Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman (rtd)

Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman (rtd), mni fnipr fapra fnarc FIOARM fspsp, is the Consultant Director, of Corporate Affairs and Information Services (DCAIS) at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC), Abuja. He voluntarily retired from the Nigerian Army in February 2019 as the Director of Army Public Relations and Spokesman for the Nigerian Army. While in service, he promoted hard work, dedication, and professional excellence and transformed the Nigerian Army’s public relations practice and strategic communication. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication from Bayero University Kano and a Master of Arts degree in Media, Peace and Conflict Studies from the United Nations Mandated University for Peace (UPEACE), San Jose, Costa Rica. He also attended the prestigious National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, as a member of the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 40, 2018.

While in the military, he served in various units and formations of the Nigerian Army and had two tours of duty on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), Ethiopia, and Eritrea (UNMEE). He also held several command and staff appointments in various formations and units of the Directorate of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Nigerian Army, the last of which was the Director of Army Public Relations. He has attended several professional courses, seminars, and workshops in Nigeria and abroad. These include the Basic Arabic Course at the Nigerian Army School of Education (NASE) in Ilorin in 1995, the prestigious Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) in Jaji for the junior course, and in 2002, the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra, Ghana, for the Media Operations Course 02/2005, and the Professionalizing Protocol, Information, and Press Duties for Efficient and Effective Administration—African Business School in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Senior Officers’ Spokesman’s Course, Royal Air Force, Halton, London, United Kingdom, in 2015; the Journalists’ Protection in Conflict Zone course, Hellenic National Defence General Staff Multinational Peace Support Operations Training Centre, Greece, in 2016; amongst others.

A prolific writer and resourceful person, he has published many of his articles in newspapers, magazines, and journals. He has also delivered papers at strategic military institutions and during seminars and workshops in Nigeria and other African countries on leadership, crisis management, and strategic communication. In addition, he is a regular guest on many prime-time television and radio station programmes in Nigeria where he discusses national security, policies, and strategic communication. He has also contributed chapters to many books. One such book, “Media and Nigeria’s Constitutional Democracy: Civic Space, Free Speech and the Battle for Freedom of the Press,” has just been published. A well-decorated retired senior military officer, Brigadier-General SK Usman (rtd), mni, has received many honours and awards from the military, civil organisations and institutions. He also belongs to various professional bodies, among which are: a member of the prestigious National Institute (mni), a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (fnipr) and a member of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations; a Fellow of the African Public Relations Association (fapra), Fellow of the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (fnarc), as well as a Fellow of the Institute of Organisational and Administrative Risk Management of Nigeria (FIOARM). In addition, he was made a Fellow of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice (fspsp) and Rotary Club International. He also holds the traditional title of Sarkin Yakin Kanwan Katsina, Ketare District, Katsina State. He is also on the Editorial Board of African Leadership Magazine and the Board of Trustees of the Security Watch Africa Initiative. He is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Confederation of African Journalists (CAJ), a member of the Board of Trustees of an NGO called Female Advocacy Mentoring Empowerment (FAME), and the Secretary of the Nigerian Prize for Leadership’s Finance and Fund Raising Committee. He is also the National Publicity Secretary of the Alumni Association of the National Institute (AANI). Recently, he was elected as the National Chairman of the DRC 3/1993 Association.

Brigadier General Usman (rtd), mni, is happily married to Hajiya Hadiza SK Usman, and the marriage is blessed with children. At his leisure, he enjoys reading and listening to music.