TRIBUTE TO ALHAJI CHIEF LATEEF KAYODE JAKANDE (LKJ)

It will be a disservice to selfless service if Alhaji Kayode Jakande cannot be recognised as the most selfless being for exemplary true governance and unrivaled contributions to the infrastructural drive of Lagos.
The pacesetter governor who initiated and put in place a whole lots of infrastructures and institutions Lagos is enjoying today.

His government centered on the poor, how to better their lots and provide for them a development only the privileged can get. He ensured that the philosophy wasn’t a paperwork and word of mouth, he worked the talk by bringing it into fruition.

It is on record that LKJ’s ideology is pro-poor.

During the period of 1979 – 1983 in Lagos State, the ideology which was solely in vogue was, the “Greatest Good of the Greatest Number” of the people. That creed provided the guiding principle for all activities of the government; its plans, projects and programmes. The adoption of that ideology was considered then the best option for the state.

Accordingly, priority was accorded at all times in favour of the masses especially the less privileged and the poor, dominating what is now described in development studies worldwide as the Bottom of the Pyramid. It is a concept essentially used for twin purposes: promoting a welfare state and enlargement of the middle class. This orientation in favour of the poor does not necessarily exclude the rich or privileged members of the society entirely from the scheme of things.

Under LKJ, certain projects or programmes were designed for the rich and the privileged for example, projects like Private Estate Developer’s Schemes, Low Density Residential Estates, Site & Services Schemes; High-Rise Office Buildings and Luxury Apartments were designed for the privileged. Jakande clarified that his administration was
"Completely committed to the welfare of the people with particular emphasis on the upliftment of the masses who, for so many years, have been down trodden."

Therefore, every budget stressed the application of financial resources to the areas of greatest need for the greatest number of the people. The presumption or preference of the LKJ’s regime was deliberately anchored on first meeting the needs of the needy.

Hence, substantial parts of the resources of the state were allocated to well-defined “pro-poor” projects, most especially in the areas of housing, education, health, agriculture, employment generation, rural development, etc. for instance, after education, the next in importance, in LKJ’s allocation, was housing. He favoured the provision of affordable houses/shelters to the low and medium income groups of citizens.

Below are the highlights and landmarks of LKJ:

1. He built the current Lagos State Secretariat which houses all the ministries as well as the popular round house hitherto occupied by all subsequent governors of the state.
2. His Government built the Lagos State House of Assembly complex.
3. His Government built Lagos State Television
4. His Government built Radio Lagos
5. His Government established General Hospital in xones all over the state with assurance of free health care.
6. His Government established Teacher Training College and the College of Education.
7. His Government built low cost houses in Ijaiye, Dolphin, Oke0Afa, Ije, Abesan, Iponri, Ipaja, Abule Nla, Amuwo—Odofin,Anikantamo, Surulere, Iba, Ikorodu, Badagry, Isheri/Olowu, Orisigun etc.
8. His Government established the Water Management Board and Waste Disposal Board on the 18th of August, 1980.
9. His Government constructed modernized and expanded the Iju Water Works which was first commissioned in 1915. This increased daily capacity from 159 million to 204 million liters per day.
10. His government purchased and commissioned the giant car crusher equipment. The equipment was designed specially to crush derelict vehicles in Lagos State. It had the capacity to crush 45 vehicles per day.
11. His government constructed, rehabilitated and resurfaced Epe/Ijebu-Ode Road, Oba Akran Avenue, Toyin Street, Town Planning Way, Alimosho-Idimu-Egbe Road, Idimu-Iba-LASU Road, the new secretariat road and several others.
12. His government constructed Victoria Isand/Epe Road and thereby creating an ‘oil rig’ for Lagos State.
13. His government established Asphalt Plant for the Department of Public Works.
14. His government established Electricity Board for Rural Electrification with provision of street lights.
15. His government modernized, expanded and commissioned Onikan Stadium in 1982.
16. His government established a singular school system and ensured genuine free education in Lagos State and the beneficiaries of this policy are in different positions of eminence in the country and around the world.
17. His government raised the primary schools in Lagos State to 812 with 533, 001 pupils (against 605 primary schools with 434, 545 pupils he met in 1979) and secondar schools to 223 with 167, 629 students (against 105 schools with 107, 835 students in 1979).
18. His government constructed 11, 729 classrooms with the maximum of 40 children per class between March and August 1980, by 1983, he had constructed over 22, 000 classrooms.
19. In July 1983, two commercial passenger boats christened “Baba Kekere and Itafaji” to run Mile 2 – Marina (CMS) route via the lagoons were inaugurated by his government to mark the official launch of the Lagos State ferry services.
20. His government took over the ownership and financing of Lagos State Printing Corporation in July 1980.
21. His government established the first State Traffic Management Authority (Road Marshals).
22. His government established small scale industries Credit Scheme which preceded the EKO bank.
23. His government established LASACO Insurance.
24. His government expanded existing markets and built new ones.
25. His government established Traditional Medicine Board.

It is noteworthy that the extensive military probes of the 80s exonerated Governor Jakande from all charges of corruption, mismanagement of public fund and/or any abuse of office. He was duly awarded the emblem of an incorruptible administrator.

Alhaji Jakande was born on July 23, 1929 at Epetedo on Lagos Island. He attended King’s College Lagos, Methodist Boys High School (MBHS) Lagos and Ilesha Grammar School. Jakande opted for a career in journalism, as a result of his natural flair for writing. A flair which manifested in him from his college days.

He eventually rose to the peak of his chosen profession at national and international levels. In fact, he practiced journalism for over thirty years before going into public offices in 1979 and 1993.

An excerpt from the book 'THE KILLER I', written by AT Olorunjedalo