Photo credit: the Punch
Brigadier – General Mobolaji Olufunso Johnson died on October 30 at 83 years of age.
If I had met him while he was still alive I would have thanked him immensely for not letting school children of those days brood before writing the name of the Lagos state governor throughout my elementary school days.
That’s because he was the governor of Lagos state for nine years. For him to have been governor of such a strategic state as Lagos for so long means he was as constant as the northern star. In my foolish innocence, I nearly believed the gubernatorial seat was hereditary.
That’s loyalty!
Although the late governor was as tall as they came, there’s no doubting the fact that his integrity was even taller. General Yakubu Gowon, his head of state never had any problem with his being loyal.
He was indeed an officer and a gentleman. He put to lie the words of the late Abiola that only rejects of the society joined the army.
In his days, there was nothing like first lady. When he was governor, his parents were still alive, but they were never unduly heard of or favored. I don’t even think his father left his Yaba home.
Under him, Lagos underwent a lot of development. The Eko bridge, the Ikorodu Road, the Badagry Road are vivid examples. He even went on to introduce a rent edict for Lagos state which the landlords didn’t obey anyway.
The average landlord usually told would be tenants that if they wanted a Johnson house, they should go and meet the late governor.
Perhaps the only ‘bad press’ his government had was the destruction of the Ajele Cemetery. He ordered the place to be cleared for developmental projects.
For that people, including the Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, criticized him. Soyinka was the best of friends with his late brother, Femi.
It wasn’t any surprise that he and Brigadier Oluwole Rotimi were the only ones that were cleared of corruption charges by the Murtala/Obasanjo administration which succeeded the Gowonic administration.
He lived the good life like an original omo Eko.
He could have said, according to Julius Caesar, ‘Veni, vidi, vici’!
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