By Abiola Olawale
Eminent Scholar-Diplomat, former Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister and erstwhile United Nations Under Secretary-General, Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari has once again been celebrated for his exceptional contributions to international relations and Diplomacy with a distinguished award at the Association of Foreign Relations Practitioners of Nigeria (AFRPN) Annual Conference and Lecture 2025.
The event, which was held recently at the Rotunda, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja auditorium, brought together industry leaders, communicators, and policymakers from across the country.
Gambari who was at various times Nigeria’s Ambassador/ Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York, Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and the African Union/Chief Mediator in Darfur, and President of the United Nations Security Council, was applauded for his decades-long excellent career, bridging diplomacy, conflict resolution, and strategic communications. The award was in recognition of his long-standing decades of exceptional leadership at various theatres of the world, advancing diplomacy, peacebuilding, global peace, and security.
The award was presented to him by the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II.
Also present at the event were the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Economist and former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Prof. Kingsley Moghalu; the President of AFRPN, Amb. Gani Lawal, among many others.