Nasiru Yusuf

The management of the Kano state owned Triumph newspaper has approved the appointment of Muhammad Hamisu Abdullahi as Acting Editor.

A statement issued to Kano Focus on Friday said the appointment followed the death of the former editor, Musa Ahmad Tijjani on Saturday April 25, 2020 after a brief illness.

Born in 1968, Mr Abdullahi attended Bayero University Kano, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications in 1995.

He did his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) between 1995 and 1996 at St. Joseph Comprehensive Secondary School, Ugep, Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State.

He taught various subjects including English Language, Home Economics, and Social Studies and later became the Principal of the college, till he successfully finished the one-year mandatory service in 1996.

A Seasoned Journalist

After returning home in 1996, he joined the Triumph Publishing Company Limited, Kano as a freelancer in the Editorial Department.

A year later, in 1997, he was employed as a sub-editor before becoming business columnist/editor, and took charge of reporting, writing and editing stories of events from the business world.

Between 2000 and 2001, he was on the Political Desk as a sub-editor, where he edited stories and other articles appearing in the political pages.

He was posted to features section as a sub-editor again between 2001 and 2003.

In 2003, he became the features editor.

Within the period of 2004 and 2005, he was taken to News Desk as Assistant News Editor.

Between 2005 and 2007, he was reposted to features section as editor.

From the year 2007 to 2012, he was taken to Sunday section to be the Assistant Editor of Sunday Triumph (a broad sheet).

He was appointed as Assistant Editor The Triumph (Daily) in 2012 to assist in the editing of some specific pages in the paper to include news and features.

Broadcast Experience

After the closure of Triumph Publishing Company in 2012, he was redeployed to Abubakar Rimi Television on October 31 of that year as Chief Information Officer, where he was posted to the Department of News and Current Affairs.

Between 2012 and 2015, he picked up part time lecturing at the Department of Arts and Humanities, Kano State Polytechnic, where he taught various courses on Mass Communication and supervised a number of students’ research projects.

In 2015, he was promoted to the rank of Deputy Director, News and Current Affairs of the Abubakar Rimi Television, a position he held up to the year 2017.

He served as Duty Editor on some days and producer/presenter of ‘Waiwayen Taskar Labaran Mako‘, a news analysis and reviews of major stories published by various media organisations.

Back to the Triumph

After reopening of Triumph Publishing Company Limited by the Ganduje administration, he was redeployed to the company on October 27, 2017 as Deputy Director/Deputy Editor of The Triumph, a position he held until his appointment as acting editor of the paper, following the demise of the former editor, Musa Ahmad Tijjani.

He attended many conferences, workshops and seminars within and outside the country, to include ‘Conference on Afro-Arab Solidarity,’ Khartoum, Republic of The Sudan, November 2010 – organised by International University of Africa, Khartoum, held at Burj El-Fateh Hotel, Khartoum.

Another is ‘Analogue to Digital Migration Workshop for Northern Broadcast Media’ May 31 to June 2, 2016 – organised by Moving Image Limited, Kano and supported by Pinnacle Communications Limited held at Manpower Development Centre, Dutse, Jigawa State.

He was also part of ‘Ogun-Kano Learning Exchange on Better Business Environment,’ November 12 to 14, 2018 organized by Kano Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture in collaboration with Kano State Government and supported by Partnership to Engage Reform and Learn (PERL-DFID).

He also attended ‘Agricultural Seeds Media Dialogue,’ May 31, 2018- organised again by the PERL-DFID in collaboration with National Agricultural Seeds Council held at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.

He was the recipient of many awards including Best Sub-Editor Merit Award by NUJ Triumph Chapel in 2002 and Best Writer of the Year 2003 by NUJ Kano State Council.

He was a member, Editorial Board (Triumph)  2001 to 2004; member, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) 1997 to date; and member, Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), 2018 to date.