A socio-political group in Lagos State, Omo Eko Pataki, has mourned the passage of the first executive governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, describing it as shocking, heart-breaking and sorrowful.
In a statement signed by Chief Olabode George, Major-General Tajudeen Olanrewaju and Mr. Gbadebo Dallass, Leader and Trustees respectively, Omo Eko Pataki said, “We all feel orphaned, solitary and sad as we mourn the passage of a great man, who devoted his life to the growth and the development of our state.
“LKJ was a selfless , dedicated, and devoted Lagosian and a Nigerian patriot, whose life was anchored on principled morality, stripped of rancor or bitterness.
“He was unarguably the greatest builder of modern Lagos, whose tenure as the first civilian governor of Lagos State from 1979 to 1983 will remain imperishable in the giantism of his superlative attainments.”
Insisting that Jakande’s legacies are visible everywhere one looks in Lagos State, the group said that “his legacies are perceived in the multiple housing estates, in the building of schools, making education affordable to all. He built health centers, built the first state owned university and polytechnics, created opportunities for the indigenes to pursuit higher learning.”
It added, “LKJ led a life of simplicity, and contentment devoid of greedy ostentatious brazenness that is now the norm.
“He now belongs to the Lagosian Pantheon of heroes, the very few Ọmọ Eko Pataki, who will never trade their heritage for a mess of porridge. He lived well. He will never be forgotten where duty, honor truth and service to humanity are treasured.”
