By Eric Elezuo

The announcement of the death of foremost civilian governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef kayode Jakande, on Thursday, was received with mixed feelings. For some, it was farewell to a giant of accomplishments, and for others, death should not have visited the nonagenarian.

Howbeit, Jakande joined his contemporaries, becoming the last of the titans, who strode the governance terrain as colossus, in the guise of their mentor, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Some of the others include Bola Ige, Olabisi Onabanjo, Ambrose Alli and Adekunle Ajasin. He was 91 years, four months shy of 92.

Between the time of his death at the early hours of Thursday, February 11 and when his remains were interred at Vaults and Gardens, Ikoyi, on Friday, February 12 and even till the present, condolence messages, laced in evergreen and golden words continue to pervade the media space as a result of the selfless life he lived.

Wikipedia record as follows:

Jakande was born in the Epetedo area of Lagos Island, Lagos State on July 29, 1929 to parents who were of Kwara origin, Omu-Aran to be precise. He studied at the Lagos public school at Enu-Owa, Lagos Island, then at Bunham Memorial Methodist School, Port Harcourt (1934–43). He studied briefly at King’s College, Lagos in 1943, and then enrolled at Ilesha Grammar School in 1945, where he edited a literary paper called The Quarterly Mirror.

In 1949, Jakande began a career in journalism first with the Daily Service and then in 1953 joining the Nigerian Tribune. In 1956 he was appointed editor-in-chief of theTribune by the owner Chief Obafemi Awolowo. His editorials were factual and forthright, and were treated by the colonial powers with respect.

After leaving the Tribune in 1975, Jakande established John West Publications and began to publish The Lagos News. He served as the first President of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN).

Encouraged by Awolowo, he ran for election as executive governor of Lagos State in 1979, on the Unity Party of Nigeria platform. He defeated his opponents,Adeniran Ogunsanya of NPP and Sultan Ladega Adeniji Adele of National Party of Nigeria and was subsequently sworn in as governor. His administration was effective and open and implemented the cardinal policies of his party. He introduced housing and educational programs targeting the poor, building new neighbourhood primary and secondary schools and providing free primary and secondary education. He established the Lagos State University. Jakande’s government constructed over 30,000 housing units. The schools and housing units were built cheaply, but were of great value. Some of the housing units include low cost estates in Amuwo-Odofin, Ijaiye, Dolphin, Oke-Afa, Ije, Abesan, Iponri, Ipaja, Abule Nla, Epe, Anikantamo, Surulere, Iba, Ikorodu, Badagry. To fund some of the projects, Jakande increased the tenement rates and price of plots of land in affluent areas of Victoria Island and Lekki Peninsula and the processing fees for lottery, pools and gaming licenses. He also completed the construction of the General Hospital in Gbagada and Ikorodu and built about 20 health centres within the state. As a governor, he established 23 local government councils which were later disbanded by the military. He also started a metroline project to facilitate mass transit. The project was halted and his tenure as Governor ended when the military seized power on 31 December 1983.

After the military take-over in 1983, Jakande was charged, prosecuted and convicted of treason, although later he was pardoned. After being freed, he accepted the position of Minister of Works under the Sani Abacha military regime, which earned him some criticism. He claimed that he had accepted the post under pressure fromM. K. O. Abiola and other progressive leaders. In a later interview, he said he had no regrets about the decision to serve. However, his association with Abacha handicapped his career in politics after the restoration of democracy in 1999.

Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande became a senior member of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) when the UNPP and APP merged. In June 2002, he was “suspended” by a faction of the ANPP loyal to Chief Lanre Razaq. Jakande was the first chairman of the Action Party of Nigeria (APN) when it was formed in November 2006. In May 2009, he was reported to be engaged in a struggle for control of the party with his former ally, Dr. Adegbola Dominic.

Many prominent people attended his 75th birthday celebration. At this event, former Governor of Lagos State Bola Ahmed Tinubu said Jakande was worth celebrating for his life of consistent commitment to public service. Former Imo State Governor Achike Udenwa said Jakande’s life and times epitomised “resilience, positive audacity, bravery and bravado, and a knack for excellence.

