Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, LKJ for short, deserves all the kind
words heaped on him as he turned 90 on July 23, 2019. This self-made man who
had no university education embarked on several transformational activities in
furtherance of the goals of an educated society.
He rose through dint of hardwork, perseverance
and forensic engagement with the educated public to the Editorship of the
Nigerian Tribune, Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s newspaper. Jakande transformed the
paper through robust but fair journalism into the scourge of political
scoundrels and the nemesis of dictators and tyrants. He has done for Nigeria’s
journalism, I believe, more than anyone living or dead. He was the one who,
working with the International Press Institute (IPI) and the Newspaper
Proprietors Association of Nigeria which he founded, planted a journalism
continuing education centre in Lagos called the Nigerian Institute of
Journalism (NIJ).
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| *Jakande |
Today, that institution has blossomed into a
facility that awards certificates in tertiary education and produces high
quality graduates for the expansive media market. He also thought it meet to
initiate the founding of a professional body at the decision making level of
the Journalism profession that would stand guard over issues of professionalism
and ethics, work for the advancement of journalism practice and the sustenance
of press freedom and responsibility. That Guild of Editors remains an anchor of
the profession today. During his birthday celebration very little was said
about his trenchant journalism, his hard hitting John West column or his
exertions for press freedom.
The reasons for the low reference to his journalism are the effluxion of time
and his exemplary role as the activist Governor of Lagos which put his
journalism achievements in the shade. In a democracy where governance has been
reduced to unrestrained legislative and executive promiscuity and
licentiousness, at all levels, the Jakande administration remains a shining
example of what a government should be. The dark and drab backcloth that governance
presents today offers us an eloquent reason why Jakande matters. As the first
elected governor of Lagos State under the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Jakande
brought hardwork and a sense of urgency and purpose to the business of
governance. He developed very speedily a number of housing estates, a
transportation system that worked complete with a parking metering service in
some busy areas.
This was the first attempt by any government
in Nigeria to address through technology the illegal and irregular parking
which had become a serious menace in the metropolis. Jakande’s hardwork was
legendary for he was reputed to work for at least 12 hours a day starting
promptly at 8 a.m. At close of work he would pack heaps of files home for
meticulous attention in the early hours of the morning. During the Muhammadu
Buhari coup of December 31, 1983 the soldiers that went to arrest Jakande were
surprised to find him working at that unholy coup hour. During his short four
years in office Jakande established the Lagos State University, Lagos Radio and
Television, built many primary and secondary schools, the Lagos State
Secretariat and declared free education, in the same manner that his mentor,
Chief Obafemi Awolowo did as Premier of the Western Region.
His critics described the primary and
secondary schools that he built as “poultry sheds” but his children also went
to those public schools. He did not send them abroad as is the practice with
many political leaders today. He did so to prove the critics wrong. The schools
were not flambouyant but they served the educational needs of the state.
Besides, he proved that the schools were good enough for all the children
including his own. The lesson derivable from the decision to send his own
children to those public schools is that the government was likely to work hard
to keep them at standards that were reasonably high. If those who rule us did
not have generators humming where they live we would have had efficient
electricity service today.
There was consistency about Jakande’s
philosophy of governance. He probably saw himself as a servant-leader, a leader
who wanted to live as much as possible, the way his people lived. Throughout
the four years he was in office he never junketed abroad for medical check or
for a vacation. He was treated in government owned hospitals in Lagos State and
all his vacations were spent within the country. Throughout his tenure he lived
in his one storey building in Ilupeju, a house that he built when he was a
journalist. 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 irresponsible grandeur and 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 that he was in charge.
He dressed simply and lived simply, but even in that aura of simplicity there
was nobility. Simplicity is noble if it is enacted with dignity, free of
rabble-rousing, loud-mouth, boastful exuberance and haughtiness. His simplicity
had admirable affinity with non-officiousness and self-effacedness but it was
not lacking in self-assuredness.
The convoys of today’s power wielders are probably longer than the roads they
have built in years. For them it is the long convoy that conveys to the people
that there is power in motion. For Jakande it was the achievements on the
ground that spoke volumes for him. That is why the people dressed him with the
sobriquet “Action Governor,” an accolade that fitted him like a pair of gloves.
When Buhari took over the government Jakande
was one of the state governors probed and as expected he was free of corruption
charges. Most members of the public knew that Jakande was not only uncorrupt
but also incorruptible. The clean bill of financial health given him by the
Buhari government was no surprise to me. His government was like an open book,
anyone could read it. He believed fervently in accountability and transparency
as pillars on which democracy had to be built. For performing wonderfully as a
governor he paid unspoken tribute to journalism that nurtured him into
eminence.
The reason that Jakande matters is that in his
days and in his government the people of Lagos State were at the epicenter of
governance. Their well-being, their security and their future were issues of
major concern to him. He pursued these goals with unstinted dedication. Today,
these things matter little to those who run our affairs. That is why Jakande
matters. Today, the lifestyle of our political elite is repugnant to good
conscience. In an economy that is facing strong headwinds, a high debt burden
and a low revenue intake, the extravagance and the corruption are disconcertingly
outlandish and blatant. So Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande stands tall like a
solitary beacon of simplicity, prudence, incorruptibility with an array of
measurable and imperishable achievements under his belt within a short period
of four years. All the kudos directed at him are truly, truly, well deserved.
*Ekpu, a veteran journalist was the Editor-in-Chief/CEO of the defunct Newswatch magazine
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