In a significant way to break the identity ceiling in Civil Service, the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy (FMACTCE) today trained more than Eighty (80) senior officers as part in a half-day leadership experience in Abuja.
The workshop with the theme: “The Identity Ceiling: Elevate Who You Are to Lead at the Next Level,” organized by the Ministry was aimed at repositioning the staff to lead beyond ranks and positions but by first transforming who they are on the inside.
Delivering his opening remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr AbdulKarim Ozi Ibrahim, said the seminar matters because it reminds us that leadership growth is not merely about acquiring new skills, adding that “it is about rising above the invisible limits we place on our identity” noting that “you cannot lead beyond the person you think you are”.
Ibrahim represented by Dorothy Duruaku, the Director, International Tourism Relation and Cooperation, charged the participants to elevate who they lead to the next level, adding that, what the Civil Service needs are transformed leaders with integrity, vision and excellence, maintaining that a civil servant who elevates their identity will elevate service delivery, elevate their departments and elevate the nation.
He emphasized that our sector the art, culture, Tourism and creative economy demands leaders who are imaginative, adaptable and deeply human. But creativity cannot flourish behind a ceiling of self-doubt, old habits or small thinking, today, we are here to break through that ceiling, he added.
The Permanent Secretary urged the participants to be fully engaged, not as passive participants, but as leaders ready to be stretched.
He advised the participants to ask the hard questions, challenge the assumptions and let this session elevate not just what you do, but who you are.
While wishing the participants transformative conversations and deliberations, he emphasized that to every participants, “the next level is not out there, it is within you”.
Mr. Allan Akinradewo, the facilitator and also the founder of Ascend Identity Group and a talent and leadership expert was of the opinion that “as a leader if you are not growing your team is not going to grow”. He urged participants to rise beyond who they are, do more and win more against all odds, adding that, the only language people understands when it comes to leadership is winning.
The workshop featured interactive discussions, self assessment exercises, and real- life case studies drawn from the Public Service.
Participants were introduced to four “comfort identity” patterns, which the facilitator said are common in public offices: a. the Expert, who feels they must have every answer; b. the Executor, who measures value by the work they personally produce; c. the to Protector, who checks everything before it leaves the office; and d. the Perfectionist, for whom a proposal is never ready.
The session was built on the AIM framework (Awareness, Insight, Mastery), a proprietary leadership model developed by Akinradewo. The framework holds that leaders cannot design what they have not first seen.
However, participants described the workshop as deep, timely, reflective and transformational, pledged to apply the lessons to improve productivity, professionalism and Public Service Delivery.
Amadi Uloma Nneka, anipr
Head (Press and Public Relations)
November 10, 2026
