The sixteenth Emir of Lafia, Isa Mustapha Agwai I, has been buried on Friday in the Emir’s Palace in Lafia, Nasarawa State, amid tears.
He died on Thursday at the age of 84 in Abuja after a protracted illness.
The Chief Imam of Lafia, Dalhatu Dahiru, conducted the funeral prayer at about 3:15 p.m. with family, friends and well-wishers in attendance.
Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State, Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, as well as traditional and religious leaders within and outside the state were present at the funeral.
After the funeral prayer, the body of the deceased was taken to the ancestral home of late Mamman Agwai in Kofar Kaura for burial.
He is survived by two children — Musa Agwai and Hauwa Agwai.
The late emir was born in 1935 at Kofar Kaura in Lafia town to the family of Muhammad Marafa and Hajiya Halimatu.
He was the longest-serving traditional ruler in the emirate council, spending 45 years on the throne as well as a former Chairman of the Nasarawa State Council of Chiefs.
After obtaining his first school leaving certificate from Lafia Elementary School in 1951, the teenage Agwai was admitted into Benue Provincial Middle School in Katsina-Ala, the present Benue State.
Having successfully completed his secondary school education in Katsina-Ala in 1958, the late Mustapha later registered at the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1958 and obtained his Diploma certificate in Accountancy 1959.
After holding several positions within the emirate council, the late emir was appointed Dan Galadiman Lafia and District Head of Obi, which automatically elevated him to earn a full-time membership in the Lafia Native Authority Council.
