Leadership should be cumulative, institutional – Boss Mustapha

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, has called on leaders to imbibe leadership attributes that are not just personal but cumulative and institutional, consistent, attention, willingness to carry responsibility without seeking visibility. Mustapha spoke during the presentation of the book, “The Woman I Know”, a biography of former Secretary of the […]

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, has called on leaders to imbibe leadership attributes that are not just personal but cumulative and institutional, consistent, attention, willingness to carry responsibility without seeking visibility.

Mustapha spoke during the presentation of the book, “The Woman I Know”, a biography of former Secretary of the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC), Bilkisu Abdulmalik Bashir, in Abuja.

Mustapha said a common theme of the book centres on humility that co-exists with authority, not as posture, but as conduct expressed through accessibility, listening and a willingness to engage with others without diminishing one’s office, adding that it does not weaken decision-making, rather it grounds it.

“One of the strongest contributions of this book is its focus on leadership as an institutional practice rather than a personal performance. At the Federal Judicial Service Commission, the responsibilities associated with recruitment, discipline and administration require a careful balance between discretion and rules, firmness and fairness, authority and restraint,” he said.

In his keynote address, a professor of African and Comparative Literature, Cultural Studies and Aesthetics Theory, Udenta Udenta, challenged leaders on record keeping, explaining that republic needs leaders who know the imperative of record-keeping.

“When it comes to biographies as a group, as a compass, as a roadmap to national development,” he said.

He commended Ms Bashir for the idea of the book as a part of history and meets the threshold of history, which is record-keeping, maintaining that it serves as an inspiration, roadmap, compass, and consolidation of the country’s jurisprudence, celebrant having served with eight chief justices of Nigeria.