It is amazing but not shocking: Ogun under Dapo Abiodun, boardroom guru and business mogul, has been taking the business of social engineering extremely seriously. Particularly in the last couple of days, the Gateway State has been in the news for positive developments, while critics of the governor, driven by sheer partisanship, are left shell-shocked amidst their habitual mischief. Recently, shortly after reinventing diplomacy and obtaining the Federal Government’s permission, the governor inaugurated the reconstruction of the 70-kilometer Abeokuta-Ifo-Ota-Lagos Expressway, with a pledge to complete it in 18 months. The road had been neglected for over two decades, and Abiodun’s previous requests for approval to reconstruct it had been sternly rebuffed. But he would not take no for an answer. Work has now begun in earnest on the second busiest road in Nigeria, connecting Abeokuta and its hinterlands to Lagos State, linking Ilaro in Ogun West to Sagamu in Ogun East through the Sagamu-Interchange-Papalanto-Ilaro road, and connecting the Sango-Atan-Owode-Idi-Iroko road on the Ota side, leading to border towns and the Benin Republic. The road, as the people’s Governor himself acknowledges, “serves as a critical artery for numerous industrial hubs in Ota, including the Lafarge Cement Factory, Ile-Ise Awo, various schools, and higher institutions. The communities along this corridor are densely populated, and the road’s strategic location has a significant impact on trade and economic activities.” As transport union chief Taofeek Sokoya (Danku) noted: “Currently, we take about five hours to get to Ota from Ita Osin. When this road is completed, it will only take 45 minutes.”
Beyond roads, the airport city in the Remo axis of the state, easily Nigeria’s largest and most strategic, is nearing completion, and you cannot blame the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for accelerating work on its N73bn Zonal Office and Training School at the Gateway Agro-Cargo International Airport. The airport lies within the airport city, which also includes an export processing zone. In another development, the Nigerian Navy, buoyed by the ongoing massive construction works in Ogun State, quickly secured 100 hectares of land for its proposed dockyard, a facility for which the governor waived any payment in light of national security imperatives. On the agriculture front, the Abiodun government is in a class of its own. Governor Abiodun recently inaugurated the harvest of the 200-hectare rice farm at Magboro in Obafemi Owode LGA of the state. In just three months, the farm cluster yielded 1,400 tonnes of rice. Projected to generate N1bn in revenue every three months, the project will now be scaled up to guarantee revenue in the range of N10bn-N25 billion.
Critics spun a false narrative about this laudable project, claiming it was the initiative of Alhaji Bello Zabarmawa from Kebbi State. PM News ran this misinformation without a shred of conscience. Contrary to that misleading report, Governor Abiodun’s rice harvest is real, and the government’s combine harvester was in operation when the Governor visited. The individual and his colleagues from Kebbi were, in fact, excited to see the harvester, having never seen or used one for rice harvest. The World Bank-assisted project, intended to increase private sector involvement in Gateway State’s economic development, is the brainchild of the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project (OGSTEP). Alhaji Bello and 199 other farmers were sensitized and grouped into ten clusters for the rice project, with the government covering 65% of the land preparation and mechanization costs while the farmers contributed the rest. Yet, under poor journalism, Alhaji Bello, who farmed just one hectare, was falsely portrayed as the “owner” of the 200-hectare project, leaving out the other 199 farmers from the narrative. The government, which provided the land, segmented the farmers into one-hectare lots, and offered pesticide, grants, and loans, was unfairly criticized for lying about the project.
Critics aren’t truly ignorant. They understand that government’s role in agribusiness is to create a supportive environment for public-private partnerships, similar to the farm settlements established by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, which provided farmers with necessary tools and housing. This approach has been adopted by both Kebbi and Ogun states. Yet, the critics managed to concoct a false story, making a single individual the “real owner” of a public-private partnership project involving 200 people, with 65% funding from the Abiodun Government and technical support.
Governor Abiodun’s farm clusters are anything but “audio.” In Ikenne zone, you can find cassava clusters like Ibukunoluwa Farmers Cooperatives I & II (Akaka), Evergreen Farmers (Ibafo), Bethel Agro Allied Farmers Cms (Lukosi), Mosimi Farmers Association (Moro), and Ona Ara Farmers Association (Ikenne), as well as rice clusters in Ayiwere/Ogboloko and Magboro. In Ijebu zone, visit Idekan Apoje, Omu, Asejere, Ojowo, and Ijebu Igbo to see the More Agro Group 1-7, N-Power Cooperative Group 1-5, Agbegbemi-Yewo Farmers Cooperatives, Agberapo Cassava Farmers Group 6, Game Changers, and Agbe-Parapo Farmers Ass. 1-5 clusters, including a maize cluster. In Ilaro zone, there are the Ijomo Vegetable Group 3&5, Ijomo Farmers Group 1 & 4, Vegetable and Fruit Grower Association 1-3, Irewolede Cluster I Maize, Araromi Group 1, Ife Cluster Maize I & II, Ore-Ofe Cluster I & II Omoluabi Farmers Clusters, and others located in Awin/Odanpopo/Ijomo (tomato), Ijomo (groundnut), Ayetoro (horticulture), with maize clusters in Eggua, Imeko, Ayetoro, Igbogila, and Iwoye Ketu.
If critics are enraged by the rice harvest, imagine their reaction when cocoa, groundnut, and cassava harvesting begins. Their attempts to discredit Ogun State’s progress only expose their own emptiness. If you’re a worker in Ogun State, you can trust Governor Abiodun’s promise from a recent meeting with labor leaders. Praising the workers for their role in the state’s economic growth, Abiodun assured that Ogun State will excel in implementing the new minimum wage. His strategy: “I have instructed my team to work diligently, avoiding undue pressure on our people. We should be creative, efficient, close loopholes, and increase revenue to afford the new minimum wage comfortably.”
In Ogun, it’s one positive development after another. And the best is yet to come as the Governor leads the state towards greater progress. As Indian writer Rohini Nikolani puts it: “We cannot be mere consumers of good governance; we must be participants; we must be co-creators.”
Akinmade is Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State.
