Dr. Kasimu Musa Bushi was born on 5 April 1968 in Kumbo, Donga Local Government Area of Taraba State. As someone who is mindful of what he wanted to become in life, he wasted no time to advance his academic pursued; he started his primary and secondary education early and gain admission in one the prestigious Universities in the country, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree (BSc) in accounting
in 1991. Dr. Bushi having the desire to be a professional accountant with high capacity, undertook his National Youth Service with Dayo Oloje & Co (Chartered Accountant) in Akure, Ondo State and completed the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 1992.
As a young man, Bushi did not indulge himself in any other youthful exuberance activities which could jeopardize his dream and his focus in life. Instead with a strong conviction of purpose, he was enlisted into the Nigerian Navy on 23 August, 1993 and was commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant on 23 August, 1994 and rose to the enviable rank of Rear Admiral in 2022, a course of direction which remains his career pursued till date. It is this undeniable zeal to serve the nation that made him join the prestigious Nigerian military force. Dr. Bushi has become a true iconic example of a citizen who places national interest above personal one, whose passion is to serve the nation with his life inborn.
The personality of Dr. Bushi is very amassing; humble, patriotic, loyalty, perseverance, hardworking and dedicated to service. In Nigeria today, the desire for self-attainment and self-aggrandizement has taken a center stage rather than patriotic service to fatherland. Leadership challenges have contributed immensely to the current problems faced in the country such as corruption, banditry, militancy, kidnappings, rubbery among others. Thus, the need to spot charismatic and dynamic young and up-coming leaders that can be trusted with leadership positions is important. It is in this light that, individual personality in the public sector (including the military) who through their selfless service, dedication to duty, exemplary and good leadership qualities as well as contribution to the development of their organizations, communities and the nation in general are often identified and honored for good performance as motivation for enhance service delivery. In many circles, Dr. Bushi has made his mark in this regard; contributed immensely to the Nigerian Navy and the nation at large both professionally and otherwise.
In an attempt to improve his academic prowess, Bushi attended several schools. Some of the things that stands out clear and highly paramount is that he has an uncompromising interest in the field of Accounting and Finance as well as Public Administration. His quest to effective management of resources to achieve value addition and accountability remains the focal point in all his actions. So, he attended Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration where he obtained PGC in Public Administration 2002. He also attended Federal University of Technology (FUTO) and obtained PGD in Financial Management and MBA Finance in 2001 and 2008 respectively. He further enrolled for MSc Programme in National Mathematical Centre affiliated to University of Abuja in 2015 and obtained MSc Financial Mathematics and a PhD in Finance. Dr. Bushi also has honorary Doctorate Degree in Leadership and Good Governance from South American University as well as honorary Doctorate Degree in Business Affairs from University of Benin Republic. Dr. Bushi also had his military training in the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College as well as Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Nigeria where he obtained Pass Staff Course (psc).
Dr. Bushi is highly decorated and also, an astute professional and certified accountant whose knowledge and competence has gained him several Fellows both national and international institute which include: Fellow Chartered National Accountant (FCNA), Fellow Chartered Institute of Taxation (FCTI), Fellow Chartered Institute of Finance and Control of Nigeria (FCIFCN), Fellow African Institute of Strategic Managers (FAISM), Fellow Institute Corporate Administration (FICA), Fellow Chartered System Accountant (FCSA-USA), Fellow Occupational Safety and Health Association – UK (FOSHA), and a Certified Fraud Detector (CFD) UK. He’s highly trained and has attended several conferences and seminars both local and abroad, prominent are: International Conference on Pre-retirement Planning at Ghana in 2015, International Conference on Public Finance and Administrative Strategies in the Post Covid era held at Kigali, Rwanda in 2021, Chartered System Accountant International Conference at Louisiana, USA in 2022, ANAN. Chartered Institute of Finance and Control (FIFC) yearly conference amongst others.
In addition, Dr. Bushi has several awards including Productivity Centre Merit Award, Humanitarian Service Award, Financial Prudency Award, Ethical Ambassador Award, Integrity Award, Good Ambassador of Taraba State Award, ICON of Hope Award and the prestigious National Public Service Award (NPSA) amongst others. Dr. Bushi has several decorations which includes Forces Service Star (FSS), Meritorious Service Star (MSS) and Distinguished Service Star (DSS). Others are Chieftaincy titles; Santali of Gudape, Bebeji of Lafiya Kingdom and Katuka of Gire Adamawa.
In terms of service delivery, Dr. Bushi has proved himself as an effective financial manager and administrator, an inspiring motivator and intelligent leader. He gets job done on unobtrusively and efficiently and communicate well with creative ideas which he can see it to completion. He certainly has led a very good example of reliability, dependability, loyalty, and commitment. He has also made a remarkable impact on the cultural ethics of public service life and led by example in all he has done. This has been attested by his trust to hold several sensitive and crucial appointments on financial management and public administration; a job which requires trust, honesty, and accountability.
