Kyari worked for the law firm Fani-Kayode and Sowemimo for some time after his return to Nigeria.[13]
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 in the 1990s.[14]
In August 2015, Kyari was appointed Chief of Staff to PresidentMuhammadu Buhari.[15][16] As chief of staff, he was widely considered to be the face of an infamous was that wielded high political powers in the government.[17][18]
During the administration's first term, he worked mainly behind the scenes to implement the president's agenda.[19] After Buhari won re-election in 2019, he ordered his cabinet members to channel all requests through Kyari's office[20] — further enhancing his influence within government circles, and being labelled as the de facto head of government.[21]
In 2017, following a leaked memo, Kyari became embroiled in a public argument with the Head of Civil Service,[22] who was later removed from office and then arrested.[23][24] In 2020, in another leaked memo, Babagana Monguno the National Security Adviser accused Kyari of meddling in matters of national security.[25]
Family
Kyari was married to the sister-in-law of Ibrahim Tahir,[26] and had four children, Aisha, Nurudeen, Ibrahim, Zainab.[27][5]
Death
On 24 March 2020, it was made public that Kyari had tested positive for COVID-19 following an official trip to Germany nine days before.[28] There were reports that he had been flown out of the country for treatment,[29] and Reuters later reported he had "a history of medical complications, including diabetes".[30]
On 29 March 2020, Kyari announced he was being moved from isolation in Abuja to Lagos for "preventive treatment".[31] Kyari later died on the evening of 17 April 2020 at age 67. His death was a very huge blow to the nation.[32] He was eulogised by The Economist 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."[33]
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