Memoir Project: Gambari Resumes As Distinguished Visiting Scholar To US Varsity
Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
Former Chief of Staff to the late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, has arrived at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States, to formally resume his role as Distinguished Visiting Scholar.
Gambari, who disclosed this in a telephone interview with newsmen in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, stated that he has commenced work on his memoir as part of his academic engagement at the institution.
He said he had arrived on campus and immediately begun activities tied to documenting his decades of experience in diplomacy, governance and international relations.
The former United Nations Under-Secretary-General was received on arrival by Wale Adebanwi, a senior academic and departmental head in the Graduate School of the university.
It would be recalled that Gambari had been appointed Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Center for Africana Studies of the University of Pennsylvania, with the tenure scheduled to run from January to August 2026.
The appointment, approved by the university’s School of Arts and Sciences, is expected to see the veteran diplomat contribute to scholarly discourse while also advancing personal research projects, including his memoir.
Gambari, a former Minister of External Affairs and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, is also the founder of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development, Abuja.
His memoir project is expected to draw from his extensive career spanning academia, multilateral diplomacy and high-level public service in Nigeria and globally.
