ALHAJI GARBA BELLO KANKAROFI, FRPA

Director

Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi is a professional media practitioner, marketing and advertising regulator. His career has spanned decades of persistent broadcast practice across the country.

Born in the Old Kano City in 1954, the young Garba inherited a family trait bequeathed to him by his father and grandfather. That trait is Leadership.

He attended the Bayero University, Kano where he obtained a Bachelorettes degree in Mass Communication in 1981.

His leadership role started from that university where he was elected the first president of the Association of Mass Communication Students and was among the first graduating class of the department. He was during his undergraduate years the captain of the university’s football team.

Alhaji's performance as president of MACOSA brought him in contact with prominent scholars like Mallam Aminu Kano, Dr. Bala Mohammed and Mahmood Usman whom he invited severally to inspire and shape the future of the students intellectually and politically.

Even before young Garba entered the University, his career had taken shape. He obtained the higher school certificate in 1974 and the same year worked with a media research group from the University of Michigan, USA. Driven by the desire and determination to succeed, in October of the same year, he left the research group and joined the Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation as Commercial Salesman.

Determined to improve himself in the profession, Garba sought and secured admission into the university in 1978 and since his graduation from Bayero University in 1981, his career has risen steadily. In 1982, Alhaji became a Commercial Officer in the Kano State Broadcasting Corporation. He rose to become a Principal Commercial Officer (Radio/TV) in 1984 and in 1986, he ascended to the position of Controller of Commercial Services. In 1987 he became the Commercial Services Manager and in 1991 he was confirmed the Director of Marketing and Commercial Services (Radio/TV). He moved on and in 1993 he was upgraded to the position of Director of Commercial Services. He reached the pinnacle of his profession in September 2003 when he became the Managing Director of Radio Kano during the administration of former Governor Dr. Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau.

In 1993 Alhaji was appointed onto the Board of Kano Pillars Football Club where he served as Technical Director, a position he held till 1996. He was appointed Chairman of the football club by the then Military Governor of Kano State, Brigadier General Dominic Oneya and his tenure saw the rise of the Kano-based football club to national and continental prominence.

Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi is not only a broadcast personality, he is equally an advertising practitioner of distinction. At a particular time, he was the only known name in the Northern Nigeria in the profession of Advertising. He brought advertising to the North and many practitioners from that zone respect him for that.

The Advertising industry in appreciation of his contributions in 2004 bestowed on him the highest honour of Fellowship of the Advertising Practitioner Council of Nigeria (APCON). Alhaji belongs to the older generation of Advertising practitioners. He served the Broadcast Organisations of Nigeria (BON) as Chairman of the marketing committee for many years and his presence at the General Assembly of Broadcast Organizations of Nigeria has remained noticeable and remarkable. He is the only member of International Advertising Association (IAA) from Northern Nigeria.

In 1993, Adworld, a leading advertising journal, adjudged Alhaji the Best Commercial Director in Nigeria. In 2005, Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi was elected the Best Advertising Practitioner in the Electronic Media category in a contest organized by the Body of Fellows of Advertising.

Today, this illustrious advertising practitioner and broadcaster is the distinguished Registrar of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON). Since his appointment as Registrar of APCON, a lot of innovations and standards have been introduced into the industry.

Alhaji's high sense of public relations makes him a bridge builder amongst politicians, the business community, the advertising profession, the broadcasting profession and indeed all strata of the country.

Alhaji Kankarofi who is widely travelled is happily married with grand children.