Biography of Late Abba Kyari OON

Abba Kyari: The Life and Career of Buhari’s Long-Serving Chief of Staff

Abba Kyari, a Kanuri from Borno State who held the national honour of OON, served as Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari from August 27, 2015, until his death on April 17, 2020.

He earned a first degree in Sociology at the University of Warwick in 1980 before turning to law at the University of Cambridge. After training at the Nigerian Law School, he was called to the bar in 1983. Cambridge awarded him a master’s degree in law the following year, in 1984. Further study took him to the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1992, and to the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School in 1994.

His working life began at the law firm of Fani-Kayode and Sowemimo. In 1988 he moved to Kaduna as Editor of New Africa Holdings Limited, and two years later he was appointed Commissioner for Forestry and Animal Resources in Borno State.

At African International Bank Limited, a subsidiary of Bank of Credit and Commerce International, he was secretary to the board between 1990 and 1995. Banking then became his main field: he served as executive director (management services) at the United Bank for Africa and later rose to chief executive officer of the bank.

Corporate boards also drew on his experience. He was appointed a director of Unilever Nigeria in 2002 and sat on the board of Exxon Mobil Nigeria.

It was in August 2015 that he took on the Chief of Staff role under President Muhammadu Buhari, an office from which he wielded considerable influence behind the scenes. Between 2017 and 2019 his position appeared to evolve into that of a coordinating head inside the President’s inner circle.

Controversy attached to the office as well. He acted as an intermediary between the National Assembly and the President while the latter was away for medical treatment, and his part in the handling of bills, together with the sway he held over matters of national security, prompted public concern.

In 2020 he was involved in negotiations over national infrastructure development, most notably in the power sector, a further indication of the breadth of his role.

His service ended when he tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2020. He died of the illness on April 17, 2020, in a Lagos hospital, and is survived by his wife and four children.