ARMY SPOKESMAN SANI USMAN RETIRES

“With utmost gratitude to God, I wish to inform you, the wonderful officers, soldiers and civilian staff of the Directorate of Army Public Relations, that with effect from Friday 8 February 2019, I will be proceeding on Terminal Leave, thus marking the end of my exciting and fulfilling career in the Nigerian Army," he said.

Sani Usman, the spokesman of the Nigerian Army, has retired after 36 years of active service.

In a farewell message on Thursday, Usman said his "terminal leave" would begin on Friday, February 8, 2019.

Although a new Army spokesman has not been announced, Usman handed over to A.A. Yusuf, the Chief of Staff at the Directorate of Army Public Relations.

The statement read: “With utmost gratitude to God, I wish to inform you, the wonderful officers, soldiers and civilian staff of the Directorate of Army Public Relations, that with effect from Friday 8 February 2019, I will be proceeding on Terminal Leave, thus marking the end of my exciting and fulfilling career in the Nigerian Army. I am therefore bidding you all goodbye in my capacity as Director, Army Public Relations.

“I would like to seize this opportunity to thank you all for your friendship, love, support, loyalty and encouragement over the years that tremendously assisted me personally and repositioning the Directorate to the enviable height attained, thus far. I also wish to thank the Nigerian nation and the Nigerian Army for the wonderful opportunity to serve the country and humanity in various capacities for over three decades.

“I am leaving highly fulfilled after contributing my best to national development, the Nigerian Army, gaining great wealth of knowledge, experience, inestimable network of friends which I will treasure forever. I am thankful to the Nigerian Army for giving me wonderful opportunities and work exposure to practice Public Relations to the point of being a Fellow of the prestigious Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (FNIPR), Member of the National Institute (mni), among other honours, awards and qualifications, as well as attaining the highest level of command of the Directorate of Army Public Relations twice.”

Usman was born in 1965. He attended Kukasheka Primary School from 1973 to 1977, Government Secondary School, Kafanchan, from 1977 to 1982, and in 1983, he joined the army as a recruit.

In 1991, he got a degree in Mass Communication from Bayero University, Kano, and was granted Direct Regular Commission (DRC) as a lieutenant in the Army’s Directorate of Information.