at the risk of his health and physical wellbeing. His commitment to the cause was total and unblemished regarding personal gain. The president’s priorities were his own. He pursued with singular zeal the construction of the Second Niger Bridge which has had more progress under the Buhari administration than any other. The enduring shame of the nation’s inability to provide power drove a similar zeal which took him to Germany for the negotiations with Siemens, a trip that may have led to the infection that caused his death.

Stories planted to soil his name with regards to corruption were either done out of outright mischief or by people who did not know the man. By choice, his needs were few. His wardrobe consisted of a few white babanriga and red fez caps and a few suits for whenever he went to meet the cold of the British winter.

Abba sacrificed beyond the call of duty for the sake of the country to the detriment of his health and relationship with his family and friends. He was continually demonized and vilified in life and by some even in death.

The violence being done to his memory on social media often by people who never knew him speaks to the savagery that has become this nation’s soul.

Abba was uncommonly generous to his friends and also people he hardly knew. His liberal spirit was borne out of a deep compassion for the hard up and luckless. A couple of years ago, one of us was part of a group raising funds to help a cancer patient. Abba, who never met the person, sent in a donation. Though he himself was financially challenged at the time, Abba would not hold back from helping. In like manner, he set up a fund for patients who could not pay their bills with a particular medical practitioner in Kaduna. His generosity cuts across political, ethnic and religious divides; all that mattered was that someone was in need and deserving of discreet assistance to either pay school fees or defray medical expenses.

Since we were also family friends, it is only fair to mention that Abba was a caring father. Years ago, his son Nurudeen, was on admission at a hospital in Obalende. For a couple of nights, Abba sat on a chair by Nurudeen’s bed while he insisted that his wife, Hajia Kulu, stayed back at home with Aisha, the first child. But he was no slouch when it came to discipline and we are sure that all his four children (Aisha, Nurudeen, Ibrahim and Zainab), would each have a story or two to tell about their father’s strictness.

Abba’s friends were always warmly welcome to their home by his amiable wife, Kulu. She was very hospitable and her culinary skills were much appreciated by all their many guests. She would join in conversations on hot-button issues, expressing her mind eloquently but respectful of opposing views. Quite a handful of his friends were present in either Bauchi or Maiduguri in 1985 for the nuptial which were, expectedly, conducted in accordance with Islamic rites and custom.

Abba’s capacity to make friends and to keep them for decades was one other feature of his life. When you are with Abba, you get to meet people from all walks of life, different creeds and across the ideological spectrum. But he never forgot his boyhood friends from Maiduguri where he grew up, nor his secondary school contemporaries at St. Paul’s College Wusasa, Zaria. An intellectual to the core, his love for books was legendary. His house in Kaduna was not particularly spacious but it was full of books; the latest release and the out-of-print. He bought his friends books and enticed those who were not so inclined to a reading culture.

Apart from John Kenneth Galbraith, John Maynard Keynes, his favourite authors included the famous jurist, Lord Denning, economists such as Amartya Sen, Jeffrey Sachs and a host of others. Early last year, the Canadian micro-historian, Timothy C. Winegard, authored a controversial book titled, The Mosquito: A Human History of our Deadliest Predator. Abba was seen reading the book soon after it was released. For those interested, the author argued that 52 billion out of the 108 billion human beings who ever lived on this planet were killed by the mosquito.

Abba would travel to several parts of the country attending marriages, birthdays, naming ceremonies and funerals of his friends’ families. To Asaba, Bauchi, Ibadan, Okene, Benin, Warrake, Wusasa, Warri, Minna, Enugu, etc. he went in support of his friends – many times, being a surprise visitor. Desmond’s parents received a number of such visits in Benin even when he was not around. On an occasion, Clem invited him to ride along with him from Lagos to Osogbo to attend the traditional wedding of a friend’s son. He obliged.

Much unlike his public demeanor, he was possessed of an impish sense of humor which always came out when he was with his friends.

We shall miss you, dear friend.

Adieu Kabiyesi!

 

Sully Abu is a Publisher

Clem Baiye is a Business Executive

Desmond Guobadia is a Solicitor

All are based in Lagos.