What Nigerians didn’t know about Abba Kyari, Buhari’s new Chief of Staff – Baiye, his close associate

For how long have you known Alhaji Abba Kyari? We were reporters together in New Nigeria Newspapers in Kaduna as far back as 1973; we have been together since then. What is your relationship with him? Apart from being professional colleagues, having worked together as journalists, we became family friends. We share certain values together; […]

For how long have you known Alhaji Abba Kyari?
We were reporters together in New Nigeria Newspapers in Kaduna as far back as 1973; we have been together since then.
What is your relationship with him?
Apart from being professional colleagues, having worked together as journalists, we became family friends. We share certain values together; he loves reading books and I also love reading books. We love reading books about politics, economy and international relations, so we share some values. In those early days, we went out together. I lived with him in his home in Kaduna. He and a mutual friend called Sully Abu were very close. We studied together in school. Abba later left for the  United Kingdom where he did his A-level at Cambridge College of Higher Education.
Later, he went to Warwick University where he read Sociology and then went back to Cambridge University to read Law. At this time, I was in Nigeria. I had gone to Ahmadu Bello University. All these years, we kept our friendship; we were in touch. First, it was by post; we were writing letters to each other.
There were certain publications we read together: The Economist, Time magazine, etc. We both liked to read news publications. We read what we called left-wing publications and The Spectator, a right-wing publication. Why do we like to read these publications? We wanted to write and speak very good English. You may not agree with the publications, but the quality of the write-ups is very high. When he was in Cambridge College of Higher Education and Warwick University, he bought and sent the magazines to me; we had a common interest to read and understand policy issues, to understand what was happening in the world, to understand why the Israelis and the Arabs were always fighting. It was mutual interest of being informed by reading quality publications that brought us together.
In the early 1970s, entertainment on television was very limited but we liked to watch the Village Headmaster series before it was repackaged as the New Village Headmaster. Gradually, I knew his friends and he knew my friends; some of his friends became my friends and some of my friends became his friends. One of his late friends, Abande Lawal also became my friend.
What was his growing up like?
Abba grew up first in Maiduguri, Borno State. It is interesting that his father chose to send him to Saint Paul’s College, Wusasa – a secondary school set up by the Anglican Church. It is now called Kufena College. Saint Paul’s College was where Abba’s life was shaped by the fact that he was a Shuwa
Arab from the northern part of the country and a Muslim but was sent to a missionary school. He grew up knowing how to relate with people from every part of the country and to relate in a multi-cultural, multi-faith environment. His values were shaped by the fact that he grew up relating to people from different parts of the country.
What are his personal qualities that you find striking?
Abba is a great family man; a good father and husband. He has prodigious appetite for work. He works very hard. He is also a patriot; he is passionate about anything that concerns Nigeria. When you see Abba having sleepless nights, it is not about money, not about position. His interest is about the progress of Nigeria, how to ensure that the generation that comes after us finds Nigeria a place they will be proud to live in.
What would you say about his hobbies?
He likes to read. He is not a sportsman, but he loves books.
Does he socialise?
He does, but his social activities revolve around his friends. He was in Arochukwu three to four years ago for his friend’s daughter’s wine carrying (engagement) ceremony. Abba loves Nigerians and he has friends all over the country. He is the kind of person you will find in some parts of Delta State that even some people from Delta State have not been to. He has been to virtually all parts of the country to attend functions.
How would you describe his professional career?
As I said earlier, he went abroad to study. By the time he came back to Nigeria, he worked in the New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC) Limited based in Kaduna as investment executive. But once you enter newspaper life, you will want to go back there. So, he was invited by the owner of a newspaper called The Democrat, which used to be based in Kaduna, to become the editor. While in The Democrat, he went to train as a lawyer; he was called to the bar in Nigeria. He later left The Democrat after a couple of years and came to Lagos to work as company secretary of the defunct DCCI, which was a subsidiary of Global Bank. The Global Bank later collapsed. Along the line he and a group of friends did a buyout of UBA under the chairmanship of his good friend Hakeem Bello-Osagie. Abba was executive director of UBA for four to six years. After that, he became the managing director of the bank for about four years. He spent close to 10 years in UBA before he resigned and decided to go into private business. Along the line, Mobil Oil Nigeria, that is,  he oil marketing arm of Mobil, not the oil producing arm, invited him to be a non-executive director. So he has been on the board of the company for three to four years. He is also a director in UNILEVER and he has business interests here and there.
What do you consider as his strengths and weaknesses?
His strengths include the fact that he is a very loyal person; a patriotic person. He loves Nigeria and he works very hard. He is a very truthful person and also very kind. For example, if you are his friend and you fall sick, it will pain him more than you who is sick. We tell him this. He is also a very highly principled person; he does not know how to compromise. If it is a matter of principle, he is not going to compromise; he will not tell you something so that you’ll just hear. He will not tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to hear. In this country where politicians and almost everybody do not tell the truth because of what they want to get, Abba will tell you the truth, no matter how you’ll feel. That is his strength but in this country, some people consider it a weakness.
How do you see his appointment as the President’s Chief of Staff?
I believe the president has made the right decision because Abba is a bridge builder who knows how to relate with people. He relates across ages and geographical zones. Abba will assist the president in the fight against corruption because he has zero tolerance for corruption. He is going to help the president to fulfil his promises to Nigerians. He relates with young people very well; he is going to tap into their knowledge and also use them in driving the President’s agenda.
What is your take on the complaint in some quarters that the appointments made so far by the President are lopsided?
It is good that the people are talking. I believe that the president has heard and he should listen to them. The president is a highly disciplined person and he needs people of his kind in his government. I am not doing the work of his spokesman but I believe the president will do the right thing.