Tinubu: Nigeria Needs Leaders Committed to the Public Good, Not Personal Interests

President Bola Tinubu used a thanksgiving service for former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Boss Mustapha to make a broader appeal for patriotic leadership in Nigeria.

Represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume, Tinubu said the country needed men and women whose commitment to national development went beyond personal ambition. “Nigeria needs men and women who value what transcends personal interest, but rather a devotion to public service,” he said at St. Monica Cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria in Jimeta, Yola.

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Nigeria needs men and women who value what transcends personal interest, but rather a devotion to public service

The service marked Mustapha's 70th birthday. Tinubu also described it as a celebration of God's faithfulness in sustaining the former government secretary through the different stages of his life. Plateau State Governor Caleb Muftwang called Mustapha a standard-bearer for integrity in public service and urged political leaders in the Middle Belt to remain united.

Muftwang praised Mustapha for choosing to invest in public education rather than personal luxury for his milestone birthday. Mustapha donated a library complex to Lutheran University Nigeria in Demsa, Adamawa State. The facility was named the Wesley Mustapha Library Complex by Lutheran Church Archbishop Musa Panti Filibus, in honor of Mustapha's late father, a teacher.

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I want my life to be a template for the younger generation. If the son of a classroom teacher can make it, then you can make it. Do not allow your background to define your life, use it as a stepping stone

Mustapha told Nigerian youths not to let modest beginnings define their futures. “I want my life to be a template for the younger generation. If the son of a classroom teacher can make it, then you can make it. Do not allow your background to define your life, use it as a stepping stone,” he said.

He said the project aimed to improve the lives of future generations. His father had been a classroom teacher who later became headmaster at the Government Science School founded by the Lutheran church. Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri described the library as a monument to knowledge that would serve scholars in the state and across Nigeria.

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My decision to undertake this project is borne out of the need to better the lives of the generation coming after us