However, at his death on Thursday, more prominent Nigerians have have continued to pour encomiums in appreciation of the gigantic strides the ebullient administrator took during the four years he held sway in Lagos State. Among some of them are former President Olusegun Obasanjo, APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu, Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar among others.

JAKANDE ATTAINED STATUS OF A VENERABLE ELDER – OBASANJO

Obasanjo, who expressed his condolences via a letter to the Jakande’s wife has described Jakande as a core democrat and true patriot.

“With a deep sense of loss, I write, on behalf of my family and on my behalf, to sympathise with you over the demise of your beloved husband and patriarch, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, at the age of 91 and I want you to know that we all are also bereaved and we feel the pain of the transition of this great hero and son of Nigeria,

“At 91, Mr Jakande attained the status of a venerable elder whose death must, by convention and our culture, ordinarily be the occasion of celebration and thanksgiving”.

“But by no measure can he be described as an ordinary man. He was, by all measure, a great man, an ardent patriot, a frontline journalist, an astute politician and reputable administrator, a profile earned over the last five decades.

“He served this nation principally through journalism and through newspaper management before becoming an active politician. It must not be forgotten that he served as an Editor-in-Chief of the Nigerian Tribune at a stage in his career where he acquitted himself as a positively-minded, focused and imaginative personality.

“Indeed, he steered the company to editorial credibility and profitability and this has remained a reference point in the history of the organisation till today. It is with similar verve and energy that he pursued his work at John West Publications which was established by him to publish The Lagos News. He was a master of the craft of column-writing.

“He also helped in the professional re-orientation of the younger generation of journalists in all the media organisations he had found himself. He would be remembered as a fine journalist and one that was greatly admired by the general public and his peers as a straight-forward and complete gentleman majorly.”

“By all standards, his demise will create a vacuum as may be seen from his very active and purposeful life in the service of this nation through the Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, in the late 70s.

“It is worthy of note that he was a remarkable politician and statesman: one of the very few distinguished enough to become a State Chief Executive. His achievements in office, his managerial acumen and his large-heartedness had ensured for him an evergreen legacy in Lagos State, particularly his irrepressible thirst for knowledge and education, which propelled his administration to offer free education for every child in the State.

“Also, his commendable contributions in public life to the progress of the nation particularly as Honourable Minister of Works between 1993 and 1998, cannot be wished away. Alhaji Jakande belonged to that rare breed of leaders who took their public responsibilities with utmost seriousness. He was demonstrably motivated by patriotism and a compulsion to serve the cause of public good with every breath he drew. His goal was service before self.

“Although his loss has robbed the nation of the services which he so generously offered his community, State and nation, we will continue to recall his contributions to national development and abiding commitment to the well-being of his people in Lagos State.”

“We pray that the Almighty Allah grant you and the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace,” Mr Obasanjo added.

JAKANDE WAS THE LAST OF THE TITANS  – ASIWAJU BOLA TINUBU

Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, described Jakande, as the ‘last of the political titans’.

“Papa Jakande could appropriately be described as the ‘last of the titans’ ranking with the likes of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Adekunle Ajasin and Pa Abraham Adesanya.”

Tinubu made his remarks in a statement, titled “We Celebrate, Not Mourn Jakande.”

“Today, we lost a great soul. Pa Lateef Kayode Jakande exemplified the best of Lagos and Nigeria.

“Showing his extraordinary natural ability, Pa Jakande was largely self-educated, yet he rose to become a man of great knowledge and a prominent figure in Nigerian journalism.

“The deceased stood as one of the most incisive and brilliant editorialists of his generation who practiced journalism with the most audacious courage in defence of freedom, liberty and equity even in the thick of vicious military dictatorship.

“As an accomplished journalist, Pa Jakande shone even more brightly as a governor and true leader of Lagos State.

“Whatever we have been able to accomplish in Lagos State is because of the groundwork Pa Jakande set out before us.

“He is the inspirational father of modern Lagos State,” he said.

AN IROKO HAS FALLEN – SEGUN OSOBA

Former governor of Ogun, Olusegun Osoba, described the death as the fall of an elephant and iroko.

