What You Should Know About Abba Kyari As He Passes On

The Nigerian president’s chief of staff, Abba Kyari has died from the deadly coronavirus after testing positive weeks back.

Abba Kyari was the top aide to President Buhari and one of the most powerful men in the country.

The was revealed by presidency spokesmen  on Twitter, as Covid-19 deaths on the continent pass 1,000.

Kyari, who was in his 70s and had underlying health problems, including diabetes, was the top official aide to 77-year-old President Muhammadu Buhari and one of the most powerful men in the country.

“The Presidency regrets to announce the passage of the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari,” said presidency spokesman Garba Shehu in a tweet on Friday, using an honorific title for Kyari.

“The deceased had tested positive to the ravaging COVID-19, and had been receiving treatment. But he died on Friday, April 17, 2020,” he said in a second post on Twitter. Spokesman Femi Adesina also confirmed the death.

Kyari’s was the highest profile death due to the disease in the country, which has 493 confirmed cases and 17 deaths, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

Kyari acted as the gatekeeper to Buhari. He travelled to Germany in early March with a delegation of other Nigerian officials for meetings with the company, Siemens. He attended meetings with senior government officials upon his return to Nigeria.

Family and Personal Life

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.[4] 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.

Kyari was married to the sister-in-law of Ibrahim Tahir and had four children.[6

Professional Career

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.

Political Career

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.