When the Nigerian Guild of Editors organised a memorial lecture at Lagos Sheraton on Monday to honour Alhaji Lateef jakande, a great journalist and one time civilian Governor of the state, his son, Seyi, seized the opportunity to make a clarification and a demand. He wanted the Lagos State Universtity (LASU) named after his father and explained what led to his father working as a minister for the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha.
During the lecture, with the theme, Alhaji Lateef Jakande: The Man, His Journalism, His Politics, Seyi said: “In 1993, after the annulment, the late MKO Abiola appealed to Alhaji Jakande to serve under the late Abacha’s government. At first, he was reluctant because it was against his principle but Abiola was adamant and kept insisting that he must accept.
“He took it to his committee of friends, and they had a meeting where they deliberated on it. As always, he would always put things through a democratic process and they put the matter to vote. At a point, he wanted one of them to go but they all said it must be him. They overwhelmingly voted that he should join the government.
“He joined the government as minister of works and housing, and as consistent with his policy, he went to work. I think he was constructing about 121,000 housing units at that time. When he was faced with the challenge of finance, he went back to the drawing board and came up with the idea of Banana Island. As minister of works, he took advantage of the prime land, the waterways behind Ikoyi, filled it up, sold it to the rich, generated money from it and subsidised the housing scheme.”
Also, Seyi Jakande argued that Bendel State University was named after Ambrose Ali who founded it; Ogun State University after Bisi Onabajo. These people, according to Seyi, consulted with Jakande before they built theirs. Therefore, Seyi pleaded with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to name LASU after Jakande.
Eze Anaba, President of the NGE, in his welcome address, said, “Jakande’s footprints are everywhere. His shadow looms large over the media industry. He was an incredible talent whether as a journalist or as a politician; he had a response to everything. He devoted his political career to advancing the values of liberty and social justice. He also sacrificed the values of honesty, integrity, courage and fairness.
“He told the stories of the powerless and held the powerful to account. He founded the Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), and brought the International Press Institute (IPI) to Nigeria,” he said.
“For us at NGE, we think it is important to institutionalise a culture of appreciation which at the same time will give an institutional memory to know how we got to where we are and how to build on the legacies and accomplishments of the past.”
Also, General Ike Nwachukwu who chaired the occasion, in his opening remarks, stressed that Jakande “encouraged us to be forthright and courageous. It is a great honour to be chairing his inaugural memorial lecture. Whatever you do, remember him and follow his path. He lit the light on our feet and we have not gone wrong ever since.”
Prince Felix Adenaike, in the keynote address, delivered on his behalf by Prince Bayo Osiyemi stated that talking about Jakande was “like trying to describe an elephant.” He narrated further: “It was at Ilesha Grammar School that he caught his teeth in journalism. First, he started from the Daily Express, before moving to the Tribune, where he rose to become the Managing Director, and remained in that capacity until 1978 when he quit and contested for the Lagos State governorship election. He set phenomenal records in administration as governor. Governors from other states visited Lagos to see what they had read in the papers. His exploits in government were unequalled.”
“He reached the top of his chosen profession, journalism. As a thoroughbred journalist, he endeavoured to make his reporters all rounders. He was skilled in editorial craftsmanship. Editorial writing was his forte.
“He was adept at conducting meetings; he could hear everybody out. He was an expert in drafting communiqués. He was very meticulous.”
Also, Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat who stood in for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, submitted: “I am glad that we are here today to be part of this annual lecture instituted to honour the memory of a great administrator, an elder statesman, and the first civilian Governor of our state, Alhaji Lateef Jakande.
“Jakande did not only live long to the ripe age of 91, but whose life was a reflection of humanity at its abundance with several stories of positive impacts.
“Though the passing of Alhaji Jakande was somewhat painful to us as a state and to individuals who knew him personally because he was indeed a man of lovable personality.
“We wished he could live forever, we must give unreserved appreciation to God for blessing us with him and for also giving him the grace to live a life that touched and impacted lives.
“My administration and the good people of the state will forever remember Alhaji Lateef Jakande for his good deeds to the people of the state.”
Aremo Segun Osoba was not left out in the pouring of eulogies on Jakande: “He was a very serious writer and the first black man to head the International Press Institute. He singlehandedly brought International Press Institute, IPI, to Nigeria. NIJ was the hand work Alhaji Lateef Jakande.
“On his political life, he created a political clinic in his house. I don’t think any journalist is as grassrooted as Alhaji Lateef Jakande.”
Also, Govenor Dapo Abiodun, represented by media consultant, Kayode Akinmade, a former Commissioner in Ondo State, said: “This maiden Lateef Jakande Annual Memorial Lecture has come at a time when Nigeria is in dire need of developmental drive and democratic culture of the first Civilian Governor of Lagos State and former Minister of Works and Housing.
“Baba Kekere’s penchant and uncompromised stance for professionalism and responsible journalism, coupled with his selfless disposition to serve humanity clearly stood him out of his contemporaries and obviously created a larger than life image for him in the political space and Nigeria’s media industry.
“Today, we gather here to celebrate and honour the memory of an astute administrator, who combined media savvy with ideological perspectives of progressivism to build a foundation of responsive governance in Lagos State and Nigeria at large.
“Alhaji Jankande’s conception of democratic deliverables should ordinarily serves as a manual for policy makers in Africa in the quest for urbanisation and human capital development.
“It is then a thing of joy for me that the NGE has chosen to honour the legendary memory of a man who represented, and still represents even in death, the very best of Nigerian journalism and statesmanship.
“An ardent apostle of the late sage of Africa, Chief Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo, pioneer premier of the defunct Western Region and the best president Nigeria never had, Jakande was an ideological and ethically replica of his political leader and mentor.
“It is, therefore, incontrovertibly correct to say that as the first democratically elected governor of Lagos State, Chief Jakande laid the foundation for modern Lagos, after he had made remarkable landmarks in journalism, details on which would require an entire address on his own.”