Outgoing Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, has launched two memoirs documenting her 34-year career in Nigeria’s public service, highlighting the reforms, challenges and lessons that shaped her journey.
The books, I Planted: A Memoir of Purposeful Service and Beyond the Mandate: A Memoir on Leadership, Legacy & Labour of Public Service, were unveiled on Tuesday at the Ladi Kwali Hall of the Abuja Continental Hotel as part of activities marking the end of her tenure.
Walson-Jack said the memoirs were not intended to glorify her career but to provide an honest account of her experiences, from her early days as a youth corps member in Rivers State in 1992 to her rise to the highest level of the federal civil service.
According to her, the first book chronicles her philosophy of building institutions, implementing reforms and mentoring younger public servants without seeking personal recognition.
“Thirty-four years is long enough to plant institutions, systems and people, and to watch some of them grow taller than you. It is also long enough to make mistakes, to learn, to be humbled,” she said.
Walson-Jack said I Planted was inspired by her belief that public servants should focus on creating institutions and developing people capable of sustaining progress beyond their tenure.
“I planted, I believed, and I moved on. I did not chase credit for the institutions I helped to build, the offices I helped to reform, or all the young officers I tried to mentor along the way,” she said.
She described the second book, Beyond the Mandate, as a reflection on leadership and the broader responsibilities of public servants, stressing that official mandates should serve as a starting point rather than a limit.
“A mandate should be regarded as a floor, not a ceiling. Effective public servants must develop people, strengthen institutions, and preserve institutional memory,” she said.
The outgoing Head of Service clarified that the books do not chronicle her tenure as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, noting that she would document that chapter of her career at another time.
“These two books do not tell the story of my tenure as the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. I’m sorry to disappoint some of you. That is a story that will be told at another day,” she said.
Walson-Jack said the memoirs would also be useful to civil servants, researchers, students and members of the private sector seeking a deeper understanding of Nigeria’s public administration.
“If you are a civil servant, this book was written for you. If you are a student or a researcher, you will find a primary source that textbooks on Nigerian governance rarely offer,” she said.
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, who served as chief presenter of I Planted, described Walson-Jack as one of the state’s outstanding contributions to the federal civil service.
Diri said her career demonstrated resilience and commitment to institutional development.
“The hardship of service did not break her; it formed her,” the governor said.
Representing Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, the Deputy Governor, Dr Ngozi Nma Odu, commended Walson-Jack’s contributions to staff welfare and labour relations.
Odu particularly highlighted her introduction of structured quarterly engagements with organised labour, describing the initiative as evidence that disagreements could be managed constructively through sustained dialogue.
“She introduced structured quarterly engagements with organised labour. It demonstrated that disagreements need not become destructive when there are channels for continuous dialogue,” Odu said.
