Abba Kyari
| Abba Kyari | |
|---|---|
| Governor of North-Central State, Nigeria | |
|
In office 28 May 1967 – July 1974 |
|
| Preceded by |
Hassan Katsina (Northern Region) |
| Succeeded by | Usman Jibrin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1933 Dewa |
| Alma mater | Regular Officers Special Training School Mons Officer Cadet School |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | Nigerian Army |
| Rank | Brigadier |
Abba Kyari (born 1938) is a retired Nigerian Army Brigadier who served as Governor of the now defunct North-Central State, Nigeria after it was formed from the Northern Region during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon.
Abba Kyari was born in 1938. He attended Borno Middle School and Barewa College, Zaria. In 1959 he enlisted in the Nigerian Army as an Officer Cadet. He attended the 12th Regular Officers’ Training School, Teshia, Ghana (March 1959 - September 1959) and then the Mons Officer Cadet School, Aldershot, England (October 1959 - March 1960). He held various appointments in the army, including Platoon Commander and then Transport Offices in the 1 Brigade Transport Company, Second-in-Command and then Commander in the Nigerian Army Artillery, commander of 1 Brigade, Kaduna and Commanding Officer 5th Battalion, Nigerian Army, Kano.
During the outbreak of violence against the Igbo people in Northern and Central Nigeria in 1966, Abba Kyari assisted Igbo soldiers in escaping from Kaduna, including Major Samuel Ogbemudia, who later was appointed Governor of Mid-West State in September 1967 following the state's liberation from secessionist Biafran forces. General Yakubu Gowon appointed Colonel Kyari Governor of North-Central State in July 1967. As governor, he commissioned a master plan for the Kaduna metropolis, but in practice the plan was not followed by his successors. He was not tolerant of the free press. For example, in April 1975 he strongly attacked the New Nigerian for publishing a picture of officers attending a conference that mainly showed junior officers. Towards the end of Gowon's administration, Kyari was a cautious advocate of return to civilian rule.
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