Lawal Jafaru Isa

Lawal Jafaru Isa is a retired Nigerian Army Brigadier General, and was the Military Administrator of Kaduna State from December 1993 to August 1996 during the military regime of General Sani Abacha. In 1996, Isa created several chiefdoms for the southern Zaria or Kaduna people in order to improve peace in Kaduna State.

In September 2000, he was a leading member of the newly formed Arewa Consultative Forum, a northern political lobbying group. He became a leader of the United Nigerian Development Forum, an association friendly to the election of General Ibrahim Babangida in the April 2003 Presidential contest. He became a director of Bank PHB.

Ifeanyi Nwolisa wrote this about him: “I can’t actually remember all the past governors of Kaduna state, but there is a particular one that is my favorite –the then Lt Col. Lawal Jafaru Isa who governed Kaduna from December 1993 – September 1996. It was during his time that Kaduna was at its most volatile because we just had the Zongo Kataf riot in 1992. His quick interventions and good leadership instincts ensured that the crisis did not escalate.”

Nwolisa added, "I remember meeting the Lt. Colonel, as a boy's brigade then with the Anglican faith, in one of the synod meetings organized in St Michael’s Anglican Church. Lt Col. Lawal Jafaru Isa though a Muslim did not have a problem participating as a special guest of honor. That was good judgment because the move ensured that Christians began to trust him and had good faith in the government to defend all lives of the citizens irrespective of religious background. The good intention of Lt Col. Lawal Jafaru Isa in uniting all residents in the state created a model for subsequent governors to follow, which is to act with urgency in any occurrence of even the slightest of crisis."