Abba Kyari: A fall from grace, By Reuben Abati
Whatever anyone may say, this is not good for the country’s image.
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Whether Kyari is eventually extradited to face trial in a U.S. District Court or not, the white garment of honour that he once wore has been tainted, soiled, splattered all over with palm oil. Even if he is cleared of all wrong doings, the perception that he was fingered by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation in a matter of conspiracy to commit electronic fraud and abet criminal behaviour is bad enough.
The story of Abba Kyari, the Deputy Commissioner of Police and erstwhile head of the Nigerian Police Intelligence Response Team speaks to the fate of all men who are overtaken by hubris, that flaw of character from which tragedies have been written from Sophocles to Shakespeare. Every tragic hero or anti-hero soon begins to create illusions of his or her own importance and then soon faces unexpected nemesis. Oedipus, in ancient Greek mythology, solved the riddle of the Sphinx, but fate caught up with him and he ended up killing his father and marrying his own mother. Medea, a woman of extreme jealousy and pride, killed her own children in order to prove a point – one of the earliest feminist figures in classical literature. Agamemnon was King of Argos and also commander of the Greek army, but he was immature, unwise and emotional. This was his undoing. He was a great warrior, who was also impetuous. Coriolanus, the Roman General could not become Consul in Ancient Rome. He waged war out of vengeance after he had been banished. Consumed by passion and vengeance, he led an assault against Rome. He eventually lost his life. Julius Caesar was one of the most decorated leaders in ancient Rome, but he became a dictator, evoking the envy and conspiracy of his own associates.