The first Civilian governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande is dead. He died on Thursday at the age of 91.
Alhaji Jakande was governor of Lagos State from 1979 to 1983, and later became Minister of Works under the Sani Abacha military regime (1993–98).
Born in the Epetedo area of Lagos Island, Lagos State on 29 July 1929, Alhaji Jankande studied at the Lagos public school at Enu-Owa, Lagos Island, then at Bunham Memorial Methodist School, Port Harcourt (1934–43).
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He studied briefly at King’s College, Lagos in 1943, and then enrolled at Ilesha Grammar School in 1945, where he edited a literary paper called The Quarterly Mirror.
During his era as governor, he introduced housing and educational programs targeting the poor, building new neighbourhood primary and secondary schools and providing free primary and secondary education. He established the Lagos State University. Jakande’s government constructed over 30,000 housing units. The schools and housing units were built cheaply, but were of great value.
Some of the housing units include low cost estates in Amuwo-Odofin, Ijaiye, Dolphin, Oke-Afa, Ije, Abesan, Iponri, Ipaja, Abule Nla, Epe, Anikantamo, Surulere, Iba, Ikorodu, Badagry.[4] To fund some of the projects, Jakande increased the tenement rates and price of plots of land in affluent areas of Victoria Island and Lekki Peninsula and the processing fees for lottery, pools and gaming licenses.
He also completed the construction of the General Hospital in Gbagada and Ikorodu and built about 20 health centres within the state.
Alhaji Jakande’s both parents are from Omu-Aran, Kwara State.
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