The reason why some Nigerians, want their leaders dead is not far-fetched. When the coronavirus broke out, a lot of the Nigerian masses expressed their desire for the virus to visit and wreak havoc at the seat of power. The desire to have death fight the course of perceived injustice or poverty is nothing but a timid willingness of the “querulous”. The change of leadership and systems during the Arab springs were examples of people who went beyond wishing their leaders dead, but people who are truly united in purpose and action. A desire strong enough to change nations and political status quo.
The recent demise of Mallam Abba Kyari, the former chief of staff to President Buhari was an eye opener just like the virus that killed him. Abba Kyari’s death and the reactions are two edges of the same sword of governance in Nigeria. While the poor are at most indifferent but want more of such news, the affluence, and people in the corridor of power are eulogising Abba’s virtues known to them and unknown to the suffering masses. What a paradox! While the masses who care less are judging the parts by the whole, the eulogisers are judging the parts by the parts as it concerns or favours them and, not by the whole.
Some in-depth analysis and synthesis of systems are required for us to dissect and understand the feelings of both the masses and a few elites as expressed by the responses to Abba’s death. In the book, Decoding Potential: The Science of Achievement, the author, Robert J. Fowler, posited some facts on systems. He wrote ‘breaking the whole into its parts is an analysis which helps one to gain knowledge. Building parts into wholes is synthesis. When you take a system apart and analyse it, it loses its properties. To understand systems, you need to look at them as wholes.’
You need to see the video of a Nigerian in Italy who collected a palliative fund sent to his account at the cash machine. He thereafter rains curses of abuses on Buhari and his team up to the local government councillors wishing them dead by thunder. Why is he wishing for the demise of the political officers in Nigeria? He has simply compared two systems as a whole and not in parts, and if you care to know, his position is likely to be an objective analysis and synthesis of governance in Italy and Nigeria.
For him, an ordinary immigrant in Italy, to have qualified for a palliative fund to cushion the effects of the lockdown is unimaginable compared to Nigeria where the palliative is done in parts and with unaccountable sentiments. It is a mockery of governance intents and organisation for a minister of the federal republic to be moving around sharing food and cash. Evidence of no or poor system in place. Where are the BVNs and much talk about development in Nigeria?
In Africa, it is a moral crime to speak ill of someone in the higher realm. We are beclouded by religion and culture. A commissioner lost his appointment in Kano state for the same offence. However, making fair comments about what one has used his (or her) lifetime to do or fail to do should not be a taboo except there are no lessons from such experience.
Let us now look at Abba Kyari, representing the parts of a system viz-a-viz the responses from the two sides of the divide-the ruling elites and the poor masses.
President Buhari scored a good leadership point by appointing Abba Kyari as his Chief of Staff. He takes a secured leader to appoint someone more qualified and intelligent as his aid. In the private sectors, it is rampant to see unsecured leaders who are timid by the brilliance of their subordinates for fear of their positions. I was a victim of such insecurities and had to go the unnecessary miles to give comforts to the unsecured leaders. No doubt Abba Kyari with his education, exposure and experience is no match for the President. He was a better-qualified candidate to govern a complex system like Nigeria save for the President’s predestination. He wasn’t a product of the quota systems that helps the backward parts of a system to equate and dominate the progressive parts. His appoint was merited from education and experience perspectives, but more likely on religion and political ideology.
He was a detribalised Nigerian who cannot be better described than how his friend, Geoffrey Onyeama, the minister for foreign affairs did. Abba, a devoted Muslim Kanuri man, was so sociable to have agreed to be the best man of a catholic man at a wedding ceremony. He was also the godfather of Geoffrey’s first son, which mean Abba has entered the church as a full participant of events on two occasions to count the least. Geoffrey Onyeama could not have done better in his tribute to Kyari. His tribute reinforces the possibility of a united Nigeria if our diversity is not mismanaged.
Nigeria is a case study of a mismanaged diversity on the platform of religion, ethnic superiority, greed, and power hustling. That is a topic for another day. Onyeama is truly Abba’s friend in life and in death with his defence and response to some allegations against the deceased. There are relationships lessons to be learnt from Geoffrey and Abba’s friendship. You can trust me to write out the lessons in another article to teach my readers and followers the importance of building diverse and mutual relationships.
There is no doubt to the intelligence and competence of Late Abba Kyari, and all the eulogies are likely to be a representative sample of the late chief of staff. The first problem is that those who have been in the corridors of power, describing the positive sides of Abba are not trusted by the poor Nigerian masses. Nigerians don’t trust their leaders. Of course, they can’t be trusted after many failed elections promises and selfish enrichment of few political appointees. How come the masses who should feel the impacts of leadership, especially the good qualities and acclaimed contributions of Abba Kyari are indifferent or happy when people in power are socked with calamity? Is it the personalities we are electing or the system that is producing bad out of good or average political class?
Going by the way I started, the reason for the diverge opinion of the person of Kyari is not farfetched. The masses are judging from the whole and not by the parts. The essence of leadership is to influence the systems to make lives better. The Nigeria system is bad enough to make worse of any great intention to serve Nigerians.
Garba Shehu in his attempt to prove how honest Late Abba Kyari was exposed the failure of our system. Before the President was elected after a series of failed attempts, he was polished and repackaged with only one song. The song is fighting corruption. Nigerians believe corruption was the only problem standing against their prosperity as individuals and as a nation. That was right when common stealing is not corruption under President Jonathan Goodluck. Is the President fighting corruption they way corruption should be fought?
