By Musa Wada, Abuja.
The chairperson of the Senator’s Wives Forum, Barr Halima Kabiru Gaya, has expressed shock over the demise of a renowned philanthropist, political icon and an industrious Igala son, Alhaji Isiaka Alfa, popularly called WAALI by his admirers.
Alhaji Isiaka Alfa died at the age of 90yrs on February 25, exactly one year after the death of his best friend and former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abdullahi Ibrahim SAN.
Barr. Halima, in her condolence message, said the Igala kingdom and indeed the entire state had lost a political colossus and philanthropist per excellence.
She said beside being a great politician, Alhaji Isiaka was an astute business man and financier of many businesses. She particularly extolled the late Waali for using his personally acquired wealth to touch the lives of many and influence the lives of several Igala people positively.
She stressed that the philanthropist had on many occasions sponsored many students through university education and had also helped many Muslims and Christians to make pilgrimage to the holy lands.
Barr Halima Gaya also expressed her condolence to family members, the government and people of Kogi state, the entire Igala traditional counci led by the Atta-Igala, the Ejeh of Ankpa, and particularly Hon Rabiu Isiaka, and the Ankpa people.
She said the late WAALI lived a good life and left behind legacy of philanthropist and service to humanity.
She prayed God to grant the deceased Aljannah Fidaus and fortitude for his loved ones to bear the loss.
Alhaji Isiaka was born in 1932 and joined active politic in 1960 just after the country got her independence. He started his early business life with selling of kola nuts and later ventured into transport business where he rose to be a distributor of cars with the Peugeot Assembly of Nigeria, PAN.
Though not formally educated, he was an astute entrepreneurial expert who was not only successful in managing his businesses but has successfully established many businesses for others too. As a politician, he was a member of his best friend’s political family, Prince Abubakar Audu of blessed memory. He was never a politician who decamped from party to parties, he stayed through tick and thin with the late Prince.
The late Alfa produced many illustrious children, among them is a lawmaker representing the good people of Ankpa 2 state constituency and chairman of the House committee on local government and chieftaincy affairs in Kogi State House of Assembly.
