Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, a diplomat and former Chief of Staff to the ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has recounted how ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo lost the contest to become Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1991.
According to Gambari, countries with veto power could not choose Obasanjo because of his military background.
He made the remarks on Wednesday during the public presentation of the biography of the late Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the first African UN Secretary-General, who took office in 1991 but lasted only one term until 1996.
Prof. Adekeye Adebajo wrote the first historical biography of the Egyptian diplomat in English, titled Boutros Boutros-Ghali: Afro-Arab Prophet, Pharaoh, and Pope.
Ambassador Martin Uhomoibhi served as the reviewer for the book launch, which took place at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs on Victoria Island. Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, Director General of the NIIA, was also present.
In reflecting on the events that led to the selection of the late Boutros-Ghali as US Secretary General in 1991, Gambari recalled an ambassador telling him, “Your candidate (Olusegun Obasanjo) has no chance in hell of becoming secretary.”
He said, “I asked, “What do you mean? He (Obasanjo) is the most qualified former head of state, handed over power voluntarily to civilians, and was head of the group that led to the process of ending apartheid.?
“He said ‘No. Listen carefully, when we, the big ones, are looking for a Sec Gen, the emphasis is on the secretary and not on the general.’ A very profound statement
“The thing was that the veto ruling power wanted somebody they could dictate to, not a general, who would be giving them orders. Sometimes they think they are getting a secretary but they end up getting a general.
“Ghali, who they thought would be a secretary, turned out to be a general, and Koffi Annan, who they thought was a secretary, turned out to be a general.
“When you turn out to be different from what the big powers want, they do something about it. Boutros-Ghali was not given a second term, and Koffi Annan was nearly forced to retire over frivolous charges.”
Gambari described his relationship with the late Boutros-Ghali as “up close and personal,” adding that in addition to being the first UN Secretary-General from the African continent, he was also the first Post-Cold War Secretary General, but had difficulty organising a security council meeting attended by all heads of state.
“He hardly had a meeting of the security council where the chief delegates were the heads of states of those member states.”
Gambari also discussed the high and low moments of Boutros-Ghali’s tenure, stating that the 1994 Rwanda genocide was the low point.
He said, “It was under his watch that the UN failed to respond adequately and to prevent genocide and when it was happening, the big powers also did nothing.”
Adebajo, the book’s author, explained that Boutros-Ghali functioned as a peace-making prophet by serving as Egypt’s de-facto foreign minister during the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel from 1977 and 1981.
