AS a reporter, writer, editorialist and columnist, I love good books and I have invested in a lot of them. So, when I see good books on any subjects, I buy anywhere I go. I have bought a lot through big brothers abroad and now the Amazon. That is how so many bookstores including ‘Glendora’ ‘Readers Are Leaders’ bookshops have somewhat made me ‘richer’, anyway. I will collect my long- patronage discount from them anytime soon.
And so I have just looked into the seeds of our times and I have seen another good book in the works by one of Nigeria’s finest and most significant academics in Nigeria’s mainstream civil service, Dr. Goke Adegoroye. He retired as a federal permanent secretary in 2010 and on the day of retirement, he presented his first book, titled, “Beyond Yours Faithfully”. In 2015, he also presented his second book in two volumes. Yours sincerely wrote the Afterword for the first two books.
The new book titled, ‘Leadership in the Nigerian Civil Service: Five decades of lessons in performance, encounters and triumphs’ will be unveiled on June 4, 2025 in the nation’s capital, Abuja. I can tell you for free, the book smacks of “a good newspaper, which, Arthur Miller says, “is a nation talking to itself”. Wait for it. And here is the thing, public officers and public servants will find the book useful for master class on ‘How to and how not to run a country’s civil service. Besides, the book will be good for public officers who would like to remember Nigeria as it used to be. What is more, it is a rich resource on rewriting manifestos for a new Nigeria where mediocrity and docility nurtured by corruption will no longer be tolerated. Wait for it. Let’s peep into the book through some excerpts below from the author’s preface and dedication:
‘Leadership in the Nigerian Civil Service: Five decades of lessons in performance, encounters and triumphs’, chronicles this leadership journey across five decades—from the 1970s to the present—covering my academic training, environmental work in the 1980s and 1990s, leadership in public administration in the 2000s, and my continued advocacy in retirement.
Leadership remains the single important determinant in management and governance. It reflects vision, courage, and the capacity to steer an organization towards achieving its goals. Its scope spans managing resources, developing future leaders, overseeing change management, decision-making, communication, team building, and crisis response.
Sadly, public perception of leadership within the Nigerian civil service has been one of steady decline—marked by eroding competence, weakened capacity and diminishing professionalism. The present is widely seen as a pale shadow of a more illustrious past, hence the persistent nostalgia for what are often termed the “glorious years” of the Nigerian civil service. Those years are associated with revered figures such as Simeon Adebo, Jerome Udoji, Sule Katagum, Abdul Aziz Attah, Ibrahim Damcida, Philip Asiodu, Allison Ayida—stalwarts of the pre-and immediate post-independence era. Their legacies, characterised by outstanding contributions to the development of the civil service have become benchmarks. Yet, the oft-repeated adulation of that era serves not only as a lament but as a critique of the subsequent generations of leadership and their capacity—or lack thereof—for mentorship and succession planning.
In recent times, and in the absence of structured documentation, the narrative of the civil service has been shaped largely by the personal experiences of officers whose achievements, though notable, often reflect an ego-driven record of service. These tales—frequently amplified by the ego of the narrators and of their era’s leadership—tend to highlight luck rather than systemic merit. Conversely, in quieter tones, we encounter the anguish of devoted and honest officers, who, despite their commitment and patriotism, found themselves victims of a system that rewarded self-preservation over merit. These individuals were often severely shortchanged by the very institutions they served with their heart and soul.
Furthermore, the manipulation of public service rules by those in leadership, often to protect themselves, has impeded reform implementation. These conflicting realities present an opportunity for introspection, particularly for those of us who have walked the corridors of civil service leadership. Our reflections must contribute to forging a new path—one anchored on justice, fairness, and most crucially, integrity.
Contrary to the perception of the civil service as a cult, its inner workings are not as secretive as presumed. Much of what happens within is common knowledge among civil servants, passed around in trusted circles and, increasingly, disseminated via social media. Platforms such as WhatsApp now host these stories—some told in self-adulation by actors who, during their time, were part of the problem. These narratives, rich with potential insights, are often relegated to informal discourse and risk being lost to time or reduced to myth.
If the civil service is to muster the courage to act with integrity, it must begin with regular, open, transparent and objective documentation of leadership conduct. By being confronted with accurate portrayals of their actions, today’s leaders —Permanent Secretaries and Heads of the Civil Service—may better align with integrity, knowing that their records will one day come under public scrutiny. In this regard, I draw inspiration from the extensive documentation of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s public service years in his memoirs, Not My Will (1990) and My Watch (2014), which detail his engagements with military peers, cabinet members and the civil service leaderships.
