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Olaudah Equiano®

@RealOlaudah

Aug 14 • 16 tweets • 7 min read • Read on X

In 1997 when we were preparing to deploy the A-Jets to Sierra Leone, the pilots for the Sierra Leone operations were drawn from Kano, Yola and Kaduna and were made to undergo some recurrence and simulated combat training missions at 99, Air Combat Training Group in Kainji. On one of such recurrence flights, Okejuju and I flew to Kaduna to practice some instrument approaches and landings. On arrival at the Kaduna military airfield, we commenced the usual approaches and after about three of such approaches, the Air traffic controller called to inform us that our exercises were disrupting the flying operations of the student pilots who were equally training with the air beetle aircraft. He subsequently instructed that we vacate the airspace for the young pilots and come back after about 25 minutes. In his words: "Aggressor 01, please work northwards and return to continue your approaches after twenty-five minutes". The call sign. Aggressor 01 was always reserved for the Commander of the unit or whoever was the Air Component Commander.

We obeyed his instructions and my Commander directed that we proceed northwards, Northwards of Kaduna is in the general direction of Jaji and it could further be extended to Zaria and Kano if need be. As I was flying northwards of Kaduna, I suddenly noticed that there were so many vehicles at Jaji. I pointed this out to my commander who then said that the day was for graduands at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) hence he presence of so many vehicles.

In our usual tradition, when we see a body of troops or a congregation of military personnel, it is common that we perform some aerial displays to grace the occasion and raise the morale of the troops. I decided to carry out some serial displays over the AFCSC before returning to Kaduna with the approval of my boss. Unknown to me and my boss, the then Head of State, Gen Sani Abacha was in attendance.

We flew over the AFCSC for about five minutes, performed some stunts innocently and then proceeded back to Kaduna. On reaching Kaduna, we conducted some more approaches and headed to Kainji with a feeling of accomplishment. On arrival in Kainji and having disembarked from the aircraft, I noticed that the usual warm reception from colleagues and flight line technicians were lacking. Officers and men were in groups of two and three discussing silently within themselves. One of the officers finally summoned courage and came to me to say that both Okejuju and I were to be placed under close arrest in the Officers' Mess. I then enquired to know why? He told me that it was alleged that we went to fly over the AFCSC, Jaji with the intent of asassinating the Head of State who was attending the graduation ceremony at the institution-what a shocker!

When Gp Capt. Okanlawon and I finally reported to the Officer's Mess, we were given the full details of our predicament. We were told that shortly before the Head of State's arrival in Kaduna, the soldiers that were supposed to mount the Guard of Honour had their rifles inspected which is always a requirement for such occasions. During the inspection, it was discovered that one of the soldiers, ironically an Air Force personnel, had live ammunition in his rifle's magazine. Further, investigations also revealed that he was of the Niger Delta extraction who were against the administration of Gen. Sani Abacha. He was promptly arrested. Further investigations, however, found him not guilty and he was subsequently
released.

Later the same day, while the C-in-C was attending the graduation at AFCSC Jaji, one Alpha Jet aircraft armed with bombs came overhead Jaji to disrupt the occasion. On inquiry, some people went outside the hall to have a closer look at the Alpha Jet. These people reported back that the aircraft was armed and the pilots had intention of assassinating the Head of State. After few phone calls, the Head of State was told that the two pilots in the aircraft were A. R. Okanlawon and A.A. Balogun, both South Westerners. It was therefore concluded that we must both belong to the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) a pan Yoruba political group which had consistently opposed the government of Gen Sani Abacha and had consistently demanded for the actualization of the mandate of the June 12th Presidential election. It was as a result of this suspicion and the claim that the aircraft was armed that formed the basis of our detention pending further investigations.

When the Unit Commander, AVM S.A. Atawodi (Rtd) returned to Kainji the next day, he relaxed the close arrest and asked us to write a report of the incident. Being the Unit Commander, he knew there was no way we could have armed the aircraft without his knowledge. In fact, in those days, to arm an aircraft required a lot of procedures. For security reasons, HQ NAF must authorize the release of weapons which were dispersed and are stored all over Nigeria. The C-130 aircraft would be detailed to transport the weapons from wherever they are to Kainji where the A Jets are based.

