When public servants begin to worry that speaking their minds could cost them their jobs, the entire system of governance quietly shifts toward peril. This blunt reality formed the core of a recent warning by a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, who pointed out that the fear of career reprisals often drives civil servants to tell political leaders what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear.
Mustapha delivered this sharp critique while speaking as the keynote guest in Abuja during the annual colloquium hosted by the Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries and Heads of the Civil Service of the Federation. The gathering, which brought together veteran administrators and current policymakers, centered around navigating the intense headwinds of public administration. Expanding on his point, the former top bureaucrat emphasized that a government machinery unable to speak truth to power ultimately leaves leadership completely unprotected from its own blind spots and expensive miscalculations.
Reflecting on his years in high office, Mustapha noted that the true backbone of any formidable civil service does not lie in blind compliance with political authorities. Instead, it relies heavily on professional independence, the courage to flag administrative risks, and the discipline to lay out the hard facts and consequences of policy decisions without looking over one’s shoulder.
Opening the discussions earlier at the event, Vice President Kashim Shettima also underscored the delicate balance required between political ambition and career bureaucracy. Speaking through his special adviser on power infrastructure, Sadiq Wanka, the Vice President challenged public servants to maintain strict impartiality and integrity while urging political leaders to respect institutional standards and value unfiltered professional feedback. He further revealed a notable shift in the current administration’s mindset, noting that the government is moving away from the superficial optics of launching endless committees toward measuring success strictly by whether practical interventions actually improve ordinary citizens’ lives.
Adding his voice to the discourse, the National Chairman of the retired permanent secretaries’ council, Yayale Ahmed, reminded his colleagues that veteran administrators carry a moral duty to pass down decades of institutional memory to the next generation of civil servants. This sentiment echoed directly into one of the day’s major highlights, which was the official unveiling of a new journal dedicated to public policy and governance, designed specifically to safeguard administrative history and encourage data-driven decision-making.
Rounding off the conversations, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Olumuyiwa Enitan Abel, pointed to sweeping internal reforms currently underway aimed at reshaping the bureaucracy into a leaner, more citizen-focused machine. Yet, even with these modernization efforts, Abel maintained that long-term progress ultimately rests on the unwavering willingness of civil servants to remain objective, transparent, and fiercely accountable to the public they swore to serve.
