A former Presidential Candidate in the 2015 polls, Omoyele Sowore has reacted to the appointment of Professor Ibrahim Gambari as the new Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.
It was earlier reported that President Buhari appointed Gambari, a former Minister of External Affairs, as his new Chief of staff, following the death of Mallam Abba Kyari, who lost his life to the dreaded coronavirus virus.
Reacting to the development in a statement on Tuesday, Sowore condemned the appointment over Gambari’s role during General Sani Abacha’s military regime.
The converner of the #RevolutionNow protest added that Gambari also served almost all the dictators that have ruled the country. He said:
“Professor Ibrahim Gambari, who some people claim is an intelligent man, used his ‘intelligence’ to defend the draconian policies of the Abacha regime while he was Nigeria’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations.
“He was one of Abacha’s equivalents of the “goebel” representing the infamous dictator with vigor and a propensity that could only be found in fascist Italy of old.
“As more pressure mounted on the Abacha regime from all corners of the world, Professor Gambari became more notorious and ruthless in defending and deflecting attacks against the Abacha dictatorship.,”
“I remember his many appearances on cable news channels, especially after Abacha murdered environmentalist and author, Ken Saro-Wiwa following what can be described as a kangaroo trial. Professor Gambari stoically denied that the Abacha regime had committed a crime; he labeled Saro-Wiwa a “common criminal” who had engaged in the murder of some Ogoni elders.
“After the demise of Abacha, his other co-dictators and collaborators were put in their place: Call it the Nigerian Hall of Shame.
“Professor Ibrahim Gambari has not been touched; he has not been called to account. Unlike the Usenis, Mustapha, and Gwarzo, he did not appear before the hapless “Oputa Panel” to explain his ignominious role. Instead, he was elevated by Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary-General, to the position of Under-Secretary and Special Adviser on Africa at the UN.”
“Even after the death of Abacha, Kofi Annan’s visits to Nigeria were primarily to prevail on Chief M.K.O Abiola to forget about his June 12 mandate. He didn’t care about Abiola’s freedom so he quietly went to meet him in jail and asked him to ‘fuggetabutit.’
“It is intriguing that Professor Gambari has now become a darling of so many Nigerian organizations. Honors are pouring in from everywhere and he is getting awards and making speeches all over the place.”
