Abesan Estate at 40, honours former governor, Lateef Jakande
Lateef Jakande
Abesan Estate, one of the foremost among the 14 estates built by former civilian governor of Lagos State, late Alhaji Lateef Jakande, is 40 years old.
The estate was commissioned on December 17, 1982 and as part of program to mark the event, Residents’ Association of the estate has organised week long events to mark the anniversary, as well as a posthumous award to the former governor for his great contributions to the development of the state in the area of housing and infrastructure.
Chairman of the Anniversary Committee, Pastor G. O. Oduwole, during a media chat said: “Abesan estate was the first among the 14 estates that the late Jakande built when he was governor of the state. We therefore decided as residents and beneficiaries of his good work to celebrate and honour him posthumously for building the estate purposely for the lower class.
“The current governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwolu, will also be unveiling a statue in honour of the late Jakande. This is not political, but a befitting honour to the former governor.”
On security and infrastructure challenges, President of the Abesan Estate Residents’ Association, Elder M. I. Oduwole said: “Though the residents have been trying to do their best in ensuring security and order, because of lack of perimeter fence, the estate has become porous to non-residents and vehicles.
Also, roads within the estate have become un-motorable alongside other sewage problems”. Responding to questions on the state of the buildings and measures put in place to ensure maintenance, the president said: “We have always carried out a sensitisation program to ensure culture of maintenance of the building structures and to some extent, we are making impact, but then some buildings were marked out recently as distressed.”
We hereby call on Lagos State Government to come to our aid in the area of security because we need to fence round the estate and need to improve on the current state of infrastructure.” The week-long programme will also witness awards to individual residents in recognition of their contributions to the estate.
