The life of Brigadier Musa Usman teaches Nigerians the importance of purposeful leadership – Vice President Shettima  

(Being a Speech by His Excellency, Senator Kashim Shettima,  GCON, Vice-President of the Federal Republic of  Nigeria, at the Public Presentation of Brigadier Musa  Usman (1940–1991): Service and Impact, at the NAF Conference Centre, Abuja, on Monday, 14th September,  2026)

Protocol

It is a special honour to join you for the presentation of this important book on the life and legacy of Brigadier Musa  Usman, pioneer Military Governor of the former North-Eastern  State. I congratulate his family and commend Malam Mahmud  Jega and Dr Theophilus Abbah for preserving the story of a man whose contributions remain visible across the North-East.

We are not merely launching a book. We are remembering  a generation that approached public office as an honourable  duty, an opportunity to build institutions and serve the people. When the North-Eastern State was created in 1967, it covered an immense and diverse territory that now comprises  Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe. Its people included different ethnic groups, faiths, ecological zones and historical traditions.

From this diversity emerged a shared North-Eastern identity. Brigadier Musa Usman and the public servants of his generation understood that unity did not require suppressing

differences. It required fair and credible institutions that gave all communities a sense of belonging.

The North-East Development  Commission embodies this spirit in today’s circumstances.

Regional games, agricultural shows, cultural festivals and common public services helped people meet, cooperate and understand one another. The North-Eastern State became more than an administrative boundary; it became a community of peoples. That shared history still informs the meaning of the  North-East today.

As a young officer, Brigadier Musa Usman was exposed to the intricacies of public administration outside his military duties. As Secretary of the Interim Common Services Agency,  ICSA, he performed an important function of establishing the foundations of new states that were being created out of the defunct Northern Region.

The  ICSA reflected another important principle: the creation of states did not abolish common interests. Education, training,  specialised services and other facilities could be managed cooperatively for the benefit of people across political boundaries.

That lesson remains relevant. State creation should not destroy economies of scale. Challenges in education,  healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure, energy, transportation,  security and environmental management are often better addressed through cooperation. The North-East Development  Commission embodies this spirit in today’s circumstances.

Brigadier Musa Usman’s legacy is also written across  Maiduguri, my city of birth. The Musa Usman Secretariat remains an enduring monument to his administration. Roads,  drainage systems, government institutions and residential districts transformed the city into a modern regional capital.

Successive administrations built upon those foundations.  As Governor of Borno State, I inherited both the achievements and responsibilities of those who came before me. Today, under my brother and successor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum,  reconstruction and development continue despite the challenges of insurgency.

No generation begins from zero. Every administration builds upon the work of others, and every leader is a trustee in a continuing historical process. Musa Usman’s generation understood development broadly. It included infrastructure,  education, agriculture, healthcare, administration, industry,  culture and tourism. Their example reminds us that development means expanding human possibilities: educating children, supporting farmers, creating jobs, providing healthcare, protecting the environment and building institutions citizens can trust. Nigeria today is different, but the fundamentals of leadership remain unchanged. Integrity,  discipline, competence, planning and the ability to think beyond one’s tenure are still essential. Public office must remain a trust, not an entitlement.

General Yakubu Gowon’s foreword recalls Brigadier Musa  Usman’s integrity, honesty and infrastructure achievements.  These virtues remain precisely what Nigeria needs today. We must rebuild the culture of institution-building and ensure that governments leave behind functioning systems, durable infrastructure and stronger communities.

This book also performs a public service by preserving our national memory. The North-East we know today was shaped by administrators, public servants, traditional rulers,  businesspeople, farmers, teachers and ordinary citizens.  Brigadier Musa Usman stood at a crucial point in that history.  He helped establish a functioning state, develop Maiduguri as a regional capital and nurture cooperation among communities that now inhabit six states.

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As a son of Borno, former Governor of Borno State and  Vice-President of Nigeria, I find his legacy deeply instructive.  We must recover the spirit of purposeful public service and apply it to today’s challenges: reconstruction, modern agriculture, education, transportation, energy,  industrialisation, employment, environmental restoration,  peace and security.

We must build beyond the next election and think beyond political boundaries. Leadership is measured by what continues to serve the people after the leader has left office.

Brigadier Musa Usman died in 1991, but the consequences of his service remain. The Secretariat in  Maiduguri bears his name. The six states that emerged from the territory he governed remain. The institutions he helped establish endure, as does the North-Eastern consciousness he helped nurture.

On behalf of the Government and people of the Federal  Republic of Nigeria, I congratulate the Musa Usman family, the authors and everyone who made this book possible.

May it introduce Brigadier Musa Usman to new generations, refresh the memories of those who knew him and remind us that the true monument of leadership is the institutions built, lives improved, and society strengthened.

May Allah grant Brigadier Musa Usman eternal rest and reward his service to our country.

Thank you, and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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