Read Why Buhari Consider 75 years Old Prof. Gambari As Chief Of Staff Before Judging His Decision.

Read Why Buhari Consider 75 years Old Prof. Gambari As Chief Of Staff Before Judging His Decision

Reactions have been following the recent appointment of Professor Ibrahim Gambari as the new Chief of Staff to the President. To have appointed a 75 years old to replace Abba Kyari is another talk in Nigeria. A Professor with worthwhile profile and large pool of national and international experience is nothing but a right choice to serve his country.

Apart from serving the President as a Minister for External Affairs  in  1984/85, Prof Ibrahim was the 5th HOD of Political Science and International Studies at Ahmadu Bello University between 1982-1984

He has had an illustrious career,  spanning academia, government and international diplomacy culminating his appointment as the first United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special  Adviser to the Secretary-General on Africa in 1999 to 2005.

What other qualifications would one need to barge an appointment in Nigeria after being a Professor working on the field  for many years, he has been a delegate to the Assembly of the African Union as a national delegate in 1984 to 1985 and a member of the United Nation Secretary-General's delegation in year 2000 to 2012.

Prof. Gambari's contributions in eradicating Apartheid policy in Africa is another worthy feat as he served as Chairman of the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid in 1999 to 1994 during which he worked closely with African governments to coordinate UN policy to eradicate apartheid and thereby, building trust and confidence with governments and policy makers in member countries of the Southern African Development Community ( SADC).

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 centre in Italy.

He has received several academic and national honours, he was decorated with the title of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) by the Government of Nigeria., and the “Order of the Companion of the Oliver R. Tambo” (OCORT) of South Africa.

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.

On March 4, 2013, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari was appointed by the Kwara State Governor, Abdul Fatah Ahmad, as the pioneer Chancellor of the Kwara State University (KWASU), Ilorin, Nigeria. He was also appointed and as the Pro-chancellor and Chairman of the Board of Governing Council of Bayero University, Kano (BUK). He is married with children and grandchildren.

The above profile extracted  is more than enough to consider Prof Gambari  worthy to serve the nation. Experience is the best teacher not age. Congratulations to Prof Ibrahim Gambari for a well deserved appointment.