Definitely no pilot or group of pilots could arm a fighter aircraft without the consent and approval of the Chief of the Air Staff. Gp. Capt. Okanlawon wrote the report as requested and we were allowed to continue our preparatory exercises for the ECOMOG mission to Sierra Leone, however we were still under open-arrest. As we continued to intensify our training efforts in Kainji, so were the Sierra Leonean rebels intensifying their onslaught on the deployed Nigerian troops. When the NA could no longer bear the rebels offensives, they requested for the immediate deployment of the Alpha Jets. And, on 9th July 1997, the then Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall N.E. Eduok personally called the Commander in Kainji and ordered us to deploy to the mission immediately.

This immediate deployment order was a saving grace for GpCapt. Okanlawon and myself as the very day we departed, some State Security Service Operatives (SSS) and Intelligence Operatives from the Presidency arrived Kanji to effect our arrest. As we were told later, when the operatives arrived Kainji in the evening of our departure, they asked about our whereabouts and when they were informed of our departure, they felt really bad as they claimed to have been specifically instructed by the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the Head of State, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha to move us to Abuja for further investigations. What a break!

We touched down in Monrovia and immediately commenced the operations. We fought alongside the Army until the city of Freetown was totally liberated with ECOMOG Forces occupying all the strategic and hitherto entrenched AFRC positions. These coordinated operations paved the way for the return of the democratically elected President of Sierra Leone, Alhajı Ahmad Tejan Kabbah from Guinea to his motherland

On March 14th, 1998, in a colorful celebration, the President of Sierra Leone returned from exile in Guinea aboard a NAF Aircraft to a tumultuous reception. Among the Heads of State that witnessed the occasion, was the then C-in-C of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Gen Sani Abacha. Here comes the Irony!

While we were fighting in Freetown, it was a standard practice that whenever our President or any dignitary was visiting, we must take off and ensure that the airspace was safe for their arrivals and departures. On the day of the reinstatement of the Sierra Leonean President and knowing full well that our dear President was to be in attendance, we armed two A-Jets with rockets and cannons to comb the Lungi Airport and its environs to provide air cover and ensure that no intruder gets close to the vicinity.

About twenty minutes to the touch down of the Head of State's Presidential jet, we flew to a point about 100 Nautical miles to the airport to intercept the President's plane and escort him to Freetown. The President's pilots had been informed as usual and when they arrived at the designated point, it was easy for us to join the flight on their wings. I was flying on the left wing at about 15,000 feet while my other colleague was flying on the right wing.

Occasionally, we withdrew backwards to have a better picture of the ground and sometimes stay on top of the Presidential Jet.

We continued the formation flight until the Presidential Jet was about to land and then break off the formation to stay overhead and provide further air cover until the President is cleared off the airport environment and any danger. As the President was approaching Freetown, another set of pilots took off and remained over the venue of the ceremony providing Combat Air Patrol until the ceremony was over. After the ceremony, myself and another pilot took off again in two Alpha Jets and started the usual patrol. As the Presidential Jet took off with General Sani Abacha on board, we stayed in formation with the aircraft and continued to provide cover until the President was at a safe altitude on his way back to Nigeria. We returned to our base in Monrovia after another successful day.

It was in the night when I was relaxing and rummaging over the events of the day that I realized the two scenarios. About 9 months earlier Okejuju and myself were arrested for flying an unarmed aircraft over the AFCSC Jaji innocently and were almost being punished for no just cause. We were tagged members of NADECO with the intention of assassinating Gen Sani Abacha. Now in March 1998, I found myself flying a fully armed aircraft about 20ft from the same Gen Sani Abacha's Presidential aircraft enroute Freetown and later out of Freetown to Nigeria to ensure his safe passage. What an irony!

If I was what I was tagged to be in 1997, a single squeeze of the trigger would have blown up the President's aircraft and its occupants. Sometimes, people are judged based on circumstances and not by evidence that could be proven. May we never find ourselves in situations where you are already guilty until proven innocent or guilty before the crime sometimes.

Extracts from 'Nigerian Air War in Sierra Leone'
From the Cockpit of Aggressor 08
By
Air Commodore AA Balogun mni rtd
Pages 100 - 104.

• • •

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Olaudah Equiano®

@RealOlaudah

Aug 12

Buhari, Galadima’s revelation, and Nigeria's field of landmines

An epic event passed two weeks ago without significant notice. It was as if a giant comet scurried through the sky without anyone showing interest or an incubus beast running on a tarmac without any notice from the control tower.

