Abba Kyari (23 September 1952 – 17 April 2020) was a Nigerian lawyer who served as Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria from August 2015 to April 2020.

Early life

Kyari was born on 23 September 1952, to a Shuwa Arab family from Borno. He was educated in St. Paul's College in Wusasa, Zaria, and later considered joining the

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the largest component of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The President of Nigeria is the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Army, and its professional head is the Chie ...

following advice from Mamman Daura and Ibrahim Tahir. In 1976, he met

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

who was then Governor of Borno State.

Education

Kyari graduated with a bachelor's degree in sociology from the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

in 1980, and later obtained a law degree from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Kyari was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1983 after attending the

Nigerian Law School The Nigerian Law School is an educational institution set up to provide professional certification to graduates of law. The school was established in Lagos under the Legal Education Act 1962, now Legal Education (Consolidation Etc) Act Cap. L1 ...

. In 1984, he obtained a master's degree in law from the University of Cambridge. He later attended the

International Institute for Management Development International Institute for Management Development (IMD) is an independent academic institute with campuses in Lausanne, Switzerland and Singapore. IMD is known for its executive education and its proximity to business. In 2024, it named David B ...

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, Switzerland, and in 1992 and 1994 participated in the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

's Program for Leadership Development.

Career

Kyari worked for the

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

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. He was a Commissioner for Forestry and Animal Resources in

Borno State Borno is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Yobe State, Yobe to the west, Gombe State, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa State, Adamawa to the south while its ea ...

in the 1990s. From 1990 to 1995, Kyari was the secretary to the board of the African International Bank Limited, a subsidiary of

Bank of Credit and Commerce International The Bank of Credit and Commerce International was an international bank founded in 1972 by Agha Hasan Abedi, a Pakistani financier. The bank was registered in Luxembourg with head offices in Karachi and London. A decade after opening, BCCI had ...

. Kyari was an executive director in charge of management services at the

United Bank for Africa United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) is a multinational pan-African financial services group headquartered in Lagos Island, Lagos and known as Africa’s Global Bank. It has subsidiaries in 20 African countries and offices in London, Paris and New ...

, and was later appointed the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

. In 2002, he was appointed a board director of Unilever Nigeria, and later served on the board of Exxon Mobil Nigeria.

Chief of Staff to the President

In August 2015, Kyari was appointed

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

. As chief of staff, he was widely considered to be the face of an infamous was that wielded high political powers in the government. During the administration's first term, he worked mainly

behind the scenes https://www Googlefinans.co= In filmmaking, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK ( ...

to implement the president's agenda. After Buhari won re-election in 2019, he ordered his cabinet members 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 then arrested. In 2020, in another leaked memo, Babagana Monguno the National Security Adviser accused Kyari of meddling in matters of national security.

Family

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

Death

On 24 March 2020, it was made public that Kyari had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

following an official trip to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

nine days before. There were reports that he had been flown out of the country for treatment, and

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

later reported he had "a history of medical complications, including

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

". On 29 March 2020, Kyari announced he was being moved from isolation in

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

to Lagos for "preventive treatment". Kyari later died on the evening of 17 April 2020 at age 67. His death was a very huge blow to the nation. He was eulogised by ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' as "a largely honourable man who went to the heart of a thoroughly corrupt and dysfunctional system, aiming to reform it—but who struggled to overcome its inertia amid a series of crises."

Honours and awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyari, Abba 1952 births 2020 deaths Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria Nigerian Law School alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of the University of Warwick International Institute for Management Development alumni Officers of the Order of the Niger Commanders of the Order of the Federal Republic Kanuri people Nigerian expatriates in the United Kingdom 20th-century Nigerian businesspeople 20th-century Nigerian lawyers 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople 21st-century Nigerian lawyers Buhari administration personnel People from Borno State Nigerian corporate directors Nigerian Shuwa Arabs Nigerian politicians