The life of Brigadier Musa Usman teachers 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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