News
Abba Kyari’s Death, End of a Surrogate Presidency, and the Coming Chaos – Farooq Kperogi
To say I was shocked by Abba Kyari’s death would be to tell a lie. Being an asthmatic patient who routinely had “breathing problems” that necessitated periodic trips to London hospitals—in addition to being a diabetic who was older than 65—it would have been nothing short of miraculous if he survived COVID-19.
In spite of who he was, especially the last five years of his life on earth, as a Muslim, I won’t speak ill of him in death. But I won’t write undeserving and deodorizing posthumous extolments of him, either. That would be as bad as, or even worse than, celebrating his death.
With Kyari’s death, Nigeria is now truly leaderless. Buhari is practically in the land of the living dead. He’s a breathing mannequin whose only reason for living is to prove he isn’t dead in order to justify the continuity of the rule in his name.
Abba Kyari ruled the country on Buhari’s behalf. In my viral February 22, 2020 column titled, “The Tragedy of the Abba Kyari Surrogate Presidency,” this line appeared: “Sometime in the midpoint of last year, a northern retired general told me Abba Kyari said in private that people who vilify him don’t realize that without him Nigeria would be rudderless and descend into chaos.”
Now, he is gone, and the chaos he talked about would start in the coming days and weeks. Mamman Daura, Buhari’s nephew who introduced Kyari to Buhari, isn’t only old (he is now in his early 80’s) he is also now isolated from Buhari thanks to Kyari.
Babagana Kingibe who has been acting on Kyari’s behalf and who will probably formally replace him, doesn’t quite know Buhari in the same way that Abba Kyari did.
There is a yawning, potentially disorienting power vacuum in the presidential villa now, which actually emerged really visibly since Kyari went out of circulation before his eventual death.
Watch out for Aisha Buhari to assert herself more aggressively and to work to grab power in the fashion that Turai Yar’adua did. In fact, she already started this the moment Kyari took ill.
One of the first things Aisha did was to cause Jalal Arabi, Permanent Secretary of the State House and Kyari’s dutiful protege, to be redeployed from the Villa.
The remnants of the cabal will, of course, fight back. But the fight between Aisha and members of the cabal who are merely Kyari’s proteges, would be a fight in the dark because Buhari who is supposed to intervene is an insentient being who’s barely aware he’s alive.
The in-fighting will create noticeable cracks in the Buhari group that Osinbajo, Tinubu, and other interest groups would exploit to feather their nests and advance their interests. In other words, in the coming days and months, expect the cessation of any pretense to governance and an unprecedentedly factious, dog-eat-dog, recriminatory fight between competing power blocs.
President Bola Tinubu met with security chiefs, including Tunji Disu, the inspector-general of police (IGP) in a closed-door session on Thursday to address a series of “rising terror attacks” across the country.
The meeting followed an escalation in violence, including recent deadly raids in Benue, Plateau, and Borno states.
The nearly two-hour meeting, held at the State House in Abuja, began in the afternoon after the security chiefs arrived discreetly and ended around 5:10 p.m.
Those in attendance included Christopher Musa, minister of defence; Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser (NSA); Adeola Ajayi, the director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS); and Olufemi Oluyede, chief of defence staff (CDS).
Others were Waidi Shaibu, the chief of army staff; Kelvin Aneke, chief of air staff; and Idi Abbas, chief of naval staff.
As of the time of filing this report, details of the meeting had yet to be issued by the presidency.
However, there are indications that the sit-down may centre around the rising terror attacks and intensified assaults on military outposts across Nigeria, particularly in the north-east, which culminated in the recent killing of several high-ranking officers.
On Monday, a commanding officer of the Nigerian Army was killed following an attack by suspected fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) on a military base in Kukawa, Borno state.
The attack came about a week after suspected Boko Haram and ISWAP fighters attempted to attack military positions in Ngoshe, Gwoza LGA of Borno.
On Tuesday, Nigerian troops repelled an early-morning attack by suspected ISWAP fighters on a military base in Doron Baga, Kukawa LGA of the state.
Speaking during an interfaith breaking of the fast with members of the Nigerian Armed Forces at the presidential villa in Abuja last Friday, Tinubu said the country would “ultimately prevail against all forms” of insecurity.
The president said the efforts of the security forces had continued to weaken terrorist groups and bandits operating in different parts of the country.
