By Olusegun Olanrewaju
Apostle of free education and demonstrable simple lifestyle, Lateef Kayode Jakande (LKJ), is dead and interred. But his good deeds still trail the spectrum of the society and all those who cherish good public service records.

The 91-year-old first civilian governor of Lagos died last Thursday, at his Ilupeju, Lagos residence, shortly after taking his breakfast.

Government officials, private individuals and top politicians have been pouring encomiums on the charismatic ex-Lagos governor, who never minded erecting low-profile schools to make good the avowed free education policy of the old Western Nigeria.

Admirers say he could also have radically transformed the chaotic transportation during his four-year reign in Lagos with an ambitious Metroline project believed to have been halted by a military government for political reasons in 1983.

A pillar of journalism in Nigeria, LKJ was a complete newspaperman: reporter, editor, columnist, and media owner during his lifetime.

He was the governor of Lagos State from 1979 to 1983 on the platform of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), before the military sacked the then civilian government.

His integrity and commitment to transparency must have spared him the heavy rod to chastisement by the then military government that sacked the course of democracy in the Nigeria on December 1, 1983.

In a subsequent military regime of Gen. Sani Abacha between 1993 and 1998, Jakande was given the portfolio of Minister of Works and he did well too.

The veteran journalist, born in Epetedo Area of Lagos State on July 23, 1929, had elementary education on the Lagos Island, before proceeding to Bunham Memorial Methodist School, Port Harcourt from 1934 to 1943.

LKJ also studied at the prestigious Kings College, Lagos in 1943 and later Ilesha Grammar School in 1945. At college, he started showing the signs of writing life as the editor of a literary publication called the ‘Quarterly Mirror’.
His visionary leadership rubbed on the development of Lagos State in a big way. In fact, Lagos became the envy and point of reference for others in the race for development in the country.

The five cardinal programmes of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), the platform on which he came into office, was his driving force. The UPN, as founded by former premier of the Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was known for its tenacity to free education, health, housing, sports and entertainment.

Politics
Jakande ran for, and won election as the first civilian governor of Lagos State in 1979. In office, he prioritised education and housing programmes.

Many primary and secondary schools were built under his administration, even though many were objects of critics who felt some of the standards could have been better.

Jakande also established the Lagos State University (LASU), the first state-owned university in the country, and constructed over 30,000 housing units in the state, especially in the low-cost category.

Some of the estates are in Abesan, Abule Nla, Amuwo-Odofin, Anikantamo, Badagry, Dolphin, Epe, Iba, Ijaiye, Ije, Ikorodu, Ipaja, Iponri, Oke-Afa and Surulere, among others.

In the health sector, Jakande also made impact. He was credited with building about 20 health centres and completed the construction of the general hospitals in Gbagada and Ikorodu.

As a media personality and buff in the entertainment field, LKJ established a 24-hour service Lagos Weekend Television (LWT), the first of such programme in Nigeria. He also built the Lagos Radio complex at Ikeja.

It is also to his credit that he encouraged the development of traditional medicine through the establishment of a Traditional Medicine Board, also perhaps the first in the country.

To expand governance at the grassroots, Jakande established 23 local government councils, which were later abolished by the subsequent military government.

He also established an asphalt plant for the Department of Public Works as well as Electricity Board for Rural Electrification.

LKJ also built the Lagos State House of Assembly Complex.
As minister
Probably because of larger expectations from him, coupled with his high profile as a man of integrity, heavy criticism trailed Jakande’s appointment and performance as a minister of works under the military regime of General Sani Abacha.

Spartan life
A lover of traditional and local recipes, Jakande was not in the class of looters of public funds. He lived easy and exhibited this virtue by governing the state from his private residence in Ilupeju rather than staying at the government house.

A tribute by celebrated journalist and columnist, Ray Ekpu, on the subject, Jakande, said, “When he was asked why he chose to live as a governor, in his house in an area that lacks the flamboyance of Victoria Island or the serenity of Ikoyi, he said, “I believe I should live among the people instead of living in a remote area. I wanted to serve. I also believed my people should have access to me. So, I stayed in my house.

“The house is as ordinary as they come. It was not a gilded fortress and the neighbours were not driven into exile or asked to flee from the area. They remained his neighbours as they had been before his ascension to the gubernatorial office.

“He continued to maintain his modest lifestyle, bringing himself to the level of the ordinary people of the state.

He avoided flamboyance and the exhibition of extravagance which were the defining attributes of some of the governors of that era.

“Jakande was different, very different, refreshingly different, from most of the rest. He still drove his old banger, a Toyota Crown, and he sat on the left side of the car behind the driver, shunning the right side which is vaingloriously called “owner’s corner.”

“He was the owner and if anyone did not know that he owned the car that was their business. He did not travel in a convoy of cars with sirens blaring hoi hoi hoi and driving people into the bush. He went to work quietly and went home quietly but everyone knew without any exaggerated show of power

Encomiums
They have come in torrents. President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, said Jakande’s legacy of standing for all that was right with humanity would be long remembered.

Former Lagos State governor and National Leader of the ruling All Progressives’ Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, described LKJ as the last of the titans.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said, “Jakande’s record of service as a journalist of repute and a leader of remarkable achievements as a governor of Lagos State will remain indelible for generations to come.’’

For a former Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, “He was an incorruptible leader. He left very huge indelible legacies. He left his marks and footprints on the sand of time,” he said.

Honours
The Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos State Council, Adeleye Ajayi, said that the council had re-named its Light House in Victoria Island, Lagos after Jakande.

The main building at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) in Ogba, Lagos, is named after Jakande.

“Today’s politicians should learn sincerity, honesty and dedication form my brother,’’ the deceased’s sister, Omololu Osunnuga said.