In the bitter game for political power in Nigeria and the often vicious scramble for state capture in Africa’s largest democracy, the revelation came that former President Mohammadu Buhari was invited to contest the Presidential election for one major reason: to stop the O’odua Peoples Congress, (OPC), in a way, the euphemism Yoruba agitation for self-determination.

It has rekindled old wounds: There are two major contending forces in Nigerian post-colonial history: Ethnicity and Religion, the most profound being ethnicity, tied to religion. These factors have dominated power and politics in Nigeria since 1960 and may shape the future. We have four major ethnic contenders in Nigeria: Fulani, Yoruba, Igbo, and ethnic minorities. Of these four, three have fought to seize the trophy through violent means: The January 1996 coup saw the Igbo outcry, irrespective of the propaganda to cover the motive; the second was the counter coup of July 1966, led by the Fulani using a Northern minority, General Yakubu Gowon as a pun, the third attempts were by ethnic minorities; first the 1976 led by Col Bukar Dimka from Plateau and on April 22, 1990 by Major Gideon Orkar, a Tiv from Benue State. Only the coups planned by the Fulani or their rookies had ever succeeded. Both Orkar and Dimka have been demonised as villains, but the reality is that their mission was to resolve the power equation they felt was against ethnic minorities.
A few weeks ago, the prominent Northern politician from Yobe State, Buba Galadima, brought the debate into the front burner when he made the most chilling, heart-throbbing revelation about Northern power game. He spoke about what motivated the North, a section of it, powerful but small, to look out for late Nigerian leader, Mohammadu Buhari to contest the Presidential elections, the last of which he won in 2015, was to promote Fulani interest in Ilorin and put an end to O’odua Peoples Congress, (OPC).

It indicated that the race run by Buhari was predetermined. The truth is that with the advantage of power inheritance from the British, the Fulani are the most successful power brokers in Nigeria, either through coups or democratic means, they have managed to hold the aces. However, let us examine Galadima’s revelation first by looking at the Fulani ruling class and their successful manipulation of power and politics in Nigerian history.

Fulani and the ABC of power and politics in Nigeria

Since the medieval period, the Fulani, a product of the union of Arabs, Judaizancy, Berber, and Tuarad, have organised along a common cause. In Roman times, they lived in Togent and Adrar in Mauritania, an excellent transmitter of cultures, preserving their language as a secret weapon. They were driven by the Tuaregs down to Senegal and Mali. Their mention once came in the book al-Berkri described as an ‘indigenous white race alien to the surrounding populations.’ Soni Alli once raided and sold them to slavery. One of the first Fulani states ever to be established was led by Alfa Ba, whose son Karamoko Ibrahim took over after his father had killed a Madingo King during a festival and then occupied the territory. Karamoko declared himself the Al-Imani and then divided the state into nine provinces. Around 11th century, the Fulani formed three groups, one to the East, the other to Massina, Timbuktu, Dori, Upper volta, Niger Republic, present day Nigeria, Cameroon, even Saudi Arabia and Chad. One of their leaders, Toable, moved with 400 horsemen and went to Konni in Niger Republic, while Musa Jokolo’s grandchild, Sa’adu led some from Konn Gobir in Sokoto. They came with cattle, camel, and many books. Among these groups was Usman Dan Fodio, known for his ‘esteem and reverence for his piety and learning.’ It was this group that left the greatest impact in Nigeria, having taken over Hausa territories and some parts of Yoruba indigenous land.

Galadima’s revelation has told us again what we should have known that the Fulani uprising led by Uthman Dan Fodio today continues to have a great impact on Nigerian political economy including all elections since the 1950s. The intelligence and prowess of the Fulani ruling class should not be in doubt, and so also is their prowess to organise beyond the capacity of their numerical strength. Though found in more than 10 countries, the Fulani have no country of their own even with their population of some 20 million people across Africa.

As it is, for them, Nigeria is the last hope that must never be allowed to slip away, perhaps by all means necessary. It is the only country they can own and control.

A sociologist described the Fulani as ‘having an innate sense of what is decorous and proper, polite and respectful to their seniors, capable of great fortitude of bearing tremendous pain or affliction without showing feelings, reticent in their affairs, having a deep sense of shame. If unjustly humiliated, Fulani is prone never to forget such instances. Of the superior intelligence of the average Fulani there can be no doubt; but their character in general would appear to retard their advancement.’ Let us examine the eight years of Buhari in the context of this debate. In this logic, the building of railway from Nigeria to Niger Republic should be appreciated, never in the national Interest.

