LKJ at 90: A life of unparalleled service to humanity

HOW is one to describe Pa Lateef Kayode Jakande at 90. May be, LKJ can be referred to as a man of many parts. In the words of that flamboyant politician of all time, Adegoke Adelabu as quoted in Post and Jerkins (1973:33), who described himself as follows:

King’s College was brief. So, was his stay at the New Age Evening School in Lagos. But his stay at the Ilesha Grammar School was longer. Among his contemporaries at the Ilesha Grammar School were I. Irinoye (who later became the Chief Judge of Taraba State), Prof. Richard Ekundare, Prof. M.I. Jegede and Prof. C.O. Orangun. There were several other eminent Nigerians who passed through Ilesha Grammar School – Prince (Amb.) Adedokun Haastrup, Justice Kayode Eso, Chief Philip Uweadi, Justice Alfa Belgore among many others. Definitely, it was evident that LKJ did not achieve his targeted ambition in education. There were many reasons for this but of utmost importance was his failure to secure a loan from his employed Chief Obafemi Awolowo to further his study in England to read Economics and later Law. Jekande as a young man, took on catered for members of his extended far more than expected for a young man. But he preserved and survived harsh times.

While at Ilesha Grammar School, LKJ founded the Boy and Literary Society which was the publisher of the

Editor-in-chief. Alhaji Lateef Jakande left school in 1949. It was on the strength of LKJ’S contributions in the

that he secured employment at He was fully ready for a life of professionalism in political journalism. Upon his arrival at the office of the he met with the editor, Mr Olumuyiwa who was impressed by copies of which LKJ had taken along with him as testimonial. Mr Olumuyiwa requested LKJ to cover a court case then on going at Glover Memorial Hall in Lagos. On the strength of his coverage of the court’s case, LKJ was employed on the spot on a salary of £4 per month. This was how he commenced a career in which he made unparalleled contributions.

LKJ rose to the top in the newspapers industry. He was for years, the Managing Director of which he joined in 1959. He nurtured the from a provincial newspaper to a national one with reputation for critiquing state and society. No newspaper then advocated for good governance than the He brought the to Nigeria. As an austere, he expected his workers to be good managers of men and resources and also not to be deterred by harsh working conditions. He built the tribune complex in Ibadan using direct labour. He did the same with the popular Jakande schools and low cost houses. He was not generally regarded as a good employer of labour.

A thorough professional that he was, Jakande believe that every journalist should take responsibility for his stories. Thus sometimes in the early months of 1970, both Awofeso (Awolowo’s nephew) and Ebenezer Babatope (Later the Director of Organization of the UPN in the second republic) were taken to Dodan Barracks by LKJ where they were wanted for a story on Busia. Busia had then sneaked into Nigeria to plead with the Nigerian government on the expulsion of Nigerians from Ghana in 1969. Awofeso heard of Busia’s mission and made a story out of it. Babatope was then the Lagos City editor of the paper. The story angered the military authorities which demanded that the two reporters be produced. The story was captioned by LKJ himself thus

Without doubt, LKJ’S prominence and relevance in contemporary Nigeria was because of his unbeatable record in Lagos state. No Governor before or after him had done so much to put smiles on the faces of the masses of Lagos state. Surprisingly, he did so much and without seeking personal gain and he did so with ease.