ABBA KYARI AND THE ATTEMPT TO REWRITE HISTORY

On April 19, 2020, I received an open letter from a bosom friend: Oyebode Kujembola on the person of #Abba Kyari. The message in the letter was instructive and inspiring on the person of the former Chief of Staff to President Muhammodu Buhari.

I've since wrote a rejoinder and shared on What's App platform. I initially was hesitant to share here for some reasons, chief of which is that I don't believe on speaking on dead issues, but the recent campaign to rewrite history about him by individuals closed to him necessitate the need for alternative voices like mine if not for anything but for posterity sake.

Below is my rejoinder, while I implore you to read my friend's letter too.

Re: Open Letter To My Friend

Thank you Yinka for finding me worthy of being called a friend in this age of betrayal and bad blood. Sincerely, we've come a long way, weathered some storms together, but the journey is still far-fetched, so no resting on our oars.

Give it to him dear Yinka, Abba Kyari is a complete gentleman worthy of emulation for a generation of youths with passive quest for excellence, and obsession for wealth without effort as far as his personal achievement is concerned.

His academic credentials is very intimidating with very few being able to boast of such Magnus opus resume. I sincerely envied him and would enjoy us to make attempt to cover such ground he covered, if at all we can't surpass it, but which I seriously believe we can.

I've had course to also have an x-ray into his life through readings from people's comments who have a personal relationship with him, and it has been encouraging.

As a complete gentleman and a man of few words, he lived life to the fullest. He was a round peg in a round hole as Chief of staff if academic qualifications and professional success are all it takes to promote good governance. He was a very loyal political aide to his boss.

As a Nigerian, I never hate or love him. I just saw him as part of an administration which was unprepared for the magnitude of the task ahead. So if to judge him on this front, he may not score well as the failure of his boss also means his own failure, more so, that he was given a leeway to determine the direction of the regime.

Being a former political aide, I sympathize with him because uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. As a political aide, you are either a punch bag or a punching bag for your principal. To an outsider, you may be a monster but to your boss, you are a jolly good fellow. What a the difference is the ability to balance personal loyalty with national or societal interest. This I must say, few political aides in our climes have been able to achieve as far as our dear national life is concerned.

In his own case, the weakness of Buhari primarily due to old age, ill-health, and or sheer incompetence means he has to shudder most of the blames for this regime. What this further means is that he bore the shortcomings of his boss too including tendency to be nepotistic.

Essentially therefore, I will like to love and emulate his achievements at a personal level, but would not want to be associated with him as a face of an administration which seems to lost his bearings sooner than it started.

Sentiment apart, he is an accomplished personality worthy of emulation for us all, especially our generation and generations yet unborn. Perhaps, if he has not delved into politics, his epitaph would have been more inviting, exciting and glorious.

To be or not to be, he has come, saw and conquered in his own way, we alive need to prove our mettle that we are worthy of whatever callings we may have, and the profession fate or we might have assigned to ourselves.

As we approach the future with calm, poise, and determination, we hold it a duty to leave a footprints of excellence, positive values, and imperishable legacies for generations born and unborn.

Thank you John, my very good friend.

Below is my friend letter for your perusal:

OPEN LETTER TO MY FRIEND:

Dear James, I have been reading a couple of articles, tributes and epitaph about the man: Mallam Abba Kyari, the immidiate past CoS to our President.

These articles have carefully given insight into his early life, his life as a growing young person, his academic pursuit which today translates into his very rich profile, his journey touching virtually all the circuits of life; sociology, law, politics, journalism, banking, oil and gas. His marriage to just one woman of whom not much is known all through the man's life: Kulu was operating from behind the scene. Mallam had just four, they said 4 children!

The commentators have made a crystal clear x-ray into the fibre, calibre, attributes, virtues and character that was consisted of the deceased CoS.

A complete gentleman, extremely calm, highly educated, grossly intelligent, he was said to be a hard task master who takes no nosense, he was catalogued to be a man of unimpeachable integrity whose boss cannot doubt. He was not an extrovert, for that, most of us took him for a wrong person. He rather faced what he was called to do than preparing pleadings to joining issues in his defence. He was consistent, readily available till he breathed his last. Even on his sick bed, he had dreamt of recovering as soon as possible so he could return to his desk. No wonder he was more aged than his age. I am sure those poor desks would now finally have rest from his clinging prowls.

Sincerely James, I think now his death would be a major turning point for youths to drink life to its fullest, to show prudence in all that we do and be a man of high integrity.