Ambassador Abdullahi A. Omaki, NOOC, FSMA is the pioneer Executive Director of the Savannah Centre.

Ambassador Abdullahi A. Omaki who retired from the Nigerian Foreign Service in June 2013, after nearly thirty three years, has had a distinguished service-career, which took him across Europe, America and anchoring in Africa (Central Africa Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Chad). He relates easily with the issues of the sub-regional security and socio-economic development which he has “consistently argued must be holistically viewed and addressed from the prisms of both bilateral and multilateral instrumentalities to enhance cohesiveness and bite through sustainable good governance”. Some of his colleagues address him as a “Desert Diplomat” while others politely refer to him as the “Sahel Diplomat”, both of which he proudly accepts.

A student of Professor Gambari, Amb. A.A. Omaki, who holds a Bsc Degree in Pol. Science from ABU and Masters Degree from the Institute of Social Studies in the Hague, had served twice as Assistant to the Founder, when Prof. Gambari was Minister of External Affairs and later Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations and this makes him easily, one of the closest associates and confidants of the Founder.

Prior to retiring from the service, Amb. Omaki, who had worked in the various Divisions and Departments in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was Director International Organisations Department and later the Under Secretary, in charge of Regions and International Organisations.