Buhari, Democracy and Ethnic Politics

On the question of power and politics in Nigeria, for me, Galadima’s revelation was the biggest story since 1999. He made what himself described as ‘revelation’ on national TV while speaking on the death of the former President. Galadima repeated the same in an interview with Vanguard Newspapers. He said himself, Alhaji Wadanas, Professor Yadudu, Bashir Al Hatu, Alhaji Yahya Sule Hamma and 34 others recruited Buhari into politics. On the mission, he said around 1999 and 2000, the O’odua Peoples Congress, (OPC) was on rampage especially in the South West and that they inconvenienced people from the North to the extent that they ‘mobilised over 500 vehicles to invade Ilorin in Kwara State with the sole aim of uprooting what they called Fulani in Ilorin.’

Hear him ‘We felt former President Olusegun Obasanjo was doing nothing, and President Bola Tinubu, who was the former governor of Lagos State, did nothing. We felt that was too much, so some of us felt those people were being encouraged by their leaders in authority. So, how do we stop that? I called a meeting in Kaduna, and we discussed how to save our people from the OPC and I suggested we remove the government either through the ballot box or the barrel of a gun. And they said it was impossible to remove General Obasanjo. That was how Buhari came to our mind. When he was approached, he had unkind words for politicians but since he didn’t say he was not doing it, we persuaded him and we achieved our first purpose of putting a brake on what OPC was doing.’

He said immediately after Buhari joined partisan politics, ‘we had a very big outing in Daura’ and that Obasanjo’s government ‘was shaken to its bone marrows’ and Obasanjo had to checkmate the OPC. For that reason, ‘we achieved our first purpose of bringing Gen. Buhari into politics.’

There are important issues tied to this revelation. It shows that the ruling class in the North is organised-a tiny clique that michieviously claims it represents 19 states of the North; they hold strategic meetings to determine who leads the country bearing in mind their own interests. It was also an indication that the main reason Buhari was presented was not for you and me, had nothing to do with the fight against corruption or insecurity in the national interest, but to stop the OPC and also protect the Fulani dynasty. The OPC is the classical sense, sums up the over 50 self-determination groups in the South West.

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Olaudah Equiano®

@RealOlaudah

Jul 28

PRESS STATEMENTS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Position of the Middle Belt Forum on the Proposed Legislation Making the Sultan of Sokoto, Permanent Co-chairmen of National Council for Traditional Rulers of Nigeria

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The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) wishes to categorically express its firm opposition to a contentious clause in the National Council for Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2024, currently before the National Assembly. The Bill, sponsored by Senator Simon Bako Lalong (Plateau South), who is respected son of the Middle Belt and the Gwad-Goemai of the Goemai ethnic nation, has passed its second reading as of March 2025 and is now under consideration by the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service.

At the heart of the controversy lies a deeply troubling clause in the Bill which proposes that the Sultan of Sokoto and the Ooni of Ife be made permanent co-chairmen of the proposed National Council for Traditional Rulers.

While we leave our esteemed partners from the Southern region, to determine their position on the inclusion of the Ooni of Ife, the Middle Belt Forum unequivocally rejects, abhors, and condemns the institutionalisation of the Sultan of Sokoto as a permanent co-chairman of this proposed council.

This rejection is anchored on strong historical, cultural, constitutional, and moral grounds, which we now outline in clear terms:

1. The Sokoto Sultanate is Historically Junior to Middle Belt Monarchies

Historically, the Sokoto Caliphate is a relatively young institution compared to ancient kingdoms and confederacies in the Middle Belt. For instance, the Kwararafa Confederacy, which flourished for centuries, predates the Caliphate.
It is a historically documented fact that the confederate state of Kwarafa existed right back to circa 800s-1700s A.D. The Aku Uka of Wukari, its current spiritual heir, represents a legacy that predates Sokoto Caliphate's very existence. The Sultan of Sokoto can therefore not supersede the Aku Uka of Wukari in status and prestige to seat over him as Chairman of the Traditional Council created by law.

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Olaudah Equiano®

@RealOlaudah

Jun 17

THE FALL OF THE TEFLON DON? NIGERIA’S 2027 SHOWDOWN WITH TINUBU

No institution has been able to rein in Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He has evaded accountability at every turn with deliberate indifference. Like Teflon, nothing sticks to him. Not yet.

