Jakande’s servant-leadership mindset remains evergreen

A retired professor of sociology at the University of Lagos, Lai Olurode, has described the late first civilian governor of Lagos State, Lateef Jakande, as an exceptionally accomplished public servant whose servant-leadership philosophy remains relevant decades after he left office.

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Mr Olurode said this in his tributes to the late former Lagos State governor, Lateef Jakande, fondly known as LKJ, five years after his passing. Mr Jakande, aged 91, died in Lagos on 11 February 2021.

Recalling events shortly after the 1983 military coup that toppled Nigeria’s civilian government, Mr Olurode narrated how Mr Jakande, alongside other political leaders, was detained by the military authorities.

He cited an incident in March 1984 during a graduation ceremony at the Lagos State College of Education, Oto-Ijanikin, where Michael Awolesi, then permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education, represented the military administrator of Lagos State, Gbolahan Mudashiru.

“At the occasion, without intending any harm spoke the truth to power and referred to Jakande, the ousted governor of the state as a superstar. Not long after the event, Awolesi was moved out and not a few lost their jobs.

“The military government was embarrassed by the encomiums showered on Jakande, the first civilian governor of Lagos state. With the admission by a representative of the military government that Jakande was an accomplished and an exceptional politician, it became Herculean to justify the overthrow of the civilian by the military,” he said.

He explained that the acknowledgement of Mr Jakande’s exceptional performance by a representative of the military administration made it difficult to justify the overthrow of the civilian government at a time when any comment perceived as embarrassing to the junta attracted punishment.

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‘A Superstar’

Mr Olurode further answered in the affirmative the question of whether Mr Jakande deserved the description of a superstar, citing his record in mass provision of social services, including education, roads, health care and public employment.

“The beneficiaries were not a narrow circle of political cronies or family members but the masses of our people,” he said.

He added that access to government programmes under Mr Jakande was based on need and order, not political connections.

He acknowledged criticisms that some of the buildings constructed during the Jakande administration were substandard but noted that many of them have remained standing more than 40 years later.

The former governor, he said, was also remarkably accessible to ordinary citizens, a trait that defined his public life even after leaving office.

“Indeed, LKJ demystified governance and took it to the grassroots in the service of the people. On this, some of his adversaries refer to him as too local and pedestrian. But the poor that he served so well labelled him as the Action Governor, as if that alone was not enough, also named several landmark projects after him.

He further praised Mr Jakande’s austere lifestyle, noting that he shunned flamboyance and drastically reduced the cost of governance.

“He visited contract sites at odd hours without pomp and pageantry. He spent public money the way he would his own,” he said.

According to Mr Olurode, Mr Jakande used his old Toyota Crown for official duties, did not travel abroad throughout his tenure and prioritised ethical leadership, inclusivity and fulfilment of the social contract over personal comfort.

While acknowledging that Mr Jakande was not without flaws, Mr Olurode said an overall assessment places him well above his peers in a country where materialism often defines leadership.

“Who can truly match these records? He settled for far higher values in governance. No wonder that today, Jakande remains evergreen in our memories though he served only one-term in office.

“Of course, he was never a perfect man. He has his weaknesses as a human being but, an overall assessment will place him well above his peers and above the average score in a country with many psychologically wrecked minds where materialism is all that defines the essence of human beings.

“The Holy Bible (Mathew, 23:11) said that the greatest among you shall be their servants. For the living, there are lessons to draw from the life of the man who built ‘cowsheds’ (apologies to Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie),” he said.

He concluded by congratulating Mr Jakande’s wife, Sikirat Abimbola Jakande, and his children on the fifth anniversary of his passing.

Lateef Jakande (29 July 1929 – 11 February 2021)

Lateef Jakande was a renowned journalist and politician who served as the first civilian governor of Lagos State from 1979 to 1983.

Before politics, he was a household name in Nigerian journalism. He worked at the Daily Service and later became Editor-in-Chief of the Nigerian Tribune. In 1975, he founded John West Publications and began publishing The Lagos News. He was also the pioneer president of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria.

During his tenure as governor, Mr Jakande became widely respected for his people-oriented policies, particularly in education, housing, and infrastructure. His administration introduced free education at primary and secondary levels and constructed several low-cost housing estates across Lagos, many of which remain prominent today.

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He also established the Lagos State University (LASU), expanding access to higher education in the state.

Mr Jakande’s legacy is often defined by his reputation for prudence, simplicity, and commitment to public service. Despite the political turbulence that ended the Second Republic in 1983, his developmental strides continue to be referenced in conversations about effective governance in Lagos State. He remains one of the most celebrated figures in the state’s political history.