Something doesn't quite sit right with me about many journalists taking turns to talk about how friendly a senior presidential aide was to them, and how they were good WhatsApp buddies with him. I struggle to see the public interest value in all that. https://thenationonlineng.net/the-abba-kyari-they-didnt-know/

I understand the necessity of building relationships as a journalist, but there's a fine line to walk here. It appears many of these folks fail to appreciate that journalists are naturally not meant to be chummy with powerful public figures they're meant to hold to account.

I make a conscious effort to push back against blanket criticism of Nigerian journalism (and journalists) as incompetent and easily on the take, but my goodness much of the press coverage of Abba Kyari's death has been cringe-worthy. This is not how the fourth estate functions.

It may be that Abba Kyari was a genuinely lovely man but ultimately the public interest value of that is nil. Abba Kyari was a public servant, the Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria. It's not the job of journalists to "humanize" him, as some people have suggested.

Some also have suggested that Abba Kyari owed accountability to no one but his boss, as he was not an elected official. That's a dodge, and a ridiculous one at that. In a representative democracy, ALL public servants are accountable to the public, whether or not they like it.

If all these journalists truly believe Abba Kyari was "misunderstood" why didn't they use their bully pulpit to help the public "understand" him? (whatever "understand" means) If they believed he was the glue that held the Buhari administration together, why didn't they show how?

These are the stories that should have been written then and now, not tales about his personal warmth and work ethic. It's strange, and frankly irresponsible, for journalists to complain about misinformation about Abba Kyari, when they could have fixed that but decided not to.

In a free society, journalists are a crucial information link between citizens and public figures they entrust authority to. If you as a journalist see your role as befriending powerful figures, that makes you an access journalist whose true calling is in public relations.