Late Alhaji Suleiman (Sule) Lapai Wazirin Lapai

Alhaji Suleiman Lapai was born on 1 August 1930 in Abuja (present-day Suleja), where his father served with the Native Authority in the Office of the District Officer as the representative of Lapai Emirate. He received his early education at Middle School, Bida, and went on to Barewa College, Zaria, one of Northern Nigeria’s foremost institutions, which prepared a generation of leaders for public service.

He began his career as an Administrative Officer at the Northern Nigeria Headquarters in the Office of the Premier. He later served as an Instructor in Traditional Administration at Samaru, Zaria, where he helped train officers in the administration of the region’s native authorities. He was subsequently posted as Pilgrims Officer at the Kano office, overseeing the welfare of intending pilgrims. His field career took him across the North, where he served as Assistant District Officer and District Officer in several provinces, including Bauchi, Borno and Jos.

His competence earned him a posting to the Office of the Head of State at Dodan Barracks, Lagos, where he served as Administrative Secretary under General Yakubu Gowon. He later became Divisional Secretary of Gwandu Division in the North-Western State, Sokoto.

Following the creation of Niger State in 1976, he answered the call to serve his home state as Permanent Secretary. He held the portfolios of the Ministry of Industry and Cooperatives and the Cabinet Office, and also oversaw the Ministry of Health during the state’s formative years. He retired from the civil service in 1978 as a Permanent Secretary.

In recognition of his service and wisdom, the Lapai Emirate conferred on him the traditional title of Makaman Lapai and later elevated him to Wazirin Lapai, a position in which he continued to serve his community and the Emirate Council.

His first son, Alhaji Abu-Bakr Sulayman, carried his father’s tradition of public service into a new generation. A Sociology graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, he served for 35 years in the Niger State and Federal Civil Service, and his career in many ways retraced his father’s footsteps. He rose to Acting Permanent Secretary of the Niger State Liaison Office in Lagos, and was later transferred to State House, Dodan Barracks, the same seat of government where his father had served a generation earlier. He went on to serve as Liaison Officer to the President and Commander-in-Chief, held senior positions in the Federal Ministries of Commerce, Interior, Petroleum Resources and Transport, and rose to Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at the Federal Ministry of Environment. He also served on the board of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank and as Chairman of the Niger State Roads Maintenance Agency and the Niger State Housing Corporation. Like his father, he has served the Lapai Emirate, first as Wambai Lapai and now as Maiyaki Lapai.

Alhaji Suleiman Lapai passed away on 20 February 2000 at the Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, FCT Abuja, at the age of 69. He is remembered as a disciplined administrator, a loyal servant of the North and of Niger State, and a man of integrity. His legacy lives on through his family and the Sule Lapai Foundation, which his grandson and namesake, Sulayman Abu-Bakr, son of Alhaji Abu-Bakr Sulayman, established in his name.