The publicity which Mallam Abba Kyari shunned while he was alive would seem to have been dished out to him at death by two political heavyweights....President Mohammadu Buhari and Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama. Buhari's tribute to Kyari remains one of the most intimate I have listened to for as long as I can remember. In Kyari, Buhari found a friend and a loyal cabinet member and made it clear that their acquaintance with each other dated back some 42 years. He would miss a man who had become his 'de facto' second-in-command.
The Foreign Affairs Minister would later go on Channels TV to talk about a man who though a Muslim, was his best man at a Christian wedding he vividly recalled.
Their days at Warrick University were clearly a fond memory for a sober Onyeama who portrayed Kyari as self-effacing and clearly misunderstood by many. The Foreign Affairs Minister recalled how he was so moved by insinuations of underhand dealings by Kyari in the MTN fine saga that he approached his 'friend' of 43 years for an explanation.
Onyeama said Kyari denied any interest or gain in the matter and showed him documents to support his claims.
Put the accounts by Buhari and Onyeama about Kyari together and you'll end up scratching your head concerning the ugly image a good chunk of the Nigerian public had reserved for the late Chief of Staff.
As a communications teacher and student there are points that need to be made about the Kyari phenomenon.
The man was clearly an enigma who smiled only when it was absolutely necessary. He wielded power no doubt, but what pundits will ponder in future analyses is whether powerful Kyari was more powerful in his loyalty to President Mohammadu Buhari to the point of quietly taking bullets meant for the Nigerian leader or was merely living a life that shunned adulation and photo opportunity in pursuit of more meaningful national assignments.
Kyari did have a little public spat with a former Head of Service and the reported sack of a Kano state commissioner for 'celebrating' his death in a tweet was somewhat, eye-opening. The National Security Adviser also reportedy kicked against Kyari's 'dabbling' in security matters.
But if the President had expressly told whoever wanted to see him to always go through Kyari, it followed that the late Chief of Staff had influence in virtually every sphere of the Nigerian life.
Kyari was taciturn, publicity-shy but coolly efficient.
If dead men do think, he might now be wondering whom all the posthumous rants and noise are for!
But then, he would remember that he lived in a country known for chasing shadows while substance jeered from the background.
Abba Kyari was silent in his lifetime.
The silence from his grave can only be super and final!
Dead men don't bite but sometimes they leave behind arguments that taunt the mental processes of those who cling to life!
If you ask me, I think that the late Chief of Staff had quite a few things to explain in 'Nigeria And Me'.
But that would be a morbid publication.
Mortal eyes don't read from dead men!
So, maybe we should just let Abba Kyari go to his final sleep!
Chukwudi Okolie-Ugbaja is an Abuja-based freelancer.
