The last man standing

Veteran journalist and former Lagos State Governor Lateef Jakande is 90 today. Thirty six years after leaving office, his achievements mark him out. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU writes on the style of the ‘Action Governor’ and what the present generation of leaders can learn from him.

Thirty-six years after, his administration has remained a benchmark for others in the Centre of Excellence.

In and out of government, he is an issue. He shone like the sun on two fronts-journalism and politics-leaving behind imperishable legacies.

Even, when his parley with the military government of Gen. Sani Abacha created a hollow in his progressive record, discerning Nigerians still conceded that he made an impressive impact in that bad company as Works and Housing minister and Chairman of the Economic Committee of the Federal Executive Council.

At 90, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande (LKJ), son of the former Oluwo of Lagos, stands before the mirror of history as an elder statesman, administrator, politician, ideologue and social critic.

His is a household name and a subject of controversy between the two groups of Nigerians who continue to applaud his feat as the ‘Action Governor’ and those who decry him for seeking refuge under the military government when his colleagues faced the furnace of the June 12 struggle.

In the twilight of life, Jakande is of various personalities – to many people. During his 70th birthday, his later-day successor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in his tribute to Jakande, said: “There is no way the history of progressive poliics in Nigeria could be written without acknowledging the immense contributions of Jakande.”

In 1979, Southwest governors-Bola Ige (Oyo State), Adekunke Ajasin (Ondo), Olabisi Onabanjo (Ogun), Ambrose Ali (Bendel) and Jakande (Lagos)-were isolated from the pack. Being the only one alive now, the ‘Baba Kekere’ is lonely, as it were, as the last man standing.

Jakande is a special gift to humanity. He was born on Juky 23, 1929 at Oshodi Tapa, Lagos Island, by humble and deeply religious parents. But, his progenitors have their roots in Omu-Aran, Kwara State. He became a child of promise while at Ilesa Grammar School under the principal, the late Rev. Noah Lafimikan. He was also fond of a favorite teacher, Efon Kingdom-born Prince Olajide Olowolagba, father of Dr. Kunle Olajide.

When he ventured into journalism, Jakande took off a s a reporter. He worked with “The Daily Service” and “Nigerian Tribune” where he rose to Editor-In-Chief. Since he started his career in the days of colonialism, Jakande was a nationalist-journalist who used his pen and paper  to fight for independence.

As Tinubu also recalled, Alhaji Jakande was one of the most effective publicists of welfarism, federalism and constitutionalism, which the defunct Action Group (AG) symbolised.

Early in life, Jakande had a pact with the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, his leader. To underscore his loyalty to the sage, he jettisoned a university admission to study Economics abroad because Awo wanted him to stay on in “Tribune” where his service was valuable.

In the days of hot regional politics and tribulations when the AG ran into stormy waters, Jakande did not desert his mentor. He appeared in the dock with him during the treasonable felony trial. Jakande was penciled down for liquidation. Like Awo, he received his own jail sentence from the judge, whose hands were tied, Justice George Sowemimo. Eventually, he and other heroes of the great trial survived those who tied the hands of the judge. When he regained his freedom, he catalogued his experience into a book: ‘The trial of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.’

In the late seventies, Jakande had developed a thick skin. He became a full-blooded politician and moving spirit of the Committee of Friends, the precursor of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).

Ahead of the primary, eyes were on three people as likely governor in 1979. These were Akanbi Onitiri, Ganiyu Dawodu and Adeniran Ogunsanya.

Onitiri was also a hero of the treasonable trial. He yielded to calls of the elements in the defunct Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP), who asked him to dump the Awo group for their group. The promised to make him presidential candidate. Unfortunately, during one of the numerous journeys with strange bedfellows, he lost his life in an auto crash.

Ogunsanya, lawyer, former Minister of Housing and Surveys and Lagos State Commissioner for Education, could not extract from Awo a firm assurance that he would be given the governorship ticket. So, he stayed in his group..

During the primary, Jakande was catapulted to the front seat. He was the consensus candidate. No better candidate could have emerged, judgig by his subsequent services to Lagosians. In the Second Republic, politicians played politics of ideas and issues. Thus, Jakande’s campaigns were always peaceful, well organised, well planned and well coordinated and he never abused his opponent, Ladega Adeniji-Adele of the proscribed National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

Jakande’s campaign thee flowed from the four cardinal programmes of the UPN. In a state once prized as the stronghold of the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC), led by Dr. Nnamidi Azikiwe, the UPN, the incarnate of the AG, which was previously rejected, dazed the NPP, the offshoot of the NCNC, in 1979.

Three days before his swearing in as the first civilian governor, Jakande’s predecessor, Military Administrator Ebutu Ukiwe, doubted his ability to execute the proposed programmes due to lack of fund. Jakande inherited a hostile civil service, which frowned at the programmes.

