The first Executive Governor of Lagos State, Lateef Kayode Jakande, also known as “Baba Kekere”, was sworn in in 1979 before the Chief Justice of the state, Adetunji Adefarasin.
Lateef Kayode Jakande was born on July 29, 1929 in Epetedo area of Lagos Island, Lagos State. Both parents hail from Omu-Aran, Kwara State. He studied at the Lagos Public School in Enu-Owa on Lagos Island and then at the Bunham Memorial Methodist School in Port Harcourt (1934-1943). He studied at King’s College, Lagos in 1943 and enrolled at Ilesha Grammar School in 1945, where he edited the literary magazine The Quarterly Mirror.
In 1949, Jakande began his journalistic career, first with the Daily Service, then in 1953 he joined the Nigerian Tribune. In 1956, he was appointed editor-in-chief by Obafemi Awolowo, the owner of the Tribune.
After leaving the Tribune in 1975, Jakande founded John West Publications and began publishing The Lagos News. He was the first President of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN).
Lateef Jakande was one of the best players Governors of Lagos State. He was a veteran journalist and a leading member of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) in Awolowo.
Unfortunately, Lateef Jakande passed away on February 11, 2021 at the age of 91.
