1. He was a vibrant journalist. He first worked with the daily service and then Joined the Nigerian Tribune in 1953, where he rose to become the Editor-in-chief. He left Tribune in 1975 and established John West publications on whose platform he published THE LAGOS NEWS.
2. He was the first president of the Newspaper Proprietors association of Nigeria, (NPAN).
3. He was elected Governor of Lagos state from 1979 to 1983 on the platform of the unity party of Nigeria (UPN).
4. He was Minister of works under the General Sani Abacha military regime from 1993-1998.
5. He introduced one of the largest mass housing projects in the country, building about 30,000 housing units for low income earners.
6. He rode in his private car, a Toyota Crown, as governor, rather than the luxurious Benz used by his colleagues.
7. Baba Jakande Established the Lagos state television station (LTV), the first of its kind by a state Governor and the Lagos state university (LASU).
8. He was arrested by the Buhari Military administration in 1983, charged, prosecuted and convicted of treason. He was later pardoned.
9. Jakande angered a lot of people by taking over the ‘Legacy Schools’ in Lagos and opening them up to the general public. Some of such schools were CMS Grammar School, Methodist Boys High School, St Gregory’s College and Baptist Academy, just to name a few.
10. He established 23 local Government councils which were later disbanded by the military and started the Metroline project (another first of its kind) to facilitate mass transit but it was also halted by the military government that took over