Though he was
officially announced as the new Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari on
Wednesday, news of his filling the role left behind by late Abba Kyari had been
everywhere since Tuesday.
Despite an attempt
to sell him as a widely experienced diplomat, Gambari has lent his career to
assisting Nigerian dictators to oppress citizens through undemocratic acts,
judicial murders and large scale corruption.
A few of publicly
documented actions directed against democratic progress and abuse of human
rights in Nigeria are noteworthy.
In 1995 for
instance, he openly backed the killing of Ogoni environmentalist, Ken
Saro-Wiwa, and eight other activists during the ruthless General Sani Abacha
military regime.
Gambari had informed
the United Nations that the killing of Saro-Wiwa was legal as it was done in
line with the law and constitution of Nigeria.
The UN General
Assembly had condemned the arbitrary execution of Saro-Wiwa after a flawed
judicial process, emphasising that everyone charged with a penal offence had
the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to the law in a
public trial with all guarantees necessary for defence.
But Gambari accused
the UN General Assembly of dancing to the tune of some individuals trying to
challenge the sovereignty of Nigeria.
He labelled
Saro-Wiwa a “common criminal”, who had engaged in the murder of some Ogoni
elders.
He said that by the
draft resolution, the sovereign right of a member state to enact a law was
being challenged and the right to use capital punishment for serious offences
was being questioned.
The Ilorin, Kwara
State-born professor was once quoted as saying, “Nigerians don’t need democracy
because democracy is not food. It is not their priority now.”
As more pressure
mounted on the Abacha regime from all corners of the world, Gambari became more
notorious and ruthless in defending and deflecting attacks against the Abacha
dictatorship.
As a result of his
actions, he was forced to resign as head of a committee organising peace talks
between the Nigerian Government and militants in the oil-producing Niger Delta.
Some Niger Delta
leaders including MEND rejected Gambari’s involvement in the proposed summit.
“My appointment has
attracted what appears to be a well orchestrated and relentless opposition from
some quarters, institutions, groups and individuals.
“As a result, my
name has become the issue in place of the attempt at finding a just and lasting
solution to the crisis in the Niger Delta.
"In light of
this, I wish to be excused as the chairman of the steering committee of the
summit," Gambari said in his resignation letter to former President, Umaru
Yar’Adua.
Apart from his role
in the killing of Saro-Wiwa and the eight Ogoni indigenes, President Buhari's
new Chief of Staff is also known to have openly supported the annulment of June
12, 1993 election won by business tycoon, Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola.
The military regime
of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida cancelled the outcome of that election
overwhelming won by Abiola while the Abacha government arrested and threw him
in jail where he remained until he died on July 7, 1998.
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