Josiah Kantiyok

Kantiyok was born in Fantswam (Kafanchan), North Central State (now Kaduna State), Nigeria on January 9, 1968.

He attended Army Children School, Bukavo, Kano (1978 - 1979) and earned a Primary School Leaving Certificate and then proceeded to Government Secondary School, Fadan Kaje, Zonkwa (1981 - 1984), where he obtained his SC/GEC certificate. He however, on graduation decided to enroll for a pre-degree programme at S.B.S. / Ahmadu Bello University (A.B.U.), Zaria (1984 - 1986) where he gained an IJMBE certificate before gaining admission at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1986 - 1991) where he obtained a D.V.M (Veterinary Medicine) degree. Between 2002 - 2004, he went in for a Post Graduate Diploma programme in Management from the same institution, where he obtained a diploma certificate at the end of the programme, then moved to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi (2004 - 2006) where he gained an M.Sc degree in Animal Science (Nutrition). From thence, to Bayero University, Kano (2007 – 2009) where he obtained an MBA degree in Marketing. To add a feather in his education pursuit, he gained admission into the College of Veterinary Surgeons, Nigeria – Fellowship (2012 – 2015) and obtained an FCVSN certification in Clinical Pharmacology.[2]

Kantiyok also obtained an Associate Chartered Project Manager (ACPM) certificate from the Chartered Project Managers Institute (CPMI) in 2011; a Fellow Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of Nigeria (FCIMAN) certificate from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) in 2017; and a Fellow National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria certificate from the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN) in 2017.[2]

Kantiyok's working career began in September 1991 and over the years has obtained the following experience:

• Phnomar Nig. Ltd. (Goodwill Poultry Farm), Enugu, Nigeria where he worked between September, 1991 – August, 1992 as Farm Veterinarian;
• BIMEDA (Nig.) Ltd., Kano, Nigeria between November, 1992 – October, 1993 where he worked as a Sales Representative;
• Pfizer Products Plc., Lagos, Nigeria between October, 1993 – September, 1997 where he worked as an Area Sales Representative;
• Livestock Feeds Plc., Lagos, Nigeria between October, 1997 - July, 2009 where the last position he held was that of Mill/Sales Manager - North;
• Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN), Abuja between August, 2009 until his call to be the Agwam Fantswam, he had been the Acting Registrar/Chief Executive.[2][3][4]

In 2018, Dr. Kantiyok decried the insufficiency of vet doctors in the country and was quoted to have said that:

❝ We have registered about 8,600 vet doctors in Nigeria among this figure, just about 30 to 45 percent are engaged in government services... ❞[5]

[2]Dr. Kantiyok was and still is a party in some of these programmes:

• Federal Governnent of Nigeria Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund, Agric/Food Intervention: 1999 – 2000;
• Fantswam Foundation (NGO), Providing Micro-Credit to Women and Training Youths in ICT: 2002 – 2004;
• FAO – FGN National Special Program on Food Security Implementation with K.A.D.P. in Kaduna State: 2003 – 2007;
• Member, Experts Team, African Union – Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU – IBAR) Project for Formation/Establishment of African Association of Veterinary Statutory Bodies (2AVSB): 2017– 2018;
• Participation in the Pan-African Conference on Veterinary Education, Veterinary Statutory Bodies, Youth and Women Organizations, Cairo, Egypt. July 23-27, 2018;
• Member, Technical Committee on the Review of 2005 Edition of National Drug Policy Document of Nigeria: 2018;
• Member, Nigeria Delegation to OIE General Session of the World Assembly of Delegates, OIE, Paris, France: 2017 – Date;
• Member, Technical Committee on the Resurgence of Avian Influenza in Nigeria: 2015 – Date;
• Member, Technical Working Group (TWG) for Formulation and Implementation of National Action Plan for Control of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Nigeria: 2016 – Date;
• Member, Technical Working Group for the National Action Plan (NAP) for the Elimination /Control of Rabies in Nigeria by 2030: 2016 – Date;
• Member, National Laboratory Technical Working Group: 2017 – Date.

• Antibacterial Use and Level of Resistance in Poultry: A Retrospective Study in North-Central and South-West Nigeria. Journal of Poultry Science 15 (1) : 13-17, 2018 Print ISSN: 1302-3209 – Online ISSN: 2147–9003 (www.turkishpoultryscience.com);
• Antimicrobial Resistance in Poultry in Three Selected States of Nigeria. Fellowship Research Project, 2015. Post-graduate College of Veterinary Surgeons, Nigeria, 2012 - 2015;
• A study of the marketing strategies in a commercial feed milling industry. MBA Project, Bayero University Kano, 2009;
• Utilization of rice offal in the diet of Broiler chicken. M.Sc research project thesis A.T.B.U. Bauchi, 2006;
• Maximization of organizational profitability through efficient management of sales force in the Nigerian environment. Paper presented in the N.I.M., 2005 Young Managers Competition, Abuja. September 5, 2005;
• AVIAN INFLUENZA: A potential threat to poultry production in Nigeria. A review, seminar paper presented at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria. July 27, 2005;
• Marketing Policy of Livestock Feeds Plc.: Industrial Project Report (PGDM) submitted to Ahmadu Bello University (A.B.U), Zaria, Nigeria. August, 2004.
• Prevalence of Toxocara Caris infection in Dogs attending Veterinary Teaching Hospital, A.B.U. Zaria. Final year D.V.M. research project thesis, 1991;
• Public Health Significance of Toxocara Caris Infection in Humans. Published in the Student Veterinarian Journal Volume XV; pp. 30-34, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. 1991.[2]

Following the demise of Agwam Musa Didam, Agwam Fantswam I, in late 2018, Dr. Josiah Kantiyok was found to be the right man to lead the Fantswam people and indeed other inhabitants living in A̠byin Fantswam (Kafanchan), and was named to be A̠gwam Fantswam II. However, he was presented the staff of office by the Kaduna State governor as "Agwam Zikpak" on 23rd November, 2020.[6]