A former Nigeria’s Permanent Representatives to the United Nations (UN), Prof. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, yesterday said he never wanted to be a diplomat but a teacher.
Even after becoming one of Nigeria’s most celebrated diplomats, Gambari said he prefers to be called a teacher by training and diplomat by accident.
This, he said, reflected his childhood and educational background.
The former Chief of Staff to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari said this in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, at the launch of a book titled: Readings in Diplomacy, Democracy, Peace, and Development.
The event, which was organised in his honour by the Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows Alumni Association Nigeria (COSFAN), coincided with his 80th birthday anniversary.
Gambari said: “’They plan, I plan, but God is the best planner,’ says the Holy Qur’an. Up till now, I still tell people to refer to me as teacher by training and diplomat by accident because I did not want to be a diplomat. But look at what the Almighty Allah has done to compel me from a person who went to a primary school in Bode Saadu and Malete in the now Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State to become one-time President of United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
“I served my country as the longest-serving ambassador at the United Nations (UN). That was not also a happy period because I was constant in Nigeria’s standing in the world when we had so many issues at home. I had five Presidents during my period as ambassador: Ibrahim Babangida, Chief Ernest Shonekan, Sani Abacha, Abdulsalami Abubakar and, briefly, under President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“Now, if somebody who started in a village primary school in Bode Saadu and another senior village primary school in Malete, then to Ilorin Provincial Secondary School, now Government Secondary School (GSS), Ilorin; then really, the sky is the limit for everyone, with God’s guidance and protection.
“How could I have imagined that the primary school I attended in Malete could then become a location of the first Kwara State-owned university, and I was made the first pioneer Chancellor of the university?
“I thank God. We’re all in the hands of the Almighty God. His will shall be done. We only need to do our best and leave the rest in the hands of the Almighty.
“Charity begins at home. That’s why I have not been far from home and never been far from my own people. I look forward to spend the rest of my life in the service of, first, my people, the state, the nation, Africa and the rest of the world.
“That’s the essence of the concentric cycle of the foreign policy which I have always advocated. The centre must be the state; the next, our neighbour, our region (ECOWAS), Africa and the rest of the world. Now, foreign policy shifts from administration to administration, but in essence, it must be pursued in those frameworks and context.
“Foreign policy is the definition of the interests of your country and the projection of those interests so that in the process, you will say what you want as a nation in the world and how you conduct yourself in such a way to attain them in the interest of your country.”
Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq, who was represented by Deputy Governor Kayode Alabi, said the state was proud that the mention of Prof. Gambari always commanded respect and honour across all spectrums “owing to his contributions to scholarship, international diplomacy and world peace, as well as national unity and development at various times”.
The governor enjoined fellow Nigerians, especially, to read the book, saying: “Our world evolves and grapples with emerging challenges of the new media and unfettered freedom, the rise of non-state actors with differing perspectives on the concept of diplomacy, democracy, peace and development, and the shifting nature of the international system and power dynamics.
“While many of these issues may defy textbook prescriptions, I believe firmly that scholarly research and insights on such topics are always useful in our search for practical and sustainable solutions.”
The book reviewer and a former Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (2018-2019), Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, noted that insecurity in Nigeria and especially in the North, was caused by poverty, ignorance, mining activities and weak traditional laws.
He urged the government to improve efforts at addressing the causes of insecurity to restore peace and development in the country.
The Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee, Dr. Abiola Adimula, described the occasion as a celebration of excellence, service and leadership.
She lauded Prof. Gambari as a “distinguished academic, resourceful professional, astute technocrat, and world diplomat” whose contributions to international diplomacy, democratic development and global peace remain indelible.
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