Isa Wali

Isa Wali (1928—19 February 1967) was a Nigerian diplomat who served as the High Commissioner of Nigeria to Ghana. Born in Kano state as the fifth child of Sulaiman, the Wali of Kano, and Hajia Maryam Nene, he was a vocal proponent for women's rights in Northern Nigeria, expressing his views through numerous articles that critiqued what he perceived as the oppressive treatment of women in the region.

Life Isa Wali belonged to the Gyanawa clan, a Fulani clan renowned for their expertise in Islamic Law. Following his father's death in 1939, Isa was raised by Abubakar na Wali, an Arabic teacher who served as one of the advisors to the emir of Kano. His early education included completing Qur'anic studies by the age of seven, followed by enrollment at Kwaru Primary School to commence his Western education, which he finished in 1940. From 1940 to 1943, he attended the Kano Middle School before furthering his studies at the School for Arabic Studies (SAS) in Kano from 1943 to 1948, where he "was the top student in his class", particularly in the fields of hadith and tafsir.

Upon the completion of his studies at SAS, Isa relocated to Kaduna to work as an interpreter in both the House of Chiefs and the House of Assembly. In 1951, he spent nine months in London to study parliamentary procedure within the House of Commons and the House of Lords. After his return to Kaduna, he served as a clerk assistant to the House of Assembly.

Partly due to his close relations with Aminu Kano and the publication of these articles, Wali was forced to relocate to Lagos in 1957, where he joined the Foreign Service. Between 1958 and 1961, he represented Nigeria at the United Nations in New York and was in charge of the African Affairs Bureau. In 1964, he was appointed the Nigeria's High Commissioner to Ghana, a position he held until his death from high blood pressure in 1967.

Legacy In 2009, Maryam Uwais, Isa's daughter, founded the Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative. The initiative aims to primarily help women and children who are economically under-privileged.