Now Elisha was suffering from the illness from which he died. Jehoash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him. “My father! My father!” he cried. “The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” 2Kings 2 vs 12
Pa Jakande. My father! My father!!
The chariot and the horseman of Nigeria.
Any time I left your house late you always pray for me ” ise yi a gbe e o”. You were with me in my tiny office, which served as REDAN secretariat, almost weekly for about two years at Unilag at the formative stage of REDAN.
You spent your life to serve humanity. Your house was the Ministry of Labour or a Job Center. There Chukwu and Bala, Ngozi etc received reference letters for jobs describing them as your sons and daughters.
As a Governor and Minister you never lived in a government lodge nor drove a government car but in your house at Ilupeju and your Toyota Crown.
You built about 16 estates with thousands of housing units and no members of your family got a letter of allocation to a 1 bedroom flat.
When you were asked after your tenure as Governor about the day you would not easily forget, you told the Press that it was the day you gave the key of a 2 bedroom flat to a 70 year old man at Amuwo and the man sat on the floor shedding the tears of joy because he never thought of owning a house in life again. You said you wept too.
To you, “retirement” did not exist in your dictionary. You led us to all the geo political zones of Nigeria to launch REDAN. Myself, Malam Suleiman Abubakar and Rev. Chima Ugochukwu will never forget how you fell on the staircase and rolled all the way down in the Governor’s office at Kaduna. We thought that was the end of the visit. Alas! You got up and the meeting continued.
The bible taught of surprises in heaven. Your place in the kingdom will shock many.
I am so glad that few months ago, we your children gathered in your house at Ilupeju to celebrate a life well spent. I had a big conviction that day that it might be the last time of being with you in this side of eternity. But I was filled with unspeakable joy seeing a life that really counted. A purpose driven life.
Sun re o. Baba oninu re. Gbogbo Nigeria nse lede eni rere. Ka to rerin o digbo. Ka to reefon o ododan…..
Our hearts go to Alhaja Ajoke your wonderful wife, your children and love ones. ..
The entire Nigeria nation is saying.
“Rest in peace to a leader of leaders”.
