In the early hours of Wednesday, May 13, the Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has confirmed a former Under Secretary of the United Nations, UN, Prof. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, as his new Chief of Staff, CoS.
The appointment of Gambari was widely circulated on Tuesday but was however made official on Wednesday.
Gambari replaced Abba Kyari, who died of Coronavirus related ailment in April, 2020.
After about one month without a Chief of Staff, President Buhari settled for Gambari as Kyari’s replacement.
Gambari was picked from a list of 14 names.
Ten facts to know about the former diplomat turned Chief of Staff.
1. Gambari was born November 24, 1944, in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State.
2. Gambari attended King’s College, Lagos, before heading to the London School of Economics, where he obtained his B. Sc. (Economics) degree (1968) with specialization in International Relations. He later obtained his M.A. (1970) and PhD. (1974) degrees from Columbia University, New York, the USA in Political Science /International Relations.
3. The Professor started his career as a teacher at the City University of New York in 1969 before working at the University of Albany. He also taught at Ahmadu Bello University, in Zaria, Kaduna State.
4. Gambari was Nigeria’s Minister for External Affairs between 1984 and 1985.
5. He was a visiting Professor at three universities in Washington, D.C.: Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Georgetown University, and Howard University from 1986 to 1989.
6. The Professor is a research fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. Gambari is also a Resident Scholar at the Bellagio Study and Conference Center, the Rockefeller Foundation-run centre in Italy. He was accorded honoris causa, the title of Doctor of Humane Letters (D.Hum.Litt.) from the University of Bridgeport.
7. The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon on January 1, 2010, appointed the new CoS as Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative for Darfur.
8. In 2013, Gambari was named by the Kwara State Governor, AbdulFatah Ahmad, as the pioneer Chancellor of the Kwara State University, making him the ceremonial head of the university. He is also co-chair of the Albright-Gambari Commission.
9. He is also a member of the Johns Hopkins University’s Society of Scholars.
10. Gambari, as foreign minister, played a key role in quelling the diplomatic uproar generated by the failed attempt to kidnap Mallam Umaru Dikko from the U.K. by the Buhari military government.