Shehu Garba claimed Abba Kyari rejected a whopping sum of N200m monthly allocation for the Chief of Staff’s office in his defense for a bribery allegation of N29.9m. How are we fighting corruption? Should N200m be available to the Chief of Staff’s office if the administration is serious about his primary success indicator- to fight corruption? I want to believe we are not fighting corruption using the right approach-the system approach. What If Abba Kyari was not moral enough to reject the unwarranted allocation? I’m sure he would be one in a ten to do that. It cannot be proven if Shehu Garba will reject such allocation as Abba did. We need to fight corruption sincerely by building institutions and systems if Nigeria must win the war.
The National Assembly is an area where underserved money is being paid for debates and community projects. Why can’t the President reduce the allocation? Francis Fadahunsi, a senator representing Osun East in his interview with the Channels News made defensive allegations when asked about the official vehicles for members. He said the federal ministers are with fleets of cars and Nigerians focused on the senators mostly. That is an indicator that we have a huge problem with Nigeria’s political system of governance and the ruling class as it were. Corruption is justifying corruption. Goodluck might be right if his assertion that common stealing of government money is different from corruption subject to further analysis in the context of Nigeria.
The Nigerian political system was designed by the colonial masters to meet their needs for easy administration. The current system did not support the overall purpose of a united country with abundance for all. The system appeared to be perfectly designed to enrich public office holders, cause agitations among the federating nations and threaten the wellbeing of an average citizen.
Back to the man of the moment, Abba Kyari. I had a one-off close contact with him when he was the managing director of a bank. Kyari was simple and humble enough to leave his office for a photograph with a group of 30 staff to mark the end of a two-day training programme. He was unassuming and surprisingly never felt uncomfortable when a novice and a youth corp member like me decided to have a personal discussion with him. While others were wondering what was wrong with this unconventional young corp member who ran to speak with the big Abba, Abba Kyari was calm and nice in his approach. He simply took his time to answer my questions on his career paths and in a very motivating way.
Abba Kyari was a leader, and no leader is infallible. You cannot dismiss the feelings of the masses who celebrates the fall of our leaders. They see them as selfish and uncaring privileged people in power who are now replacing themselves with their children in political offices and businesses. Abba Kyari happens to be part of this team of political elites despite his good nature as described by the same elites. The story of a leader is better told by the helpless masses touched by his or her influence and is without fault-proved credibility if it is positive only from those that are within the leader’s inner circle. I am used to telling private sector leaders to desist from being leaders of few leaders but to be system-oriented leaders that establishes processes to reward people even if they are outside their kitchen cabinets. As a leader, you do not need to know a follower before he or she benefits from your system. If a system, be it private or public enterprise benefits only the leaders or those close to the leaders, then there is a problem with the leaders or the system as it is the case of Nigeria.
Our leaders are now using the same medical facilities they have refused to build, thanks to the coronavirus. Why would the masses not be unhappy? If the newspaper report that Kyari used his influence to strip the ministry of health of its procurement power due to his feud with Professor Isaac Adewole and his refusal to restore the ministry’s suspended power nine months after Adewole’s exit accounted for the delays in the anticipatory purchase of equipment to fight COVID-19 is true, then we are products of our decisions. His death might have been avoidable if the system in place is institutionalised enough to prevent unnecessary power play. Also, Osagie Ehanire’s warning to a journalist that he could be in problem for mentioning Abba’s name as a top government official with coronavirus pointed to the fact that the late chief of staff was also a fear factor.
The candid condolences from Professor Adewole, Winifred Ita-Oyo and Babagana Monguno can put context to the true perception of Abba either as a good associate of the people who worked closely with him or as part of a system that has failed the vulnerable majority. Be it as it may be, Abba Kyari was an intelligent intellectual whose service is needed if they are for the benefits of the majority and not for a few privileged cabals. Nigeria needs people with wide exposure, boldness and intelligence but not bewildered by religion or ethnic colouration. We need them most from the north of Nigeria where the pains of change in the form of a fair and good system of governance, equity in resources and appointments, and secularism might be unwelcomed. Can the likes of Nasir El-Rufai or Ibrahim Dankwambo be the prophet? Let us leave the discussion on the duo for another day but with the same title. I promise to write on that for your reading and judgement.
Whether Abba Kyari was a good and determined leader or not is no longer relevant. The man Kyari will be remembered for dying in the services of his country by few who knows him and by the majority who will count him as part of the cost. No servant is more powerful than his master. No matter the level of Abba Kyari’s power and influence, he cannot be more responsible than Buhari. He could have given his exposure, advice the President against appointing only people from one section of the country as his security chiefs, or not to violate the federal character or constitution, but the ball rises and falls on the President whom we voted and who will be the leader of the team that either make the eight years counts or wasted.
Late Abba Kyari might just be one of those who are given bad names because he was a part of the whole. He was a member of a team with intelligent Fashola and Brilliant Ameachi and many others. He was the best among the team if the President says so and truly, he deserves to be remembered as the best if Buhari could immortalise him by giving Nigerians a stable power supply before 2023. That will justify Kyari’s trips to Germany (for Nigeria) where he contacted coronavirus.
Until then, the masses will judge Abba Kyari and the President’s team based on the reality around them: hunger, banditry, Boko Haram, herdsmen, extra-judicial killings, and insecurity which to them are more visible than the unseen coronavirus.
Babs Olugbemi