Mr Osoba, who paid glowing tributes to Jakande in a statement in Lagos, said: “An Iroko tree, as well as an elephant, has fallen”.

He said the late Mr Jakande would be remembered as a personification of the best in journalism and a political colossus.

“He singlehandedly founded both the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian Institute of Journalism.

“He was the first black African chairman of the International Press Institute made up of publishers and editors all over the world,” Mr Osoba said.

He described the deceased as an astute politician “who left giant footprints wherever he had the opportunity to serve at the state and federal level”.

”As governor of Lagos State, he ran a daily ‘political clinic’ where citizens consulted him on issues,” he said.

AN EXEMPLARY LEADER, PERFECT GENTLEMAN – AKINWUNMI AMBODE 

Governor Ambode Akinwunmi

Mr Ambode, in a statement on Thursday by his media aide, Habib Haruna, said the life of Mr Jakande symbolised humility, uprightness and honesty.

”He was ripe at age, but we had hoped he would live to celebrate a centenary,” Mr Ambode said.

“He was an exemplary leader, a perfect gentleman and a man of integrity and character.”

According to him, Lagos will forever be grateful to Mr Jakande for his unparalleled service.

”When I was in office, I always looked forward to his fatherly advice and encouragement. Aside from that was his visible presence at state events. Even his health condition never deterred him from giving his support.

”This shows how he lived a very humble and upright life throughout his sojourn here on earth,” Mr Ambode said.

HIS LEGACIES REMAIN EMBLEMATIC OF GOOD GOVERNANCE – ATIKU ABUBAKAR

It is with a mixed feeling of soberness and joy that I join relatives and admirers to mourn the demise of the late first civilian governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande.

I am sober because Alhaji Jakande until his passing today remained one of the last icons of our nationhood and in whose life are enormous examples that we can get inspiration from in the much-needed drive in rebuilding our psyche as a people.

In the same breath, I am happy that the late Jakande lived a remarkable life by his enigmatic stature as a journalist, an administrator and a politician.

His legacies in Lagos State, where he was the first civilian governor, remains emblematic of good governance and infrastructure development, not just in Lagos State but in the whole of the country.

His works in promoting qualitative public education and welfare in public service will continue to stand for him as a glowing tribute of the life of service that he lived.

I also join the government and good people of Lagos State to mourn the illustrious individual whose good name shall remain written in gold in our heart.

I pray that the Almighty Allah accepts his soul and grant him Aljanah Firdaus.

HE EXCELLED PERSONALLY, PROFESSIONALLY AND POLITICALLY – ANTHONY KILA

The passing away of the Lateef Jakande signals the passing away of an icon of our time.

He excelled personally, professionally and politically.

His accomplishments as a professional, politician and public administrator are and will remain a lesson for all.

His rise to fame and fortune was neither sudden, miraculous nor mysterious, he earned every accolade he had and when you reasoned with him you don’t feel you cannot see why he is who he is. By the Nigerian standard of today, all these make Late Lateef Jakande more than a great man. He made himself a lesson for all.

Jakande was to politics as Muda Lawal was to football.

In their days achievement and influence were defined in a way totally different from today: No fuss, no cult, just competence, commitment, creativity and consistency.

LATEEF KAYODE JAKANDE LIVES ON – ADEWALE AYODELE

It is with deep sense of loss that I heard of the passing away of Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, first civilian Executive Governor of Lagos State.

He was my grandfather’s school and bunk mate and also a mentor to me.

I will forever be grateful for the free education programme and infrastructural facilities established by Alhaji Jakande which I was a beneficiary of, from primary to tertiary level. I only paid N90 per sesion as tuition fee totaling N360 as school fees in my time as an undergraduate student of Lagos State University.

I also followed his template in all ramifications at Amuwo Odofin Local Government during my administration as Executive Chairman of the Local Government, Lagos State.

Alhaji Jakande can never be erased from the history of Nigeria and his achievements will remain ingrained, and utilized all over the State.

A colossus, true patriot and lover of the masses has gone to join the great ones and heroes of mankind.

Adieu Comrade!

Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande LIVES ON…