Former United Nations Under Secretary, Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, Thursday counseled Nigerian diplomats pursuing foreign policies to always put the interest of their own country and the region first before the rest of the world.
Gambari, who is also the former chief of staff to former president Muhammed Buhari said though “foreign policy shifts from administration to administration” he emphasised that “it must be pursued in those frame works and contexts.”
The ex-UN envoy spoke at a public book presentation, “Readings in Diplomacy, Democracy, Peace and Development,” a Festschrift in his honour produced by the Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows Alumni Association Nigeria (COSFAN) to herald his 80th birthday.
Speaking at the event attended by dignitaries from within and outside the country, including the kwara state governor, Mallam AbdulRahaman AbdulRasaq who was represented by his deputy, Mr Kayode Alabi, Gambari said though he had served at the high level of United Nations, he would dedicate the rest of his life in serving his community, state and Africa before the rest of the world.
“Charity begins at home, I recall in November 1995, our current emir was being formally installed and I was asked to give the vote of thanks and I said at that time : a month earlier, I was speaking for the world as president of the security council but there is nothing that gives me greater satisfaction than speaking on behalf of Ilorin people, next year will be 30 years because charity begins at home and that’s why I have never been far from home.
“And that is the essence of the concentric circle of foreign policy which I have always been advocating; that at the centre must be the state and next our neighbours, third the region (ECOWAS), fourth Africa and the rest of the world,” Gambari said.
Recalling his humble beginning, Gambari who described himself as an “accidental diplomat” revealed that he had wanted to be a teacher .
President, Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows Alumni Association, Nigeria (COSFAN), Dr Ekundayo Samuel, said the goal of this association is to leverage the knowledge, training, skills, network, and contacts of its members within the Commonwealth to support Nigeria in achieving the SDGs, especially in education, and act as a think-tank for different development issues in Nigeria
In her welcome address, chairperson, local organising committee, Dr Abiola Adimula, said part of the funds realised from the public presentation will be used by COSFAN to establish a professorial chair and research fund on Diplomacy and Peace Studies, at the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies University of Ilorin and other participating universities to serve as enduring legacy to immortalise the honoree.