Undaunted, Jakande declared at the ceremony that from that spot, Lagosians should start to enjoy free education, free health, rural development, full employment and housing. The revenue came from sheer financial engineering. Also, Jakande examined the area of ground rents for government lands in Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Ebute-Meta, Ikoyi and other key areas. He turned revenues from land into his own cocoa proceeds or oil boom.

From day one, his incorruptible nature came to the fore. To Jakande, Lagos state was not for grab. He shunned materialism and opulence in public office. Former Governor Achike Udenwa of Imo State, who once attested to that low profile, said: “I recollect with nostalgia and good sense of humour now how Jakande operated from his own personal residence and was driven in his personal Toyota Crown vehicle all through the period he was “executive governor.”

What mattered to Jakande, in Udenwa’s view, was were service delivery and a conscious effort to civilize the polity through a deliberate policy of socialization and provision of infrastructural facilities. “These efforts opened the eyes of discerning members of the society to merits inherent in the practice of democracy,” he added.

As governor-elect, Jakande had no generator in his residence at Bishop Street, Ilupeju. But, he insisted on conducting the affairs of the state from the one-storey building, which he had built as a journalist. Reminiscing on his tenure as governor, Jakande 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,”

Remarkably, his role model, Awo, also lived in his private residence at Ibadan when he served as Premier of the defunct Western Region. Jakande did not permit frivolous spending. The lone surviving member of his cabinet, Olorunfunmi Basorun, former Secretary to Government, recalled that the ‘Actipn Governor’ did not take delight in in unprofitable foreign tours at the expense of the expense of the state. He was a workaholic who resumed duty at his Alausa office at 8 am, only to close at 6pm.

In fact, when the December 31, 1983 coup, which sacked him from power had already taken place, he was oblivious of the change of government. He was treating heaps of files and signing certificates of occupancy because he did not want to carry over the 1983 work to the new year.

Yet, his detractors mocked his novel, steady and creative steps. The former governor had acquired lands all over Lagos and built many primary and secondary schools on them by direct labour. He cancelled the daily double shifts within one week in office. Critics dismissed the emergency schools he hurriedly constructed as poultry sheds. Almost four decades after, Jakande said the decision was to the advantage of the people of Nigeria. “Lawyers, doctors, engineers were produced through our free education. Occasionally, I came across them. Up to yesterday, some of them saw me and told me so,” said Jakande, who thanked God for giving him the vision. Asked whether he looked forward to any pension from the state government, he said: “I receive my pension daily. People will come to me at home, or when they see me at functions or at the airport and give me envelope. I will tell them that I don’t know them. But, they will say they knew me as governor who served well.”

Lagos State has always been fortunate to have good governors. Jakande administration was the best in the country in the Second Republic. A cabinet of talent was set up, made up of seasoned politicians and technocrats. Members included Deputy Governor Rafiu Jafojo, an Awori leader from Ikeja/Agege axis, Secretary to Government Basorun from Igbogbo, Ikorodu Division, Commisioner for Agriculture Chief P.O Fagbeyiro, an Efon-Ekiti man who resided in Somolu, Commissioner for Local Government Chief Ganiyu Dawodu, former lagos Town Council chairman, Commissioner for Environment Alhaji Alabi Masha from Lagos Mainland, House of Assembly member from Mushin, Alhaji Olatunji Hamzat (Transportation), Sanu Sobowale (Attorney-General and Justice), Chief Femi Alokolaro (Health), Dr. Olawale Idris (Education), Alhaji Abdul-Ganiyu Ajimokotan (Sports), Chief Solomon Agbabiaka (Finance), Chief Afolabi Ege (Employment and Civil Service Matters), Chief Seun Hundeyin (Economic Planning and Land Matters), Former Secretary to Military Government Chief Olusegun Coker (Works) and Chief Ganiu Oshinneye (Trade and Industry).

Jakande carried along his leader, Awo, in all his activities, unlike some governors who now blackmail their leaders and label them as godfathers and intruders who should be kept at bay.

In four years, the administration successfully built 14 housing estates. They still exist in Isolo, Eti-Osa, Ikorodu, Mile 2, Ojokoro, Ipaja, Epe, Iba and Alaka. “If not for many of the houses we built, where will these Nigerians be living today,” he asked.

To demonstrate his national outlook, he pointed out that discriminatory policy was not adopted in their allocation. “It was a policy of ‘first come, first have,” he stressed.

As host to the Federal Government, Jakande maintained cordial relations with former President Shehu Shagari. He held monthly meetings with him, accompanied by his SSG. Jakande had approved his proposed light train project and a flagged it off at a big ceremony in Yaba. Had the military not cancelled the metro line project, the infrastructure battle would have been better confronted and the state government would have the spared the hurdle of doing it now at a higher cost.

To implement free education to the tertiary level, Jakande established the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo. In the past, many students had called on the state government not to wait he dies before the institution is named after him.

Jakande created additional 23 local governments. He had plan to create additional 14. The councils were monitored. The administration reserved 10 percent of the total state revenue for the councils. But, the chairmen had to come up with the list of projects to be undertaken by the councils.