He assured the armed forces of continued investment in modern equipment, intelligence, and logistics to strengthen their operational effectiveness.
In a major political shake-up on Thursday,12 members of the House of Representatives formally defected from their various political parties to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, announced the defections during a plenary session, citing internal party crises and leadership disputes as the primary reasons for the lawmakers’ exit.
Of the 12 lawmakers who defected, six left the Peoples Democratic Party for the APC. Five members abandoned the Labour Party and the PDP for the ADC, while one member moved from the Young Progressives Party to the ADC.
The development has heightened concerns about growing instability within political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Those who defected from the PDP to the APC are James Barka (Adamawa), Kwamoti Bitrus Laori (Adamawa), Zakaria Nyampa (Adamawa), Kobis Thimnu (Adamawa), Midala Balami (Borno), and Mohammed Bargaja (Sokoto).
Lawmakers who defected to the ADC include Afam Victor Ogene (Anambra), Peter Aniekwe (Anambra), Lilian Orogbu (Anambra), Jessey Onakalusi (Lagos), and Murphy Osaro Omoruyi (Edo).
The Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu, who presided over plenary, disclosed that some other members had also written to the leadership of the House notifying it of their intention to leave their current parties.
He, however, said the letters and the destination parties of the lawmakers would not be disclosed in their absence.
While announcing the names of the defectors, Kalu said the reasons given by the lawmakers were similar to those previously cited by others who had defected. He added that the House would not read the letters during the session in order to save time.
According to him, the letters would only be read when the concerned lawmakers are present on the floor of the House.
During Wednesday’s plenary, Garba Inuwa and Abdullahi El-Rasheed from Gombe, as well as Mohammed Audu (Taraba) and Joshua Obika (FCT), defected to the APC, while Adewale Adebayo (Osun) left the PDP for the Accord Party.
In a series of tense exchanges spanning late 2025 and early 2026, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly warned Donald Trump and the international community that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already escalated into the beginning of World War III due to Russian aggression and its growing alliances.
While Zelensky has warned that Vladimir Putin’s actions are dragging the world into a global conflict, Trump has frequently flipped this narrative, accusing Zelensky of “gambling with World War Three” by refusing to make immediate concessions for a peace deal.
“I said that we would have World War III. The President (Trump) didn’t hear me…him with his guys,” Zelensky said in a televised interview on Wednesday.
“I’m not sure they (the United States) can estimate that Russia will support Iran with weapons, drones, and missiles. And—100 percent—it’s helping now with air defense.”
Pointing to the situation in his country, Zelensky said the next stage of the Iranian war could be troop deployment, saying there are 10,000 North Korean soldiers currently in Russia.
“Yes, they are on the territory of Russia, but they can come to Ukraine,” he presumed. “It can be the same with Iran; Russia can send troops.”
Zelensky said countries in the Middle East have remained neutral on the Ukrainian conflict because of their long history of economic relations with Moscow.
“They understand Russia is the aggressor but are not loud about it or strong on sanctions,” he said. “Now they are beginning to understand what it means to live under attacks.”
Reports in Western media suggest Russia is sharing drone warfare strategy learned in Ukraine with Iran, potentially boosting Tehran’s ability to hit U.S. and Gulf interests in the Middle East.
The war, now on Day 13, has affected at least a dozen countries, with no ceasefire indication in sight. The U.S. has struck thousands of targets and has not indicated boots on the ground.
“They (Iran) are pretty much at the end of the line,” President Trump said Wednesday night. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to end it immediately.”
Terror Surge: Tinubu Demands Results from Security Chiefs
2027 Shakeup: 12 Lawmakers Defect To APC, ADC
World War III Fears: Zelensky Reveals Warning To Trump
Tensions Rise As Makoko Communities Vow To Resist Relocation Order
Union Bank Of Nigeria Marks International Women’s Month 2026 With Inclusion-First “Give to Gain” Campaign
IWD: Fidelity Bank Signs MoU with Partners, Launch ‘Give Her Power’ Initiative to Empower Nigerian Women
Just In: Dangote Refinery Announces Petrol, Diesel Price Reduction
Drama At Rivers Assembly Over Nominee’s ‘I don’t pay tax’ Statement
Rotimi Salami In Tears As ‘Kilanko’ Struggles At Box Office
