Beyond his legacy as a scholar and an accomplished diplomat, respected for his negotiation and peace-making skills, Gambari’s contributions are indeed far-reaching. His story is an inspiring one that should push generations behind to subscribe to a life of purpose and distinction in the pursuit of excellence in scholarship, diplomacy and service to humanity. This is wishing Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari a happy 81st Birthday.
Seated on the desk to my left, as I write this, is the book, Theory and Reality in Foreign Policy-Making by Ibrahim A. Gambari, published in 1989. A hardcover, it is the author’s only copy, with the book now out of print and the publisher out of business. It is one of his two books graciously lent to me to help with my ongoing research work on Nigeria’s foreign policy.
I had taken to Political Science as a young man, under the influence of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, who had studied the subject at the University. I was intrigued by his story, not just from what I had read in books as a teenager, but from first-hand accounts of my friend, Ademola Adegoroye, who had met Zik as a child, when he came visiting his father, who was chairman of the Nigerian People’s Party and gubernatorial candidate of the largely unknown party in the old Ondo State. I was fascinated enough by the politics of the Second Republic and the stories from Demola that I decided to study the subject at the university.
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That fascination was to all but fizzle out, though, within the first year, as I struggled to make the connection between what I thought we should have been studying and what Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were saying to us. I lost interest until I discovered the world of international relations, which eventually became the go-to for my undergraduate thesis and postgraduate studies.
Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari was Nigeria’s External Affairs minister at the time, and as students, we were minded to pay attention, with an International Relations scholar taking up appointment as Nigeria’s Foreign Policy czar in the first coming of General Muhammadu Buhari. It didn’t occur to me at the time that it was a ground-breaking appointment, until our recent conversation around it (the USA didn’t have one with a scholarly background until Henry Kissinger was appointed the 56th Secretary of State in 1973). He was the first scholar or subject matter expert to be appointed to that office. His performance must have inspired an encore, with Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, his successor as the director general of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, the country’s premier foreign policy think-tank, succeeding him as minister. Years later, another Director General of the Institute, Professor Joy Ogwu, was appointed as Nigeria’s minister of Foreign Affairs.
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In a way, Gambari’s career in international diplomacy reads like Nigeria’s foreign relations history over a period of two to three decades. While his service as minister of External Affairs (1984-1985) was brief, he was to go on to set the record as the longest-serving Nigerian ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations from 1990 to 1999, serving under five heads of state and presidents.
It is interesting that many years later, having completed an extensive tour of duty around the world, as well as his assignment as the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Gambari is back home as chairman of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD), a research and advocacy non-governmental organisation, which he founded, and having now made my way back to international relations, I currently have the opportunity to learn from him, in my ongoing research work on reimagining Nigeria’s foreign policy.
In a way, Gambari’s career in international diplomacy reads like Nigeria’s foreign relations history over a period of two to three decades. While his service as minister of External Affairs (1984-1985) was brief, he was to go on to set the record as the longest-serving Nigerian ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations from 1990 to 1999, serving under five heads of state and presidents. Within that period, he was chairman of the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid (1990-1994) and on Peace-Keeping Operations (1990-1999).
At the peak of his illustrious career was the appointment as the first United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Africa from 1999 to 2005. He was head of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs (2005-2007) and also operated as UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Cyprus, Zimbabwe, and Myanmar, and Special Representative in Angola. Professor Gambari also served as Joint AU/UN Special Representative in Darfur and head of UNAMID from 2010 to 2012.
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As an international diplomat, Gambari was highly regarded for his exemplary skills in conflict resolution, peacekeeping, and the promotion of human rights. For his role in mediating peace in Angola following the Lusaka Protocol, he was recently honoured with the Peace and Development Medal by President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço of the Republic of Angola during the official ceremony marking the 50th independence anniversary of the country. In recognition of his contributions to the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa, he was honoured with South Africa’s highest national award given to non-citizens, the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo (OCORT).
Gambari’s life and work is a rare fusion of intellectual rigour and unparalleled commitment to service. The quality of his thought stands him out as a foremost scholar and one of the most respected authorities on foreign policy and regional integration. His most defining work is in the adoption/adaptation of the “Concentric Circles” theory as a conceptual framework to explain and guide Nigeria’s foreign policy priorities…
While in extended service abroad over these decades, Mr Ibrahim Gambari, who hails from the royal family in Ilorin, remained well-grounded at home. I recall the launch of his book in Lagos in 2008, at which I saw notable Nigerians turn up, all with kind words for him. In a recent conversation, years after I had been pushing for it, he reflected on the power of relationships. He talked about his life-long relationship with his friend from childhood, Mr Tunde Yusuf, stretching from Ilorin to their time at King’s College, their university days in the UK, US/Canada, and the return to lecture in the Ahmadu Bello University and University of Ibadan, which has stretched into a strong bond among other members of their families, which I bear witness to. He advised on the need for the younger generations to nurture their relationships.
Gambari’s life and work is a rare fusion of intellectual rigour and unparalleled commitment to service. The quality of his thought stands him out as a foremost scholar and one of the most respected authorities on foreign policy and regional integration. His most defining work is in the adoption/adaptation of the “Concentric Circles” theory as a conceptual framework to explain and guide Nigeria’s foreign policy priorities, from the dot of national interest to the outer rings, starting with the immediate neighbourhood and progressively expanding to broader regional, continental, and global spheres. This distinctive intellectual contribution by Professor Gambari continues to shape the understanding and articulation of Nigeria’s foreign policy till date, and to his credit, he continues to prepare successor generations through personal engagements, his work at the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD), and as chancellor/pro-chancellor of different universities.
Beyond his legacy as a scholar and an accomplished diplomat, respected for his negotiation and peace-making skills, Gambari’s contributions are indeed far-reaching. His story is an inspiring one that should push generations behind to subscribe to a life of purpose and distinction in the pursuit of excellence in scholarship, diplomacy and service to humanity. This is wishing Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari a happy 81st Birthday.
Simbo Olorunfemi is a specialist on Nigeria’s foreign policy, a communications consultant, and managing editor of Africa Enterprise. Email: [email protected]
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