I find it interesting that the
editor of this book - a powerful journalist and intellectual- divides the
Tributes in this work into 3 sections, Good, Bad, and Ugly. Many - if not most
- of the contributions included in "The Bad" are actually quite
positive (Good). Then of course the "bile" is published under the
"Ugly" section, many of them still somewhat making sense.
With the contribution of Remi Oyeyemi here (under Ugly of
course), one definitely comes across very unpleasant, uncharitable sentiments.
There is nothing to show that he knew Kyari personally, but he calls him all
sorts of terrible, crude, vicious names that would make decent people shudder.
It is definitely from the gutter, and not what one would expect from a human
being, never mind a decent one. It is shocking. Yet Oyeyemi's piece does not
necessarily reflect badly on Kyare, but on Oyeyemi himself. We have seen the
tributes of those who personally knew Kyari, and though of course nobody is
perfect, this book shows that he was far from being a demon.
-
P. Lothane
Titbit from Kyari’s Daughter (Aisha):
"My dad had almost everything that most people yearned
for. Personal success, financial security - his needs were basic - and towards
the end, political influence albeit nowhere near as much as many Nigerians
think. But the true measure of a man, particularly in the eyes of God is in his
kindness, selflessness, loyalty, generosity, and humility. And with all these
virtues as yardsticks, he truly was immeasurable...
"Like many others, I tried unsuccessfully to get him to respond to the more preposterous and spurious allegations but he never did. He refused to take on the character assassins... "
There are dozens of intriguing contributions from disparate writers in this book, all focusing on Abba Kyari, the protagonist of this work.
