Only few others qualify as well as LKJ to do all the three - I hope I do justice.
The death of Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande brings to my mind the triumph of excellence in political leadership as well as rebellion against the political order.
A lot has been said about LKJ since he died yesterday and I hope only to contribute my perspective to enrich all said.
Only few others qualify as well as LKJ to do all the three - I hope I do justice.
LKJ's parents were from Omu-Aran in present day Kwara State but he contributed more to Lagos than so many others - we will return to this subsequently.
The political threat to Awo was very real.
He conceded ground and began to subsidise Muslim pilgrimages, appointing more Muslims into Western Region boards and agencies and openly attacking the NML which soon changed its name.
Awo therefore called on his own Muslim allies who were actually mostly non-political and got them to form a rival Muslim organisation.
Jakande stayed close to Awolowo afterwards politically and even went to jail for him.
Enahoro managed to escape the borders of Nigeria until the following year in 1963 but all the others suffered jail time.
Despite having been born in Epetedo, a lot of issue was made of his Kwara roots that Awo had to balance the ticket with Alhaji Rafiu Jafojo, an Awori indigenous Lagosian.
Jakande was the UPN flagbearer.
The stories of Ige and Jakande would soon collide but let's stay on LKJ for now.
Adeniran Ogunsanya ran on the NPP platform which had Tunde Edu as State Chairman, also formidable.
Jakande/Jafojo defeated them overwhelmingly.
He understood that Lagos was a growing city and his focus was to configure Lagos to accommodate the large and likely to increase population; that was his joker.
Houses were built with space constraints in mind - 3 and 4 storey buildings with single and double bedrooms were his hallmark.
He built that very road that Fashola added one extra lane on both sides and proposed tollgates for, despite Lagos guaranteeing the funds used to build it.
Let us spare some praise for the men who governed Lagos alongside LKJ...
Hamzat was then nominated by Pa Rafiu Ishola Solomon into the Lagos cabinet (Ganiyu Solomon's father).
It was this visionary cabinet that helped LKJ to succeed.
While Jakande was called "Baba Kekere", Ige was called "Arole Awolowo" and were seen as rivals of sorts.
But Jakande was a financial patron of Awo's political family, many of whom held no office and lived around Awolowo in Apapa; so they supported him and disliked Ige.
The charge was that the 28.5km Light Rail Lagos Metroline Project which was to convey about 40,000 commuters daily was 'corruption'.
But some then young fellows in the party were having none of it and one of them was Bola Ahmed Tinubu - they put forward Dapo Sarumi against the establishment candidate of their elders and party leaders.
The primaries was to be direct with all party members across all wards in the state voting and much manipulation of membership was introduced.
Awolowo’s daughter, Tokunbo Dosunmu, got only 7,362 votes.
Sarumi protested the results bitterly.
The LKJ group insisted Agbalajobi had won and both camps found no truce.
The regime through the electoral umpire intervened and disqualified both Agbalajobi and Sarumi from the race.
But back to LKJ...
Edu won the SDP ticket and faced Michael Otedola of the NRC whom Jakande tactically and covertly supported against his own party - Otedola won.
(This tweet is for those who will urge one to write a book: I've started it, will finish it this year insha Allah.)
Their politics was: "he who is not for us..."
Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande had only an opportunity for greatness thrust upon him and then he achieved greatness with his own hand and mind.
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MDZS is laden with buddhist references. As a South Asian person, and history buff, it is so interesting to see how Buddhism, which originated from India, migrated, flourished & changed in the context of China. Here's some research (🙏🏼 @starkjeon for CN insight + citations)
1. LWJ’s sword Bichen ‘is likely an abbreviation for the term 躲避红尘 (duǒ bì hóng chén), which can be translated as such: 躲避: shunning or hiding away from 红尘 (worldly affairs; which is a buddhist teaching.) (https://t.co/zF65W3roJe) (abbrev. TWX)
2. Sandu (三 毒), Jiang Cheng’s sword, refers to the three poisons (triviṣa) in Buddhism; desire (kāma-taṇhā), delusion (bhava-taṇhā) and hatred (vibhava-taṇhā).
These 3 poisons represent the roots of craving (tanha) and are the cause of Dukkha (suffering, pain) and thus result in rebirth.
Interesting that MXTX used this name for one of the characters who suffers, arguably, the worst of these three emotions.
3. The Qian kun purse “乾坤袋 (qián kūn dài) – can be called “Heaven and Earth” Pouch. In Buddhism, Maitreya (मैत्रेय) owns this to store items. It was believed that there was a mythical space inside the bag that could absorb the world.” (TWX)
1. LWJ’s sword Bichen ‘is likely an abbreviation for the term 躲避红尘 (duǒ bì hóng chén), which can be translated as such: 躲避: shunning or hiding away from 红尘 (worldly affairs; which is a buddhist teaching.) (https://t.co/zF65W3roJe) (abbrev. TWX)
2. Sandu (三 毒), Jiang Cheng’s sword, refers to the three poisons (triviṣa) in Buddhism; desire (kāma-taṇhā), delusion (bhava-taṇhā) and hatred (vibhava-taṇhā).
These 3 poisons represent the roots of craving (tanha) and are the cause of Dukkha (suffering, pain) and thus result in rebirth.
Interesting that MXTX used this name for one of the characters who suffers, arguably, the worst of these three emotions.
3. The Qian kun purse “乾坤袋 (qián kūn dài) – can be called “Heaven and Earth” Pouch. In Buddhism, Maitreya (मैत्रेय) owns this to store items. It was believed that there was a mythical space inside the bag that could absorb the world.” (TWX)
I'm going to do two history threads on Ethiopia, one on its ancient history, one on its modern story (1800 to today). 🇪🇹
I'll begin with the ancient history ... and it goes way back. Because modern humans - and before that, the ancestors of humans - almost certainly originated in Ethiopia. 🇪🇹 (sub-thread):
The first likely historical reference to Ethiopia is ancient Egyptian records of trade expeditions to the "Land of Punt" in search of gold, ebony, ivory, incense, and wild animals, starting in c 2500 BC 🇪🇹
Ethiopians themselves believe that the Queen of Sheba, who visited Israel's King Solomon in the Bible (c 950 BC), came from Ethiopia (not Yemen, as others believe). Here she is meeting Solomon in a stain-glassed window in Addis Ababa's Holy Trinity Church. 🇪🇹
References to the Queen of Sheba are everywhere in Ethiopia. The national airline's frequent flier miles are even called "ShebaMiles". 🇪🇹
I'll begin with the ancient history ... and it goes way back. Because modern humans - and before that, the ancestors of humans - almost certainly originated in Ethiopia. 🇪🇹 (sub-thread):
The famous \u201cLucy\u201d, an early ancestor of modern humans (Australopithecus) that lived 3.2 million years ago, and was discovered in 1974 in Ethiopia, displayed in the national museum in Addis Ababa \U0001f1ea\U0001f1f9 pic.twitter.com/N3oWqk1SW2
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) November 9, 2018
The first likely historical reference to Ethiopia is ancient Egyptian records of trade expeditions to the "Land of Punt" in search of gold, ebony, ivory, incense, and wild animals, starting in c 2500 BC 🇪🇹
Ethiopians themselves believe that the Queen of Sheba, who visited Israel's King Solomon in the Bible (c 950 BC), came from Ethiopia (not Yemen, as others believe). Here she is meeting Solomon in a stain-glassed window in Addis Ababa's Holy Trinity Church. 🇪🇹
References to the Queen of Sheba are everywhere in Ethiopia. The national airline's frequent flier miles are even called "ShebaMiles". 🇪🇹