Still on Hushpuppi- Abba Kyari saga
By Endurance Benjamin
The United States authorities on Wednesday, 18th August 2021 disclosed that Hushpuppi reached out to Abba Kyari to arrest one Kelly Chibuzo Vincent, who participated in a fraud scheme with him and Abdulrahman Imran Juma, a Kenyan national.
Hushpuppi, Vincent and Juma were alleged to have defrauded a Qatari of $1.1million. The most intriguing moment in the WhatsApp exchanges between DCP Abba Kyari and Hushpuppi, was that Kyari sent a photograph of himself in front of a wall that showcased clippings of operations he had carried out stating he will be honored to carry out the exceptional service.
Kyari’s choice of exposition to share with an acquaintance of suspect means is revealing of his narcissism. An officer that sends photograph of his accolades to a character like Hushpuppi, while adorned with a police officer kit, is no different from sex workers who sends nude to prospective customers just so they know how their goods should be priced.
Obviously, he knew how influential hushpuppy was and wanted to establish an intimate and transactional relationship with Hushpuppi. Those trying to defend him by pointing out Kyari’s record of good services have still not caught on to the whole game.
This is not a police officer that has distinguished himself because he was driven by the passion to keep Nigerian safe. No, he went out of way to build a phenomenal profile so he could prostitute the accolades the society had given to him to the socially privileged.
His super cop ruse has been the ticket with which he accessed the spaces where the rich and powerful, celebrities, and even the moneyed criminals occupy.
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It is funny that some people would think that his involvement with Hushpuppi is a singular moral slip and should not overshadow his entire outstanding career. In retrospect, what looks like a superlative service record was all along a hustler building and abusing institutional power to manipulate people for selfish ends.
Supposedly the most decorated officer in Nigerian history, several organizations showered him with awards without actually looking beyond the hype. Much of what earned his super cops profile was a long record of arresting suspects, not actual prosecution and convictions.
Certainly, court processes in Nigeria are notoriously drawn out, and it is properly not his fault that his high profile arrest have not resulted in successful convictions. Still, on what basis did his champions turn him into a super cop when much of what he did was arrest suspects?
If not for Nigerians who celebrate mediocrity, why should a police officer who arrest suspects be considered exemplary? Even the pathetic excuse he gave about his relationship with Hushpuppi is quite debatable.
If, as a so called detective, he could not spot the gaping holes in the self-defense account he gave the public, he could not possibly have been the bright cop they say he is.
Recent a public commentator pointed out that even though society naturally appreciates the gallantry of our security agencies and officials, it was quite unfortunate that many top public functionaries and business people were inviting DCP Kyari to their event and posting such engagements in the media to ratchet up their social standing.
Instead of becoming very caution about some of these outings, Kyari appeared to have gotten carried away and basked in the spotlight. It was this same attitude that led to the abuse of the privileges and dispositions of his sensitive strategic positions, where he fraternized with people of questionable integrity, and equally posting these on social media.
Endurance Benjamin writes from Abuja