Leadership at the top tiers —Heads of Service, Permanent Secretaries, and Civil Service Commission officials— is unique. These roles are not merely administrative; they are custodial. They are responsible for institutional renewal, the grooming of successors, and the general health of the service. The experiences and cases discussed in this book highlight both what works and what does not—and why. At the heart of these challenges are the screening and preparation of directorate-level officers, the methods for appointing them into leadership positions, and the quality of those who have held such offices since 1999.
I have been fortunate to serve in diverse roles across the public sector: from academia to environmental management, from the Presidency to being the inaugural Director General and later Permanent Secretary of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR). I also served in the Manpower Development Office (MDO) in the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF); as well as in the Ministries of Education; Tourism, Culture and National Orientation; Interior; and finally the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) where I retired. Guided by the biblical charge “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven”, I anchored my service on a commitment to integrity as the foundation for leadership.
My journey began in 1975 as a Graduate Assistant at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). Leadership in the Nigerian Civil Service: Five decades of lessons in performance, encounters and triumphs chronicles this leadership journey across five decades—from the 1970s to the present—covering my academic training, environmental work in the 1980s and 1990s, leadership in public administration in the 2000s, and my continued advocacy in retirement.
Leadership is neither a straight path nor an easy sail. It is a continuous learning process—marked by growth, resilience, betrayal, and eventually, triumph. The leader must perform, inspire, endure, and ultimately prevail.
This book is the story of a 50-year journey through career and advocacy, offering lessons from the vantage point of one who has both observed and influenced leadership at the top. I write as a scientist using the civil service ecosystem as my laboratory—measuring real-time outcomes of policy and personnel decisions while those involved are still alive and the impacts are still observable. I write also in protest—against the entrenched culture of sycophancy in the service, where narratives are twisted to please incumbents or vilify rivals. And I write with objectivity—choosing to observe as an outsider with insider knowledge, resisting the temptation to rely solely on personal interviews, knowing that others may someday present their side in their own memoirs.
For Nigeria to achieve the greatness we envision, the civil service must become both the targetand the tool for restoring good governance—provided elected leaders are willing to apply the necessary political will. My hope is that this book will offer practitioners and scholars of public administration the insight needed to interrogate the system more and develop solutions that will bring real transformation.
To those whose names appear in these pages or whose interactions with me are cited—who may feel aggrieved— I tender a sincere apology. My intention is not to cast aspersions but to use these cases illustratively, to provide learning material for today’s and tomorrow’s leaders. These events occurred during our shared stewardship. Their inclusion is a form of patriotic duty, for once we reach the apex of our careers, it is the least we owe the system we claim to love—especially if we are genuine about improving it. Indeed, these cases already exist in public memory and records as part of the broader narrative of our time in service.
This book is a natural sequel to Restoring Good Governance in Nigeria: Volume 1 The Civil Service Pathway and Volume 2 Leadership and Political Will (published in 2015). It not only complements those volumes but elevates the discussion on leadership effectiveness a decade on. That my advocacy on the importance of integrity in the human resources management processes— appointment, promotion and discipline—and on the need for central government coordination still fails to move administrations to act is, in itself, a major justification for this work.
As with the previous volumes, Leadership in the Nigerian Civil Service: Five decades of lessons in performance, encounters and triumphs is written in simple free flowing prose, to ensure accessibility to practitioners, policymakers, and everyday citizens invested in Nigerian bureaucracy. It is a provocation—intended to stir the conscience of those who have wielded administrative power. It is a lesson in human relations, leadership and mentorship. It is a call for integrity in public service and a challenge to management training institutions to rethink their role in restoring public confidence.
Will integrity in civil service leadership catalyse the emergence of good governance in Nigeria? Only time—and the choices of our political leaders—will tell…
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my country Nigeria with abiding faith in her manifest destiny and the potentials that leadership integrity in political office and the civil service holds for good governance; and to the coming generations of Nigerian civil servants, in the hope that the lives of those on the stage today may inspire you to dedicate yourselves to serve Nigeria in truth and in deed.
- Oloja is former editor of The Guardian newspaper and his column, Inside Stuff, runs on the back page of the newspaper on Sundays. The column appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Mondays.