Let me share a story former President Muhammadu Buhari once told me about the late Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande.
He told me this story long before he became President, during an interview I conducted with him in Kaduna.
The story was his way of illustrating Jakande’s extraordinary work ethic.
According to Buhari, on the eve of the military coup that overthrew President Shehu Shagari’s government on December 31, 1983, one of the assignments given to the coup plotters was to arrest Governor Lateef Jakande in Lagos.
Two military teams were deployed. One was stationed near his office to arrest him on his way home. The other waited at his residence, expecting him to return.
The soldiers outside his office waited… and waited.
Midnight came and passed.
One o’clock.
Two o’clock in the morning.
Yet Jakande was still in his office, working.
The soldiers became so frustrated that they sought permission from their commanders to storm the office and arrest him there because there was no indication that he intended to go home. It was New Year’s Eve—a night when almost everyone else would have been celebrating with family and friends. Jakande, however, was still at his desk, immersed in the business of governing Lagos State.
Years later, I had the privilege of observing that same work ethic at close quarters.
Even in his eighties, Jakande maintained a punishing work schedule at his John West Publications office. I visited him there on several occasions. He arrived early every morning and often remained until late in the evening.
His office was on the topmost floor of the building, and despite his age he climbed the stairs every day without complaint.
I remember one particularly hot afternoon when he invited me over to discuss the possible sale of the property. There was no electricity. The heat was intense. I found him with his shirt off, seated at his desk, writing with pen and paper, occasionally popping his favourite Tom Tom candy into his mouth as he worked.
No air conditioner.
No complaints.
Just work.
I later negotiated the purchase of the property, and we at TheNEWS eventually acquired it. But that is a story for another day.
There was another aspect of Jakande’s leadership that left an even deeper impression on me.
Throughout his tenure as Governor of Lagos State, he dedicated one day every week to meeting ordinary citizens at his modest home in Ilupeju.
There was no elaborate protocol.
No intimidating bureaucracy.
No endless layers of aides.
People simply came to his house, collected numbered tickets, and waited their turn.
When Jakande arrived, he would call out, “Number One.”
He listened.
He acted.
Then, “Number Two.”
Then, “Number Three.”
He continued patiently until he had attended to everyone—sometimes as many as one hundred people in a single sitting.
On the table before him was always a pack of Tom Tom.
He rarely gave people money.
Instead, he gave them something far more valuable: his attention, his time, and solutions to their problems.
People left not because they had received cash but because they had been heard. They left convinced that someone in authority genuinely cared and had taken responsibility for resolving their concerns.
That, to me, was authentic leadership.
Leadership Lessons from Jakande
Jakande’s life offers enduring lessons for anyone entrusted with public office or organisational leadership.
Leadership is hard work. Public office is not a platform for comfort or ceremony. It is a call to relentless service.
Discipline outlasts talent. Great achievements are often the product of consistent daily effort rather than occasional brilliance.
Accessibility builds trust. A leader who deliberately creates opportunities to listen to ordinary people governs with greater wisdom and earns lasting respect.
Humility enhances authority. Despite occupying one of the highest offices in the country, Jakande remained approachable, lived modestly, and never insulated himself from the people he served. As an ex- governor I once saw him arrived at a meeting in Pa Adekunle Ajasin’s house in Owo. He came in a modest Datsun car with just a driver. No security.
Solutions matter more than handouts. Leadership is not about dispensing favours; it is about solving problems and restoring hope.
Lead by personal example. Whether working late into the night, climbing flights of stairs in old age, or writing without electricity, Jakande demonstrated that commitment cannot be delegated.
In an era when many equate leadership with privilege, convoys, and endless ceremonies, Jakande represented something different.
He led through simplicity.
He led through discipline.
He led through service.
And perhaps that is why, decades after leaving office, he remains one of Nigeria’s most admired public servants.
May we raise more leaders in his mould.
