‘Embrace selflessness for enduring legacies,’ Shettima charges public servants
Abdullateef Fowewe
Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged Nigerian public servants to cultivate selflessness, excellence, and resilience to build lasting legacies.
Shettima said this during a high-profile colloquium marking the 50th birthday of Hajiya Hadiza Bala Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination.
This was obtained in a statement on Tuesday by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media & Communications (Office of the Vice President).
Speaking at the event in Abuja, Shettima praised Usman’s distinguished career as a model for public service.
“Enduring legacies in public service are the ones sustained by a consistent dedication to excellence, resilience and hard work regardless of the challenges of building enduring institutions,” he stated.
He described her as “a mirror not only for the northern Nigerian girl, but for the nation itself,” emphasising her influence earned through “grace, strengthened by grit; clarity, guided by courage, vision and excellence.”
Shettima highlighted Usman’s journey from a region where young women often lack proof of permitted ambition.
“Her journey required courage, and that is why she has become that proof. Its trials were visible. Its demands were exacting. Its rewards were earned,” he said, adding, “May your example continue to guide those who still believe that service, when done well, can ennoble a nation.”
The colloquium drew top government figures.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, called Usman’s life “a shining example of discipline” and urged her to advance President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, noted her reforms at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), where she “introduced structure to governance and clarity in priorities,” elevating leadership standards.
Minister for Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, commended her youth-focused initiatives, while NEMA Director General Zubaida Umar Abubakar, a decades-long friend, praised Usman’s “overwhelming commitment to principles, matched with quiet clarity and conviction.”
Keynote speaker Dr Joe Abah, former Director General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, spoke on “Leadership Delivery and the Courage to Serve,” warning that leaders must now “speak for their work” amid fake news.
“Your work no longer speaks for you,” he said.
In her response, the celebrant expressed humility.
“I was humbled by the personalities who graced the colloquium,” Usman said, thanking President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima.
She recommitted to the Renewed Hope Agenda, reflecting on her roles since 2015 elections and at the NPA.
The event underscored Usman’s role in nation-building, with Shettima concluding, “If we are to raise more generations of Nigerians ready to lead with purpose, to deliver with excellence, and to serve with courage, we must remember this truth: intention without the willingness to pay the price of service remains wishful thinking.”
