LAGOS: Jakande encouraged me to participate in politics – Tinubu

* “…he is the inspirational father of modern Lagos… left imprint in housing, education, healthcare, road construction…”

A NATIONAL leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has said the late Lateef Jakande encouraged him to dabble in politics.

He said this at the eight-day Fidau prayer session held for Jakande, who served as the first civilian governor of Lagos State between October 1, 1979, and December 31, 1983, in his residence.

The event was also attended by former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba; former Inspector-General of Police, Musliliu Smith; Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State among others.

Tinubu noted that he launched the projectile of his political career at Jakande’s house.

“He said go, we need many like you. Go to the Senate. The rest is history,” Tinubu recalled Jakande to have told him at the eve of the aborted Third Republic.

He heaped encomiums on the deceased saying that his legacies are assured as they would stand the test of time.

“We pray for Nigeria to give us more leaders that are prudent, very honest, give priority to the future, looking at what will become the life of the children,” he added.

Tinubu had, a few days ago, said that what Lagos State has been able to accomplish is because of the groundwork set by Jakande.

“He could appropriately be described as the last of the titans ranking with the likes of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Adekunle Ajasin, Pa Abraham Adesanya, Chief Bola Ige, Chief Olabiyi Onabanjo, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, Alhaji Aminu Kano, among others.

“Whatever we have been able to accomplish in Lagos State is because of the groundwork Pa Jakande set out before us. In so many ways, he is the inspirational father of modern Lagos State.

“In housing, education, healthcare, and road construction, he left an indelible imprint.

“Thousands of Lagosian families still reside in the several housing estates he constructed across the state. Thousands of beneficiaries of his free education scheme are accomplished professionals and successful individuals in diverse fields today,” his statement partly read.