Other achievements included the rebuilding of the Lagos City Stadium, Onikan, construction of 23,093 classrooms, a feat declared by the UNESCO as a world record, increment in number of public primary schools from 604 to 954, and secondary schools from 70 to 324, construction and rehabilitation of roads in Lagos, Epe, Lekki Pennisula, Agege, Alimoso, and Badagry; establishment of the Lagos State Television, establishment of industries, regular water supply, provision of 1,006 roads with drainages, promotion of agriculture and increment in internally generated revenue from N475,711, 865 to N1,015, 008, 636.

The coup of 1983 was a setback. Jakande was lumped up with others and camped into detention. However, because he shunned corruption, when the military administration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari combed the files in vain, nothing incriminating was found against him.

Jakande’s performance earned him the nicknamed “Baba Kekere,’ when papa Awolowo was still alive. But, within the Awo political family, his rising profile was injurious to his envious colleagues who were positioning themselves as likely successor to Awo. When the sage passed on, Jakande who was holidaying abroad could not make the burial committee list. He returned and quickly created a role for himself at the gate of Awolowo residence at Ikenne. He made himself the chef usher who led every important visitor to Mama Dideolu Awiolowo, the widow. Jakande, a journalist, stole the show as the newspapers carried the activities at the gate with his photographs, to the chargin of his internal critics who buried themselves in committee meetings. When he was later asked to join the finance committee, the head of the committee was a junior to him in the Awo political family.

Jakande faced a new experience which produced adjustment difficulties. As the head of the Lagos progressive bloc, he underrated the emerging class of young, dynamic, rich and determined “new bred” who challenged his influence. The camp had divided over the governorship aspiration of Prof. Igbalajobi, his former SSG, and Chief Dapo Sarunmi of Primose. Jakande made a mistake of not given concessions. When the duo of Igbalajobi and Sarunmi were banned and Yomi Edu later defeated Abiodun Ogunleye at the new primary, the division widened. On the instruction of Jakande, party faithful voted for Chief Michael Otedola of the NRC, who defeated Edu at the poll.

The monetisation of politics in the Third Republic dealt a terrible blow to his presidential ambition. It marked the end of the time-tested pattern of leadership recruitment and followership enlistment. Although the two military-imposed political parties-Social Democratic Party (SDP) and National Republican Convention (NRC), were said to be ideological, the hand of the military was heavy on their leadership.

Jakande was one of the active and experienced politicians relied upon by the late Chief Moshood Abiola, when he vied foe the presidency on the platform of the SDP. The free and fair election was criminally annulled by military President Ibrahim Babangida. Like his colleagues, Jakande picked up the gauntlet. But, their struggle only sent Babangida packing from Aso Villa. Up came the interim government of Ernest Shonekan, which was easily displaced by Gen. Sani Abacha.

Jakande accepted to serve in the Abacha government for some reasons. Abacha’s deputy, Chief of General Staff Lt-Gen. Oladipo Diya, assured him that his boss would hand over to Abiola. Also, Abiola had visited him, urging him to accept a ministerial position. During his 80th birthday recently in Lagos, former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba recalled that the SDP leaders in the Southwest were party to his acceptance of the offer.  Jakande thus became the Minister of Works and Housing from December 1, 1993 to February 8, 1995.

As minister, he launched the national Housing programe to provide 121,000 housing units in a year. He was able to commission 1,144 units in nine months. By the time he left office, 38, 000 units were under construction

However, he was stuck in the administration where he could neither continue his anti-annulment nor resign. When Yoruba leaders, who met at Ibadan, asked their kith and kin in the Abacha government to pull out, Jakande and others could not obey the directive because, to them, it was suicidal. They feared that Abacha will deal with them. Later, the maximum ruler dealt with him by sacking them from the Federal Executive Council. They returned home, but into the waiting hands of hostile colleagues who treated them like lepers. When Jakande and former Transport and Aviation Minister Chief Ebenezer Babatope showed up at Afenifere meeting at Jibowu, the door was shut against them.

The implication was that Jakande could not bounce back as a chieftain of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), which many of his followers embraced. Although he joined a smaller party, it could not fly.

But, his legacies are intact. As a journalist, teacher and author, he had raised a generation of journalists who have continued to play a great role in nation-building. As a member, later president, of the International Institute, he was instrumental to the collaboration between the institute and the University of Lagos on a short service training for budding journalists in early seventies. Aremo Osoba was one of the beneficiaries. Jakande was also instrumental to the establishment of the Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Ogba.

The great politician has bore the vicissitudes of life with philosophical calmness. One of such was the death of his first daughter, Ebun. He has also had to contend with betrayal by some associates, who continued to label him as an ‘Abacha man.’ But, he takes solace in the fact that these detractors cannot match his achievements in public life.

Jakande is a recipient of any awards. A committed Muslim, Jakande went on holy pilgrimage to Mecca in 1977. A member of the Ansarudeen Society of Nigeria, He is the Eteba Adinni of Epe and badagry Muslims  and patron of the United Muslim Council of Nigeria.