Former Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister and former UN Special Envoy for Darfur, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, was appointed a member of the African Union’s (AU) High-Level Panel of Eminent Experts.
Gambari, a past Chief of Staff to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, termed the appointment a call to duty, stating that Africa must now more than ever look inwards for home-grown solutions to security, economic, governance, and peace problems.
His role in the panel is to provide strategic guidance, to enhance African-led responses, and to work together with fellow members in conjunction with practitioners and technical experts in a Reference Group.
The 20th August 2025 appointment letter, signed by AU Commissioner for Political Affairs Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, confirmed his appointment and invited him to participate in the inaugural review session of the panel, held from 1st to 5th September in Nairobi, Kenya.
The AU stated that the panel was created under its institutional reform agenda to conduct a strategic review of peace, governance, and security architecture with the view to advancing institutional coherence, responding to chronic and new threats, and offering peace dividends according to Agenda 2063.
Welcoming the AU’s action, Professor Gambari said the move signified a commitment to tapping the wisdom of mature Africans in a bid to reposition the Union for greater effectiveness.