His first appointment was Staff Officer (Cash) in Western Naval Command Headquarters, Lagos in 1995 – 1999. He was then transferred to Defence Headquarters in Abuja to work as Staff officer finance in 2000 – 2006. He later became the Base Account and Budget Officer (BABO) in Nigerian Naval Base, PATHFINDER, Port Harcourt from 2007 – 2009. For his outstanding performance void of malpractices and with his enthusiasm and discipline, he was later made Assistant Director (AD) Computer, Military Pension Board (MPB) between 2007 and 2010. A period which witnessed unprecedented transformation of the Military Pension Board. He brought dynamism in the management affairs of the Military Pension Board. Dr. Bushi was instrumental to the introduction of biometric data system in the management and Administration of military pension which drastically curtailed corruption, manipulations and other forms of financial malpractices that were militating smooth administration of the Pension Board. He screened and vetted all the pensioners’ data in the retirees’ payroll and ensured that only eligible pensioners were enrolled into the biometric data system. He also ensured the integrity of the personnel payroll data.
Additionally, in his appointment as Assistant Director in the Pension Board, Dr. Bushi observed some abnormalities in transactions with the banks where banks were changing pensioners account details at will, without informing the pensioners. This deprived the pensioners’ access to draw from their old bank account and which resulted to pensioners’ agitations on non-payment of pension and pensioners roaming about on the streets of Abuja in the past, in search of financial help for survival. It is pertinent to state that, Dr. Bushi raised this observation to the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF). Consequently, the OAGF in conjunction with the CBN immediately introduced the New Uniform Bank Account Number (NUBAN) which immediately checkmated such malpractices, and this automatically put a stop to pensioners’ agitations and roaming on streets of Abuja. In 2011, he was further appointed as the Command Account and Budget Officer (CABO), HQ Western Naval Command, Lagos as a pre-requisite for his career progression. In recognition of his excellent service in the MPB, Dr. Bushi was thereafter re-appointed as Director Navy Pension in the MPB. This period brought sanity and prompt payment of retirement benefit as at when due. He was appointed Head of salary at the Naval Central Pay Office, Apapa, Lagos in October 2015 and later appointed as the Acting Director Navy Account at the Naval Headquarters in Abuja in 2016.
It was a call to duty based on his high standard of leadership and performance that Dr. Bushi was appointed as the Chief of Naval Account and Budget (CAB) at the Naval Headquarters Abuja in May, 2017. An appointment which proved him to be a man with high experience and having requisite knowledge in financial management and administration which he has brought to bear in his endeavor. He is hard working and known in the Nigerian Navy as a workaholic. Prominently, he’s been able to manage corruption anywhere he finds himself using his experience as Certified Fraud Detector UK.
In addition, he intensified measures to eliminate fraud and financial malpractices in an organization. Dr. Bushi deployed some strategies to deepen transparency in the financial management system. All these were achieved through constant training and sensitization of the personnel on the need to be ethical and professional in the discharge of duty. Another area of competence of the officer is developing financial ideas that tends to solve problems in the society: he developed annuity funding model for the implementation in FMBN for loan disbursement to the benefit of public servant who are contributors to Federal Housing Scheme of Nigeria. In 2019, Dr. Bushi was a member of the committee for the Manual of Accounting and Financial Administration approved by Mr. President C-in-C for the Armed Forces of Nigeria which brought enhanced salary and allowances to the Armed Forces personnel.
Furthermore, Dr. Bushi focus is to ensure that the grass root, cleric accountant and all the people involve in keeping financial records in the navy are kept abreast of the accounting standards and practices. This informed his decision to publish a working book titled ‘Understanding the Basics of Nigerian Navy Financial Management and Accounting System’
in 2020. A book that seeks to bring to the reader the understanding of the fundamentals of the Nigerian Navy Financial Managements Systems to ensure probity and accountability in the system. The book is currently and widely used in the Nigerian Armed Forces and beyond. This book has been reviewed to another book published titled “Fundamentals of Nigeria Public Finance and Accounting to serve the need of accountants in the public sector in Nigeria. Also, to inspire the young ones, Dr. Bushi also published a book titled Wheels of Prosperity which seeks to give the reader hope in actualizing their dreams and aspirations in life. Dr. Bushi is currently working on a book titled ‘A Practical Approach to Nigeria Developmental Dilemma’ which is hoped to be published in 2023. Other prominent achievement and contribution to Service includes Introduction of Private Accounting Reporting Standards in Navy companies as required by CAMA, 2020 (as Amended) as well as emplaced measures for profit realization. Facilitation and key liaison person for Nigerian Navy Bills which were appropriately approved by Mr. President, C-in-C of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
Dr. Bushi’s citation is inexhaustible, but the fact remains that the officer is a game changer, a transformational guru and a prudent financial manager. He has special interest in reading and writing as well as national development. He strongly believes in Nigeria state and a Nigerian to the core. His hobbies are jogging to keep fit and watching educative documentaries.
He is happily married and blessed with children.