By Ebube Dike

Until March 24, 2020, when it was made public that the trusted Chief of Staff to the President Alhaji Abbas Kyari had tested positive for COVID-19 on March 23, following an official trip to Germany nine days before, the late Chief of staff was assumed to be a Czar in the Presidency. This no doubt, may be because he has the ears of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Born in 1938 Abba Kyari (OON) served as Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari from 27 August 2015 to 17 April 2020.

Abba Kyari a Kanuri from Borno, In 1980, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Warwick, and also received a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Cambridge.

In 1983, he was called to the Nigerian Bar after attending the Nigerian Law School.

In 1984, he obtained a master’s degree in law from the University of Cambridge.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.

Abbas Kyari was married to the sister-in-law of Ibrahim Tahir, and had four children.

Kyari worked for the law firm Fani-Kayode and Sowemimo for some time after his return to Nigeria.

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.

Kyari 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.

Kyari was an influential figure within the Buhari administration. During the administration’s first term, he worked mainly behind the scenes to implement the president’s agenda. In 2019 with Buhari’s re-election for a second term, he ordered his cabinet to channel all requests through Kyari’s office. Further enhancing his influence within government circles, and being labelled as the de facto head of government.

In 2017, following a leaked memo, Kyari became embroiled in a public argument with the Head of Civil Service, who was later removed from office and arrested. In 2020, in another leaked memo, Babagana Monguno the National Security Adviser accused Kyari of meddling in matters of national security.

Kyari died in a Lagos hospital on 17 April 2020,he died from complications related to COVID-19.