Each time he crossed a line, the system didn’t push back, it adjusted. The boundaries of legality, ethics, and public decency were redrawn to accommodate him. Every time an institution had the power to stop him, it chose instead to serve him. What should have been checks on his power became enablers of impunity.

I have painstakingly documented the twenty six most egregious examples of this pattern. Clear, disturbing instances where Tinubu got away with breaking the law, ignoring it, or twisting it to his advantage, and where those meant to hold him accountable chose silence, complicity, or active collaboration. Together, they form a portrait not just of a man, but of a captured state that bends for power, not principle.

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Given this pattern, there is little surprise in Tinubu’s behavior; he is acting exactly as expected. What’s more troubling is the response of many Nigerians, their willingness to excuse, ignore, or rationalize his behavior and record. Rather than demand accountability, they cling to the illusion that change will somehow arrive through hope alone, without resistance, accountability, or demand for justice.

This collective disillusionment has come at a steep cost. Nigerians, bruised, broken, and betrayed, have withdrawn, not out of approval but because they have been conditioned to believe that nothing will ever change. Tinubu has not merely survived scrutiny; he has neutralized it. He has not only ruled; he has rewritten the rules. And in the Nigeria he governs, impunity has become the only law that still functions.

As the nation edges closer to 2027, a more urgent question comes into view: will Nigerians finally see him for who he truly is and understand the scale of the damage his leadership has already inflicted? Will those who have endured the consequences of his reckless, self-serving policies find the courage to hold him accountable? Or will silence and resignation once again prevail?

The urgency of these questions is underscored by the past two years of his presidency, years marked by the rise of ethnocracy, where key positions in government are dominated by his ethnic kin, creating resentment and division. Layered on top are staggering levels of incompetence, frequent policy failures, entrenched corruption, widespread insecurity, creeping authoritarianism, growing hunger, and a collapse of public trust. These trends are not isolated missteps; they are dangerous patterns that, if left unchecked, could plunge the country further into deeper instability.

And the list of what he has gotten away with only keeps growing. Character flaws that would disqualify any serious contender in a country where integrity still counts. Scandals that would end political careers in any functioning democracy. Alleged crimes and election fraud that should provoke outrage and global condemnation. Policy fiascos that have deepened insecurity and despair. Abuses of power so blatant they no longer shock anyone. We will return to these in greater detail.

Despite all this, Tinubu grows more brazen by the day. As opportunistic politicians defect to his side, he becomes further emboldened, exposing just how corroded Nigeria’s political culture has become. Only in Nigeria could a man with his record of misrule, unexplained wealth, systemic abuse, and unresolved controversies not only become president but now, without irony, prepare to ask for another four years in 2027.

The consequences of elevating a shadowy, unaccountable figure to the presidency again are now impossible to ignore. Two years in, the naira has collapsed, inflation has soared, and poverty has worsened. According to health and humanitarian reports, more Nigerians are dying from hunger and disease than during Buhari’s tenure. The fuel subsidy was removed without any relief measures, plunging millions into further hardship. Insecurity continues to spread. Billions in borrowed funds have failed to revive the economy, leaving the country drowning in debt with nothing to show for it.

And yet, Tinubu remains untouched, shielded by loyalists, protected by money, and insulated by a system that rewards failure. His presidency has dragged the standard of leadership to unprecedented lows.

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Olaudah Equiano®

@RealOlaudah

Jun 11

BURIED FOR 50 YEARS: BRITAIN’S SHAMEFUL ROLE IN THE BIAFRAN WAR

It is a good thing to be proud of one’s country, and I am – most of the time. But it would be impossible to scan the centuries of Britain’s history without coming across a few incidents that evoke not pride but shame. Among those I would list are the creation by British officialdom in South Africa of the concentration camp, to persecute the families of Boers. Add to that the Amritsar massacre of 1919 and the Hola camps set up and run during the struggle against Mau Mau.

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The northern and western regions of Nigeria were swept by a pogrom in which thousands of Igbo were slaughtered.
But there is one truly disgusting policy practised by our officialdom during the lifetime of anyone over 50, and one word will suffice: Biafra.

This referred to the civil war in Nigeria that ended 50 years ago this month. It stemmed from the decision of the people of the eastern region of that already riot-racked country to strike for independence as the Republic of Biafra. As I learned when I got there as a BBC correspondent, the Biafrans, mostly of the Igbo people, had their reasons.

