Nigeria has a new chief of staff, here are few things to know about him

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Ibrahim Gambari, a one time minister of foreign affairs under Babangida led-military rule, as the new chief of staff following the demise of Abba Kyari, who died after contracting the deadly coronavirus.

Gambari who has occupied various private, public and international organizations is expected to resume office at the presidential villa, tomorrow, Wednesday.

Here is a little background knowledge of him.

1. Gambari is 76 years of age, born on the 24th of November 1944, in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.

2. In his early educational life, he attended Kings college, Lagos.  He then 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.

3. He then began his teaching career in 1969 at City University of New York before working at University of Albany, later proceeded to teach at the Ahmadu Bello University, in Zaria, Kaduna State, the second largest university in Africa.

4. Gambari served as the Minister for External Affairs between 1984 and 1985 under General Muhammadu Buhari’s military regime

5.  Between 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.

6. From 1990 to 1999, he held the record of being the longest serving Nigerian Ambassador to the United Nations, serving under five Heads of State and Presidents.

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7. Gambari has also held several positions in the United Nations. In 1999, he was the President of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and later became United Nations Under Secretary-General and the first Special Adviser on Africa to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan from 1999 to 2005.

8. He was the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Political Affairs from 2005 to 2007 under Secretary-General’s Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-Moon.

9. In January 2010, he was appointed by Ban Ki-moon and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission as Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative for Darfur. Before his appointment as Chief of Staff he was the Special Adviser on the International Compact with Iraq and Other Issues for the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

10. On 4 March 2013, Ibrahim Gambari was named by the Governor of Kwara Abdulfatah Ahmad, as the Chancellor of the Kwara State University

11.  Gambari’s work has earned him various public recognition. He was decorated with the title of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) by the Government of Nigeria. He was also.accorded, honoris causa, the title of Doctor of Humane Letters (D.Hum.Litt.) from the University of Bridgeport

12. On 4 March 2013, Ibrahim Gambari was named by the Governor of Kwara Abdulfatah Ahmad, as the Chancellor of the Kwara State University

13. He was also co-chair of the Albright-Gambari Commission, and also a member of the Johns Hopkins University’s Society of Scholars.