Northern PR Stars: Government Affairs Specialists

Northern PR Stars: Government Affairs Specialists
By Maryam Na-Allah Umar-Baba

In today’s dynamic and interconnected world, Public Relations (PR) has emerged as a formidable force, shaping narratives and influencing public opinion. As the business landscape continues to evolve, the Northern region of Nigeria has also witnessed an impressive rise in its PR industry, with a wave of talented professionals making their mark on the communication landscape within and outside the country.

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The North has also produced iconic Communication scholars, spokespersons and other PR practitioners who contribute in defining contemporary issues in the public relations industry. They are highly organized communications professionals with over two decades of industry experience.

Spokesperson’s Digest, a sister publication of PRNigeria presents three personalities it regards as outstanding Government Spokespersons from the North
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Dr. Sule Yau Sule: A Consummate Governor’s Spokesperson

Dr. Sule Yau Sule is one of the longest-serving spokespersons in State Government Houses in Nigeria, who have demonstrated loyalty, professionalism, competence, and charisma in their public relations activities.

Born in the ancient city of Kano, Sule obtained a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in mass communication before he bagged a Doctorate in Strategic Communication from Bayero University Kano.

He began his journalism career as a Sub-Editor with the Triumph Newspaper, Kano, in 1990, and rose to the position of Deputy Editor and Editorial Board Member. He was in the financial sector where he was appointed Public Relations Officer at the then Bank of the North.

Dr. Yau Sule, on record is the longest-serving and most productive Director of Press in Kano’s history, having served the military administrations of Brigadier-General Dominic Oneya and Colonel Aminu Isah Kontagora (1996 – 1999) and the civilian administrations of Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (May 1999 – July 1999), and Ibrahim Shekarau (2003 – 2011), setting off an epic journey in strategic perception management, spanning over seventeen (17) years.

He also served as Director/Head of Publicity and Protocol, Office of the Federal Minister of Education, Abuja, from July, 2014 to May, 2015.

Dr. Yau Sule is the board chairman and member of several organizations including the multi-award-winning PR firm, Image Merchant Promotions (IMPR) Limited. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Communications, at Bayero University Kano. Apart from his regular articles in the media, he is the author of: “An Introduction to Strategic Communication” and “Strategic Communication Research in a Digital Age.”

A Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (FNIPR), Sule Yau Sule is a member of, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), with a forte in print, broadcast, data analysis, political communication, advertising, social media, and media studies.

A team player, nationally networked, astute administrator, and conscientious organizer, Sule enjoys the trust and confidence of professional colleagues and associates. He was appointed Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the AGM/National Election Convention of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Kano, in 2011, and held the same position for the Nigerian Guild of Editors in 2021.

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Isa Gusau Borno : The Trailblazing Strategic Communicator

Beyond media relations activities as the spokesperson to Borno Government since 2012, Malam Isa Gusau has deployed public relations tools of event management, reputation management, crisis communication, publication, and facility tours to positively project activities of the state that was once the epicenter of terrorism, in the country.

An HND graduate of Mass Communication from Kaduna Polytechnic, Gusau started as a journalist with Daily Trust newspapers, winning several awards on professionalism and integrity before he retired as Deputy Editor in 2012, and moved into PR world where he first served as the spokesperson to former Borno Governor, Kashim Shettima, now Vice President.

In a deliberate move to acquire the requisite qualifications for his new job, Gusau obtained a bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations, Media, and Advertising from Middlesex University and a Master’s Degree (MA) in Public Relations and Media from the University of Leicester, both in the United Kingdom.

He also obtained Certificates in Leadership and persuasive communication at Harvard University; Creative Writing at the University of Cambridge; and Reputation Branding, Media Relations and Political Campaigns and Communication from Thompson Reuters in New York, among others.

Gusau, the spokesperson to the incumbent Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum, is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR); the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) UK; the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) UK; the African Public Relations Association (APRA); the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, UK.

Gusau has attended several conferences, summits, and bilateral meetings across 18 countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa for professional networking, training and journalistic reporting.

Gusau who served as the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Governor Kashim Shettima from March 2012 to May 2019, has remained the media strategist to Governor Babagana Umara Zulum from 2019 to date.

Since 2012, he has mentored more than 300 Borno youths on various aspects of public relations.

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Rafiu Ajakaye: A Journalist Steeped in Government PR

Having practiced journalism at the editorial level for more than a decade, Rafiu Ajakaye moved into the world of public communication in full force as the Chief Press Secretary, (CPS), to Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq in 2019.

A Member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (MNIPR), Ajakaye holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and International Studies and now studying for a Master’s degree (M.A.) in History and Diplomacy, both from the Lagos State University (LASU). He hails from Alabe in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.

Ajakaye has reported for various local and international news media. He has over a decade of experience in active journalism as a politics and development journalist. He worked at the Daily Independent, where he was at various times a Trainee Reporter, Reporter, Senior Reporter, Acting News Editor for the weekend titles and Foreign Editor for the newspaper. He had also worked on the Politics Desk of the paper and was the coordinator of its Development page for years.

He was until his appointment by Governor Abdulrazaq in 2019, the Nigerian correspondent for Anadolu Agency, the Turkish semi-official news medium, and the world’s fifth-largest news agency.

Ajakaye is a public communications specialist with bias for policy analysis. He is an alumnus of the Lagos State University (Lagos, Nigeria) and John F. Kennedy School of Government (Harvard, United States).

He is a member of many professional associations, including the Nigerian Union of Journalists, the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations, and the International Press Institute (Vienna).
He is married to Olasumbo (FCA) with three children
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*Maryam Na-Allah Umar-Baba, a Staff Writer with the Spokesperson’s Digest is an alumnus of Leeds Beckett University obtaining a Bsc in Media Communication Culture and a Master’s Degree in Public Relations and Strategic Communication. Email: [email protected]