“The reward for good work is more work.”Those were the first words I received from you, my boss, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, OON, mni, when I had the privilege of meeting you in person for the first time. At the time, they struck me as words of wisdom from a leader who believed deeply in hard work, responsibility and service.

In the years since, I have had the rare privilege of witnessing your leadership up close and personal, and those words have come to mean even more.

I must say: your leadership is uncommon. You have an extraordinary knack for transformation, an uncanny ability to build where little or nothing exists, to see possibilities where others see limitations, and to leave institutions stronger than you met them. It is therefore no surprise that virtually everything you touch experiences a turnaround.

So, when the announcement came in July 2024 that the Commander-in-Chief had appointed you as the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, I was delighted, but certainly not surprised. It made sense.

Nigeria’s Federal Civil Service was about to experience the leadership, energy and transformative capacity that some of us had already been privileged to witness.

Upon assuming office, again you made a statement that stayed with me. You said that when people eventually looked back at everything that you were going to achieve, their reaction would be: “Unbelievable! Wow!” It was an audacious declaration.

Today, as you conclude your tenure as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, I believe you earned the right to say those words again.

Unbelievable! Wow!

In just two years, you have demonstrated how much can be accomplished when vision meets courage, urgency, discipline and an unwavering commitment to service. You have driven transformation across the Federal Civil Service at a pace and scale that has caused many to marvel at what could be achieved within such a short period.

But perhaps what makes your story even more remarkable is that the transformation was never merely about programmes, policies, technology or institutions. It was about people. It was about restoring pride in service. It was about reminding civil servants that public service can be excellent, innovative and consequential. It was about showing a new generation that institutions do not have to remain as they have always been, that with vision, leadership and the courage to act, they can become what they ought to be.

And for those of us who have had the privilege of working with you and observing you more closely, there is an even deeper lesson: leadership is ultimately service.

From those first words in 2018 – “The reward for good work is more work” – to this moment, that philosophy has been evident in the way you have lived, worked and led.

Good work brought more work. More work brought greater responsibility. And greater responsibility created an opportunity for even greater impact.

As this chapter closes, I can only imagine what God has in store for you in the next one. If the journey so far is any indication, then there is certainly more work ahead – more lives to touch, more institutions to transform, more people to inspire and more opportunities to serve.

My prayer is that God continues to strengthen you, preserve you and enlarge your coast. May He cause your light to shine even brighter, and may the works of your hands continue to give others reason to see that light and give glory to God.

Thank you for the privilege of witnessing your journey. Thank you for demonstrating what transformational leadership can look like. Thank you for showing us that even within the most complex institutions, change is possible. And thank you for proving your own prophecy.

When we look back at these two extraordinary years, there really are two words that capture the moment:

Unbelievable! Wow!

Congratulations, Ma.

The reward for good work, after all, is more work.

And I have a feeling that your greatest work may still lie ahead.