Only a few will deny that by May 2011, Ogun State was a shadow of the reputation it enjoyed during the second republic. Every infrastructure that gave happiness and good livelihood to the people had collapsed. There was general despondency, which ushered in the ‘darkest period’ in the history of the state.
Ogun State, for all practical purposes, was, as at then, a classical example of a failed state.
That was the sordid and rancid background that ushered in the administration of Senator Ibikunle Amosun. It was indeed a very hopeless case.
But May 29, 2011 brought a wind of change as Amosun took office as the Executive Governor of Ogun State.
It is more than five years now and time has vindicated his ability to captain the Gateway State. Now, it can be said that like the biblical Moses, he had come on a divine mission to rebuild the State.
On assumption of office, Amosun sought to prioritise the attraction of private capital to spur the ‘Mission to Rebuild’ agenda.
The State had languished near the bottom of the World Bank Ease of Doing Business index in the 2010 report. But recently, it was ranked as one of the five most-improved states in the country in a 2014 report of the global financial institution.
Ogun has continued to reap maximum benefits from the enabling environment created for business growth by the Amosun administration. The State is now unarguably the most industrialised in Nigeria. According to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Ogun State Industrial Zone ranked 1st in 2014, while new investment into Ogun in 2014 was valued at N514.87 billion, an increase from the 2013 investment of N376.57 billion. Total Investment stood at N691.77 billion (74 per cent) by the end of 2014.
To further consolidate its position as Nigeria’s industrial hub, Amosun recently, on July 19, 2016, hosted members of the organised private sector to a breakfast meeting at the Government House, Oke- Igbein, Abeokuta.
The breakfast session, which was organised by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, was well attended by captains of industries, bank executives, industrialists and literally all the major players in the Nigerian economy.
Speaking during the interactive session, the Governor thanked members of the organised private sector for their contributions to the growth of the State’s economy and urged them to do more.
He also highlighted the future plans of his administration in the area of infrastructural development, including railways, roads, schools and hospitals among others.
The Governor, who expressed happiness that Ogun State had improved in its ranking of ease of doing business, said the feat was achieved due to the healthy partnership that existed between the government and the private sector. He promised not to rest on his oars in putting more friendly-policies in place for businesses to thrive.
Amosun revealed that his administration is committed to transforming the state to a point where it will practically feed, move, house and even cloth Lagos State to engender economic growth and drive the economy.
Participants at the event appreciated the state government’s innovation for organising the meeting, promising to contribute their quota to the development of the state, especially in the area of employment generation.
They, however, appealed to the government to continue to create a platform that would allow for interaction to fast-track development in the state.
Major industries in the state include Larfarge Wapco Cement; Wemco Cold Steam Iron Steel factory; May and Baker Pharmaceutical Company; Shongai Plant; Procter and Gamble, which is the largest single American investment in Nigeria outside the Petroleum sector; Dangote and many others.
The talking point today is not about who is in Ogun State. Rather, it is about who is not in Ogun State.
The state has continued to hold its investors’ forum despite the economic crunch. The third in the series was recently held on May 10 and 11, 2016. This has been a veritable platform for investors across all sectors of the nation’s economy to tap into the abundant resources that is prevalent in the State.
The just concluded edition, which was tagged, ‘’Emerging Economic Power House,’’ dwelt extensively on agriculture, environment and transportation. The overwhelming advantage from all these fora include an opportunity to cross-fertilise ideas with the international community, multilateral agencies, industrialists, eminent personalities and experts from all walks of life.
Recently, the Executive Chair man of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Babatunde Fowler, lauded the Ogun State helmsman on IGR and transforming the Board of Internal Revenue in the State.
Fowler commended Amosun when he led 36 state chairmen of the State Boards of Internal Revenue (SBIRs) to the Governor recently.
He said, “We monitor the performance of every state and we appreciate the excellent revenue performance of Ogun State.
“It is on record that the state annual IGR grew by 50 percent in the year 2015, thereby making the State to occupy the fourth position in performance collection rating of states and first in IGR growth”.
Undoubtedly, the state has conducted the business of government and reformed the structures of its service delivery to ensure that it is not only open for business but indeed friendly to business.
Amosun is ambitious, determined and forward looking in his developmental programmes and projects. He is focused on preparing the people and the state for the future.
Durojaiye is Special Adviser, Information and Strategy to Governor Amosun
