As Abiodun Opens up Ogun East West for Business…
The fifth democratically elected governor of Ogun State being a vastly experienced business mogul and ex-boardroom guru, it is no surprise that the Gateway State is being opened up left, right and centre for business. With the exception of Lagos, Ogun is Nigeria’s top investment destination, and continues to harness the gains of the business-friendly policies of the current administration led by Prince Dapo Abiodun. That much was attested to by the President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, this week. Dangote, who lamented that his cement factory at Itori, Ewekoro was pulled down twice during the immediate past administration, said he and his company could not but return to the Gateway State given Prince Dapo Abiodun administration’s vision and deliberate policies focused on attracting investors.
Hear Dangote, speaking on Monday during a courtesy visit to the governor in his office at Oke-Mosan Abeokuta: “I, especially, will like to commend in a special way my good friend and brother, your Excellency, the governor of Ogun State, for your vision, and deliberate policies that focus on attracting enterprises through an immense support for the private sector which is now attracting investors. Our factory at Itoro was pulled down twice. When we started the second time, they did not only demolish the factory, but also the fence, so we left. But right now, because of his Excellency, our governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, we are back. When you get to the factory, you will be surprised at what we have done. We earlier on abandoned our vision of investing in the Olokola Free Trade Zone (OKFTZ), but because of your policies and investor-friendly environment, I want to say we are back and are going to work with the state government and return to Olokola and plans are underway to construct the largest port in the country.” On completion, the total capacity of the company’s cement plants in the state will be in the neighborhood of 18 million metric tons per annum, making it the highest cement producing state or region in Africa.
Given the pace of events in Ogun State, it could not have been any wonder that last weekend, like most weekends, was a busy one for the governor. The governor, in company with the state Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr. Ade Akinsanya, embarked on an inspection tour of ongoing projects in the Ogun East Senatorial District. Among the road projects visited were the Iperu – Ode Remo – Sapade Road (Phase 3), Sagamu (Hospital Road Junction) – Ayepe Road, AwokoyaRoad, Ijebu Ode Road, Igbeba/Talbort/Yidi/Stadium/Luba Road/Oke Aje Market Road, Ondo Ereko Road, and Ikangba Road. Excitement was in the air as the governor toured the governor project sites. It was cheers galore as residents of the affected areas spoke of the relief that the road projects had brought to them after failed promises by the immediate past administration. As a matter of fact, many of the residents wondered aloud a second-term governor could still be undertaking large-scale road projects at a time when many states are struggling to secure funds for infrastructure.
Speaking during the tour, Governor Dapo Abiodun averred that his administration had succeeded in rewriting Ogun’s State’s developmental story, noting that his administration is building a dry port to further open up the state for more investment opportunities, in addition to the over 4,000 affordable houses built for medium and upper-income earners in Abeokuta, Ilaro, Sagamu, Iperu, Ijebu-Ode and Ota. Hear him: “We have built over 4,000, going to 5,000 affordable houses for medium and upper-income earners across the state. In Ilaro, the people are eager for me to come and commission those houses. We have them in Iperu, Sagamu, and two in Abeokuta. We started our urban regeneration at the GRA in Abeokuta and began building the PMB estate also in Abeokuta. You can feel my excitement today because I can look at all that and even see the clips from the airport where the conveyor belts, metal detectors, and luggage scanners have started working, and I said to myself, ‘Something new has happened in Ogun State,’ and this needs to be sustained.”
Saying that 11 roads with huge economic impact on the lives of the people had been identified and awarded for reconstruction across the state, the governor assured that fairness, equity, and inclusivity would always be key considerations in executing projects. But he then added a caveat: “There are many roads we would like to do, but the truth is that no administration can reconstruct all the required roads in eight years; it’s impossible… I think I can beat my chest and say we have probably constructed more roads than two administrations combined together.”
Speaking at Ode-Remo, the governor disclosed that contract for the construction of the 12-kilometer Akaka-Ilara-Ilisan road had been awarded, adding that the construction of the Ode-Isara road would commence soon. The governor inspected the 15-kilometer Sagamu-Iperu-Ode-Sapaade road, an arterial route that serves as a bypass to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; the 14-kilometer Sagamu-Ayepe road in Sagamu Local Government Area, and the Igbeba junction-Yidi road, a road designed with a three-feet drainage to ensure free flow of water during the rainy season, having previously been a “swimming pool,” but now well-designed to curb the perennial erosion afflicting the city.
The projects stretching over 200 kilometers are of course strategic. Most of the affected communities have huge agricultural potential that will burst forth with proper road networking. Besides, investors are trooping into the state from all parts of the world and the enhanced road network will facilitate their business. Of course, the governor, having previously inaugurated landmark road projects in all parts of the state, including the Lagos-Abeokuta road and the Abeokuta-Sagamu expressway in Ogun Central, turned attention to the roads in Ogun East in the spirit of democratizing projects. It is a no-brainer that spreading development projects across all zones in the state will foster a sense of belonging, increase accessibility to social infrastructure, guarantee equitable distribution of resources, and reduce disparity and the feeling of exclusion by previously marginalized groups in the state. This, apparently, has positive implications for balanced growth, the development of the local economy, enhanced sustainable development, improved public services and the enhancement of social cohesion and bonding the among citizenry.
As an administrator, the Iperu-born prince has always harped on creating an enabling environment for all parts of the state to thrive. It was in the spirit of that inclusivity that he recently sought and obtained presidential approval to convert the Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) into a federal university. At the end of the day, nothing is to be lost in democratizing projects and ensuring that each zone has its fair share. On the contrary, much is to be gained from it, and Prince Abiodun has been very clear in articulating this core principle guiding his agenda tagged Building our Future Together. The future promises to be very bright.
