Former President Goodluck Jonathan has urged leaders to prioritise integrity and merit when choosing people for leadership positions, warning that countries cannot achieve meaningful development when competence is sacrificed for personal relationships.
Jonathan spoke on Tuesday at a ceremony marking the retirement of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, where two books documenting her career and experiences were also presented.
The former President praised President Bola Tinubu for appointing Walson-Jack to lead the Federal Civil Service, describing her emergence as the first person from Bayelsa State to occupy the position as a significant milestone.
He said the appointment was especially noteworthy because the office of Head of the Civil Service of the Federation was not rotated among states but was based on merit.
“That appointment makes her the first Bayelsan to hold that office. I don’t know when we’ll get the next one that will be there, because you have only one Head of Civil Service of the Federation at a time.
“And it is not that you rotate the offices; there’s a lot of merit required,” he said.
Jonathan drew lessons from Singapore’s development under its former Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, saying the country’s progress was anchored on integrity and meritocracy.
“First, integrity. Zero tolerance for corruption,” Jonathan said, recalling the principles he attributed to Lee Kuan Yew.
“The second one was meritocracy. It doesn’t look at anybody; it has nothing to do with relationships. For you to hold any office in Singapore then, you must merit it.
“These two are cardinal for every nation, every state, even in institutional life—the civil service of a state or of the Federation.
“If integrity and merit are not considered, especially leadership of the country, if you compromise merit, then you can’t go anywhere. You must use the right people for the right thing.”
He further illustrated the importance of placing competent people in appropriate positions with an analogy involving animals.
“A cat feeds on other animals—what we call carnivorous animals. A dog also feeds on other animals. A lion also feeds on other animals. But if you give the job of a lion to a cat, it cannot perform.
“So, you must give the job of a lion to m mm mm a lion, and the job of a cat to a cat. And when you mix it, forget about your country; it can’t go anywhere.”
Jonathan also recounted Walson-Jack’s career progression, describing it as a story of perseverance and merit.
He recalled that she moved from the Bayelsa State Civil Service to the Federal Civil Service after initially being offered the position of Assistant Director, despite previously serving as a Permanent Secretary and Solicitor-General in the state.
According to him, he had encouraged her to take up the federal appointment despite what appeared to be a career setback. He said the decision eventually positioned her for the highest bureaucratic office in the country.
“Sometimes when you have some limitations in your life, some experiences that appear not very comfortable, God is preparing you for something bigger.
“So, sometimes people should endure certain situations because you don’t know what is waiting for you,” he said.
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The former President also recalled an earlier incident during the administration of former Bayelsa Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, when some state civil servants were transferred to the Federal Civil Service.
He said some senior permanent secretaries from Bayelsa were offered lower positions at the federal level and consequently rejected the appointments.
At the event, President Tinubu described Walson-Jack as a reform-minded public servant whose tenure contributed to improving Nigeria’s civil service through competence, integrity and institutional reforms.
Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Kingsley Udeh, said Walson-Jack’s progression from the Bayelsa State Civil Service to the position of Head of the Civil Service of the Federation demonstrated a career built on merit and dedicated public service.
He noted that she was among the few public servants to have worked at both state and federal levels before reaching the highest position in the country’s bureaucracy.
The President also praised her decision to record her professional experiences in two books, describing it as an effort to preserve valuable lessons for future generations of public servants.
“Public service is not only about what we do while in office, but also about what we leave behind for those who come after us.”
Tinubu said the success of his Renewed Hope Agenda depended on having a professional, competent, ethical and citizen-focused civil service capable of converting government policies into tangible results.
He credited Walson-Jack with contributing to stronger institutional continuity, technical capacity and coordination among ministries, departments and agencies.
According to him, reforms implemented during her tenure helped move the civil service beyond routine administration towards a performance-oriented system centred on service delivery, accountability and innovation.
Tinubu further pointed to digital reforms within the public service, including the integration of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System with the Human Resource Management System.
He said the integration was designed to strengthen payroll integrity, curb leakages and improve accountability.
The President urged the Federal Civil Service to broaden the reforms to other areas of the public sector in order to create a more efficient, data-driven and citizen-oriented government.