Jakande
I stood rooted to the ground watching the convoy accompanying the hearse conveying the remains of Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, the unmatched reference point in modern governance in Nigeria, and the poster face of fearless journalism, to Vaults and Gardens, Ikoyi. Everywhere, upon learning about the passing of the convoy and identifying it as Jakande’s, people abandoned whatever they were doing and rushed to learn his route to bid him farewell. Waving their hands, they hailed him “Jakande, Baba dada; (Jakande, the good old man); “Irin re o!”(Safe journey).
It was an outpouring of love at every bend, at every corner as the convoy departed from his Ilupeju home. Jakande left in a blaze of glory. But for the restraint, indeed, restriction imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Lagos would have been shut down with vehicles and crowds jostling to say good bye to an icon, a byword in governance and in journalism. I did state in July 2019 on the occasion of his 90th birthday, Jakande was an embodiment of the spirit and letters of selfless public service whether in politics, governance or journalism.