Yayale Jakande Influenced Humanitarian and Selflessness Positively In Me Says Salihu Dantata

Salihu Dantata Mahmu has revealed that, in life of everyone,there is always one person or the other whether rich or poor,small or old who influenced such person positively or negatively. Candidly,there are many highly placed personalities dead and alive who influenced me positively. And without iota of pretence,the former director of business and citizenship,director general ministry of internal affairs now interior Ministry,permanent secretary interior and later education ministry before his elevation to the plum position of head of service of the Federation,former minister of defence and later Secretary to the government of the federation,Alhaji Dr Mahmud Yayale Ahmed CFR is one of such personalities.

The few years I lived with him in his then number 17 Aso drive Residence made me humble,love humanity and adopted a simple life. Bappa Yayale as we fondly called him was a father to all irrespective of tribe and religion. His cooks and stewards were minority Christians and prison service officers from Cross River and Tafawa Balewa seyawa tribe in Bauchi state.Provided one was ready to learn,Yayale’s house was like a university.

There were both boy’s quarters and guest house where we all slept and woke up with feeding two four seven. Yayale Ahmed built alot of people and to the glory of Allah many of us have faired in our careers . He was one man who loved people,ate with people and even touched their lives. The type of crowd that trooped to the Ajiya of Katagun’s house was next to that of the late Alhaji Aliyu Mohammed (WAZIRIN JEMAA) late ibb’s SGF.

How Yayale listened and solved people’s problems made me chose that part. Then coming to LKJ Lateef Kayode Jakande d.litt.My working with him in different capacities made me embrace legacy and humanitarian service than material things. No day Baba Jacko as we fondly called him comes to Abuja we don’t give covering notes to people to different government organisations for employment,admissions or contracts. Any day LKJ did not see people visiting him then that day is not complete. Sometimes in Abuja,we hire taxi to move if we are not using my car. In his number two Bishop street residence in ilupeju Lagos,the gate opens from 7am till 7pm in the evening.

These were men of integrity who loved and sacrificed for humanity through human capacity building. May Allah grant Yayale Ahmed sound health and longlife and prosperity and may Allah grant the late LKJ Aljanna firdausi. And as the late Fuji creator Dr Sikiru Ayinde Barrister sang in many of his albums,let us do good for posterity sake then it is not what we amaze in this world but how we touched people’s lives. Let us try to be good at all times because life is short .