Professor Ibrahim Gambari, President Muhammadu Buhari’s new Chief of Staff means different things to Nigerians.

However, here are some vital information most Nigerians, especially the younger generation do not know about him.

Professor Gambari was born November 24, 1944, in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State.

He attended King’s College, Lagos, before heading to the London School of Economics, where he obtained his B. Sc. (Economics) degree (1968) with specialization in International Relations. He later obtained his M.A. (1970) and PhD. (1974) degrees from Columbia University, New York, the USA in Political Science /International Relations.

He started his career as a teacher at the City University of New York in 1969 before working at the University of Albany. He also taught at Ahmadu Bello University, in Zaria, Kaduna State.

Gambari was Nigeria’s Minister for External Affairs between 1984 and 1985.

He was a visiting Professor at three universities in Washington, D.C.: Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Georgetown University, and Howard University from 1986 to 1989.

Gambari is a research fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. Gambari is also a Resident Scholar at the Bellagio Study and Conference Center, the Rockefeller Foundation-run centre in Italy. He was accorded honoris causa, the title of Doctor of Humane Letters (D.Hum.Litt.) from the University of Bridgeport.

The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon on January 1, 2010, appointed him as Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative for Darfur.

Gambari, in 2013 was named by the Kwara State Governor, AbdulFatah Ahmad, as the pioneer Chancellor of the Kwara State University.

He is also a member of the Johns Hopkins University’s Society of Scholars.

Gambari, as foreign minister, played a key role in quelling the diplomatic uproar generated by the failed attempt to kidnap Mallam Umaru Dikko from the U.K. by the Buhari military government.