Chief Rafiu Jafojo, a onetime deputy governor of Lagos State, tells ‘NONYE BEN-NWANKWO and TUNDE AJAJA how he got into politics and working with his boss, Alhaji Lateef Jakande
You were a deputy governor many years ago, would you say politics then and today is the same?
You can’t marry the two. It’s not possible. We are only praying for the individual players to get on very well because the game is not being played as we left it.
How was it back then?
There was discipline, hierarchy and there was party. Today, party is no more on the course. So, that makes the difference.
When you were younger, did you plan to be in politics?
Yes. I started politics at the age of 19.
What motivated you?
When I was living with my parents in Lagos Mainland, I moved to Mushin. Then, I discovered that during my time, I was very much active in the Action Group. We were active but we didn’t have a say in the party because we were young. At the same time, the AG was our party, even though we were not qualified to be members. After some time, I found myself being the Publicity Secretary of the party, and I felt I was too young for it. Eventually, I became the Assistant Secretary at the Mushin District Council. Later, I became popular in the party because I was young. I was also a building inspector and a politician, and I was in a very good position where elders then really knew me. I enjoyed it.
At what point were you considered to be the running mate to Alhaji Lateef Jakande?
I never thought of being a deputy governor. My plan when I wanted to leave England was to be a civil servant in Nigeria as an Engineering graduate with the hope of serving this nation. However, when I came back, I decided to go into the House of Assembly, and I made my opinion known to the elders. Then, I obtained the form, paid for it and I was waiting to go for the primaries. Then, Chief Obafemi Awolowo called me and said he had looked round and that he decided that I would be the next deputy governor of Lagos State. I asked him why, even though he knew I was coming from the parliamentary system of government. So, he said I should go and obtain the form. That was how it happened.
Did you know him before then?
Yes, I knew him. I met him when I was younger. When I was a student in England, he came there and I met him. So, when I came back, he recognised me. He said he remembered that an Awori boy (which was me) met him in England. So, it was on that basis that he recognised me.
What kind of relationship did you have with him until his death?
He was a good man. Honestly, I’m lucky. I knew him, he knew me; I conversed with him and I was honest with the late sage.
Four years and three months with Jakande, were there times you wished you were the governor?
As far as I was concerned, I was nominated as the deputy governor of this state and I was going into that office to discharge my duty in accordance with the constitution of the land. If I had wanted any other thing, then that would have come after that. But I couldn’t even consider the next step; we were choked out by the military. They sent us out by December 31, 1983, and there was nothing we could do.
Did you have any relationship with Chief Jakande before you were nominated as his deputy?
Yes. I knew him, but we didn’t have anything in common. He was a journalist with the (Nigerian) Tribune and I was a civil engineer. Though, Papa Awolowo nominated the two of us.
With Chief Awolowo’s great influence at that time, would you say Jakande’s achievements were influenced or motivated by the late sage?
Yes. It’s not Jakande alone. We had Ambrose Ali Olabisi Onabanjo and Adekunle Ajasin. During this period, papa (Awolowo) played some roles in the way they ran their governments. That was Chief Awolowo. He never left any of his followers. He tried to guide them.
You moved from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, did you do that because you felt APC would win the election?
When we moved from PDP, I didn’t think about any victory. But I had warned them that if PDP allowed the APC to go ahead with the merger, a lot would happen. But at the end of the day, my prediction was right and eventually, they took over.
What would the PDP have done to stop the APC merger?
There are implied ways of saying or doing certain things. For example, former President Olusegun Obasanjo respected Jonathan. I know this because I had followed Obasanjo to Aso Rock before to see things for myself. But he (Jonathan) did not respect elders and nemesis caught up with him. That was one of the problems PDP had. That was what happened. He knew that Obasanjo brought him into the position and gave him all the largesse of this world. By the time he got there, he went to get the likes of Doyin Okupe and Reuben Abati to start abusing Obasanjo. Then, he turned to make (Edwin) Clark his own grandfather. We are very lucky to have moved with Obasanjo. Even though he didn’t ask us to join APC, we are already there.
But Obasanjo didn’t say he has joined APC?
We are also not expecting him to make it formal. We are there already. We don’t expect him to do anything, after all, he has torn his PDP membership card. So, he’s not a party man again. Let him stay there.
You still contribute to national discourse, despite your age. Do we see you retiring completely soon?
No. I’ll continue to talk, because it’s good not to stop. It’s good to advise, get nearer and correct those in government. But if you fold your hands and you watch, things will not work out very well. But if you try to correct those in government, it will change so many things.
Have those you’ve been trying to correct listened to your corrections?
They will. If we continue to talk, they will listen, it will make a difference someday, even if it’s one out of 10, they will listen. But if you say you don’t talk, nothing will happen.
As a civil engineer, have you ever used your certificate?
I practised with it for about eight months. When I came back from England, I tagged myself as an English man. An English man is somebody who believes in his work. Work, make money and carry on with life; that was what I believed in. But my plan was to come back to Nigeria and start working. I came back to start my job as a civil engineer. But when I came here, my people, the Aworis, thought I was a political material, so they didn’t want me to do any work. One of my cousins said I didn’t have to work with my certificate. He said I was a political material, but I insisted I needed to work. Eventually, he got me a contract. It was in the course of doing the work that Chief Awolowo called me and I was very close to him. Being close to the political arena, I made good use of it.
Did you go to England on scholarship?
