The Ilorin Emirate for Unity and Development Initiative (IEUDI) has rejoiced with Professor Agboola Ibrahim Gambari CFR over his appointment as the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.
The association in a statement issued and signed by its Secretary-General, Hon. AbdulRauph AbdulSalam, and made available to Journalists in Ilorin, appreciated President Muhammadu Buhari for finding Professor Gambari worthy of occupying that exalted position in the country.
The statement described the appointment of an Ilorin born excellent diplomat and accomplished Professor of international repute, Professor Gambari, as a round peg in a round hole.
The association explained that professor Gambari has traversed the whole world and was confident that his rich and uncommon experience would be of great value to the country at this critical time of national life.
IEUDI recalled that Professor Gbambri was Minister for External Affairs between 1984 and 1985 and he was later appointed by the Secretary-General of United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, and also became the Chairperson of the African Union Commission as Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative for Darfur effective from 1 January 2010.
The statement affirmed that all these strategic positions have made him a rounded figure which will practically make him helpful and supportive for the new assignment given to him by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The association advised Professor Gambari to continue to be a proud of the Emirate by adequately justifying the confidence reposed on him by President Buhari as he has always been exhibiting in all national and international assignments he had carried out in the past.
The statement therefore felicitated with the Emir of Ilorin, Dr Ibrahim Sulu Gamabari, the Executive Governor of Kwara State Mallam Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq and the entire emirate community over this unique appointment.
It however called on sons and daughters of the Emirate and Kwarans in general to continue to remember Professor Gambari in their prayers so as to record a resounding success in this national assignment.
Professor Gambari’s appointment came into the fore following the demise of the former CoS, Mallam Abba Kyari who was tested positive for coronavirus and subsequently died in April, 2020.
Abridged Biography of Professor Gambari
Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, CFR (born November 24, 1944, in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria) is a Nigerian scholar and diplomat. He is currently the Special Adviser on the International Compact with Iraq and Other Issues for the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he served as the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (USG) for the Department of Political Affairs (DPA). He was appointed on June 10, 2005, and assumed the post on July 1 of that year.
On March 4, 2013, Ibrahim 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 who presides over convocations to award degrees and diplomas and also supports the vision and mission of the university in all respects, including fundraising, social, economic and academic goals. As a university that continues to gain credence as a community development university with world class standards, the selection of Gambari is expected to give the institution additional international boost and recognition. Gambari is also co-chair of the Albright-Gambari Commission.
Education
Gambari attended King’s College, Lagos. He subsequently attended the London School of Economics where he obtained his B. Sc. (Economics) degree (1968) with specialisation in International Relations. He later obtained his M.A. (1970) and Ph. D. (1974) degrees from Columbia University, New York, USA in Political Science /International Relations.
Academic career
Gambari began his teaching career in 1969 at City University of New York before working at University of Albany. Later, he taught at Ahmadu Bello University, in Zaria, Kaduna State, the second largest university in Africa. From 1986 to 1989, he was Visiting Professor at three universities in Washington, D.C.: Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Georgetown University and Howard University.
He has also been a research fellow at the Brookings Institution also in Washington D.C. and a Resident Scholar at the Bellagio Study and Conference Center, the Rockefeller Foundation-run center in Italy.
He was accorded, honoris causa, the title of Doctor of Humane Letters (D.Hum.Litt.) from the University of Bridgeport.
He is a member of the Johns Hopkins University’s Society of Scholars. He was decorated with the title of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) by the Government of Nigeria.
His nephew, Alhaji Ibrahim Kolapo Sulu Gambari, is the Emir of Ilorin.