The federal government in Lagos was a brutal military dictatorship that came to power in 1966 in a bloodbath. During and following that coup, the northern and western regions were swept by a pogrom in which thousands of resident Igbo were slaughtered. The federal government lifted not a finger to help. It was led by an affable British-educated colonel, Yakubu Gowon. But he was a puppet. The true rulers were a group of northern Nigerian colonels. The crisis deepened, and in early 1967 Eastern Nigeria, harbouring about 1.8 million refugees, sought restitution. A British-organised conference was held in Ghana and a concordat agreed. But Gowon, returning home, was flatly contradicted by the colonels, who tore up his terms and reneged on the lot. In April the Eastern Region formally seceded and on 7 July, the federal government declared war.

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Olaudah Equiano®

@RealOlaudah

Jun 10

THE MEETING THAT STOLE A NATION: HOW THE ABANDONED PROPERTY ACT WAS BORN

Port Harcourt, Late 1975.

The Nigerian Civil War had ended five years earlier. The guns were silent. The Biafran flag was lowered. But for the Igbo people, the battle was far from over. The new war was no longer fought on the blood-soaked fields of Enugu or Nsukka. It was a quiet war, fought in offices, courtrooms, and government houses.

In a nondescript room inside the Rivers State Government House, a secret meeting convened behind closed doors. The ceiling fan hummed relentlessly as a group of men gathered around a heavy wooden table strewn with maps, legal documents, and property claims. They were about to forge a legal instrument that would devastate the Igbo people for generations.

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At the head of the table sat Navy Commander Alfred Diete-Spiff, then the young and ambitious Military Governor of Rivers State. With him were key figures who would shape one of Nigeria’s most painful post-war legacies:

Justice Ephraim Akpata, Chief Judge of Rivers State

Colonel Anthony Ukpo, liaison officer from the Supreme Military Council

Dr. Okoi Arikpo, federal advisor and Foreign Minister

A Yoruba constitutional lawyer from Lagos (name withheld for privacy) tasked with drafting the legal framework

Senior civil commissioners and property officials from Rivers and South Eastern States.

The Agenda That Shattered Lives

Their mission was clear but devastating:

1. Declare Igbo properties abandoned and seize them as state assets.

2. Create legal cover to prevent restitution claims.

3. Redistribute these properties to indigenous residents, military officers, and political cronies.

4. Avoid federal interference and silence Eastern political voices.

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Olaudah Equiano®

@RealOlaudah

Jun 10

For those saying Tinubu designed and handed the template for Lagos, please read and digest.

From Lade Bonuola, founding editor of The Guardian Newspaper:

I have restrained myself from getting involved in this kind of controversy. This was why I made a strenuous effort from being drawn into the brickbat between Bayo Onanuga/Dele Alake on the one hand and Arise News on the other despite pressure on me to say something. “Oga, this is shameful, won’t you say something to guide us?” I resisted the pressure. The drive for political power in this clime has no respect for anything. Not for honor, nor anything with the tinge of sublimity! You will be hailed for calling black white and white, black, even on the platform of journalists who are not just observers but chroniclers of developments and events.

How can anybody say LASU was a glorified school? Oh, really?
The Metro line was stopped by the Buhari junta, not by NPN!

What NPN attempted to do was to stop the establishment of Lagos Radio and Television. The Shagari Administration sought to vest the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria with the power to establish and operate state radio stations. The Nigerian Television Authority was to set up at least one television station in each state of the Federation. They said states setting up radios and TV would amount to the proliferation of broadcast stations. They did not know the person they were dealing with—someone who for years was the President of IPI, the founder of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, the founder of Newspapers Proprietors Association, (NPAN); founder of NIJ, managing director/editor of the Nigerian Tribune, one who led the media in battles with the military as well as irresponsible civilian administrations. Jakande fought it and was victorious. His administration was therefore the first state government to own a TV station in Nigeria.

The functional primary schools he built to abolish the three-session system he inherited were recommended by UNESCO for developing countries.
When Gbolahan Mudasiru came, he started to upgrade them. And he did a lot. The Jakande schools were meant for a purpose, and they fulfilled such that pupil enrollment leaped from 90, 172 in 1979 to 136, 987 in 1983.

Secondary schools rose from 79 when Jakande took over from 1979 to 319 by July 1983. The student population was 59,584 by October 1979. By a year later, it had leaped to 107, 835 students.
The teachers were the highest paid in the nation with the right to car and housing loans like the state civil servants.

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