Then, nobody sent us to England individually, apart from one’s parents or one saved money and sponsor him/herself. In those days, who cared about you? Unless those who had parents to look after them, then they became somebody in life. It wasn’t common then, but some did. So, I made sure I tried to go there without anybody sponsoring me.
Did you find it easy in England then?
It was easy at that time. Then, we worked, made money and went to school.
Did you consider staying there and not coming back?
I never thought of staying for one minute, because I didn’t like them. Home is the best.
Was that the reason why you didn’t marry a white woman?
What will I do with a white woman? There is nothing to do with that.
When did you get married?
That was before I left Nigeria for England, but I can’t remember the exact year. I had some money then because I was a senior building inspector then.
What’s your relationship with Chief Jakande at the moment?
We are still together, but then age is counting. Sometimes when Jakande wants to talk to me, he would write a letter and send to me, and if I want to see him, I go to his house.
Why not talk on phone?
We don’t believe in phone. We put it down in writing. It is people like you that are used to mobile phones. I don’t have time for that. If I want to tell him anything, I write it down and send to him. We have a very good relationship. We still attend events together. We were at the inauguration venue together. The only thing I don’t like is that he’s not being treated the way he should be treated, and the media has never done us a good thing. Anyone who has seen him lately would know that government has not done much for him. If you look old and you have enough money in your pocket, you won’t look old.
At the time you took Lagos State Government to court for its refusal to extend the jumbo pension package to you, there were reports that Jakande said even if Lagos State government wanted to give him the jumbo allowance, he wouldn’t collect.
If they don’t give him money, how would he say he wants it? He’s just trying to do what he likes. Tell me, if the money is paid into his account tomorrow, will he return it to them? If they pay it into my account I will not return it. I even went to court. So, he could say he doesn’t want the money yes, since they wouldn’t even give it to him. So, why won’t he forget it and move on? If they bring it tomorrow, I want it. If you go to his house, look at his room. Does that befit the former governor of a state? No security for him, if he wants to go anywhere, it’s his wife that takes him there. I can still walk round a little bit better than him. During our term, there was a law that people from other tribes who worked in Lagos were free to bring their children to enjoy free education in Lagos. So many people enjoyed that, and they were treated like members of the same society, not differently. Honestly, I’m not happy with the way he is being treated.
There are insinuations that Chief Jakande is someone with a very modest lifestyle who doesn’t want luxury. Are you saying government has not been fair to him or he prefers to live modestly and quietly?
If you want to live a quiet life and you have a tattered sofa and upholstery, what modest life is that? Go to his house and you will be surprised.
One would even expect that as a former deputy governor, you should not be living in this part of town. Why do you prefer this place?
Even if I am given the best house in Ikoyi to stay, I will prefer to stay where I’m living now. This is my constituency. I was in Ikoyi before I came here, I was choked out. Thank God I had built this house. I don’t have to go anywhere. This is my house and I’m happy. I’m happy having my people around me. I prefer to be here, because this is my home. My mother’s village is somewhere near. It’s isale Awori. My father’s village is Agege.
Can we then say that successive governments have not been fair to Jakande?
I won’t say that. I said successive governments have been trying to perform. They have been doing their thing and we are praying for them so that they will do better than what they are doing now. He’s not getting anything. If something is very bad, there is no other name for it. How can a former governor be going to a function, and not even a KAI official would follow him? If they assign such people to start will following him, the man will not say no, but when they don’t give him, what would you want him to do? We see how former governors and their deputies are treated, with policemen, while Jakande will be going without anybody, and you are saying he doesn’t want it. No. It’s because they didn’t give him.
You sued the Lagos State government over the jumbo allowance that was not extended to you…
(Cuts in…) I don’t want to talk about it. It’s in court. If you want to write something about it, you can write it, but I don’t want to talk about it.
We learnt you constructed the telephone exchange in Nigeria, was it during the eight months period that you said you practised as a civil engineer?
I was very lucky. I have always been very lucky to get things on the platter of gold because when I came back from England, I met Muritala Mohammed as the commissioner for communication. In my CV, I wrote that I was constructing telephone exchanges in England. So, the man tagged me a specialist. He called me and asked me to look after all the telephone exchanges and I started constructing them. But unfortunately, the cold hand of death snatched him away when he became the head of state.
How was life growing up?
As a young boy, I went to school in Ibadan, and then I was brought back to Lagos to start secondary school. I didn’t enjoy my time as a young man because unfortunately, I lost my father when I was very young. I was 18 years old, and I have been carrying my cross since that time till today.
What about your siblings?
They are all dead. I had only sisters. I’m the only one left, and I hope I will live long.
What attracted you to your wife?
I don’t know. I just married her. I’m such a man that doesn’t look at beauty. If I like a woman and I think I need her, I will marry her. And I will spoil her with money. My wife is a very pretty woman.
Does that mean you wouldn’t mind marrying more?
Let’s be frank, when it gets to this age, you don’t think about sex anymore. Honestly, as an elderly person, the urge might come suddenly and start working in the head. But it doesn’t come all the time. We can be here for months, weeks and even years without thinking of sex.
When you got to England, how easy was it for you to adapt and did you forget Nigeria’s culture?
Initially, we found it very easy. In those days, we usually worked in newspaper houses or the post office where we used to load papers. So most of us then worked with that paper. We would go and load paper in the night between 12am and 3am. With that, we had enough time to go to school during the day.
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