Recently, in recognition of his efforts to ensure rapid industrialisation, enhance the ease of doing business and make Ogun State Nigeria’s top investment destination, the Federal Government honoured the Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, with the Distinguished Award for Industrial Revolution. The award more or less coincided with the confirmation by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that Ogun State, with its N100.9bn revenue profile in 2021, is one of the states with the highest internally generated revenue nationwide, coming only after Nigeria’s economic capital, Lagos; the FCT and Rivers State, a top oil-producing state.
If anything, the award is cheering news for all and sundry in Ogun State. It is a recognition of the governor’s resolve to bring positive development to the state, especially in the area of industrialisation. There is no state that can develop without industry and, contrary to the submissions of naysayers, a silent revolution has, in the last three and a half years, actually been ongoing on in the Gateway State.
In view of the fact that awards in this country often tend to be inspired largely by political patronage, it is legitimate to ask precisely what the governor did to win this exalted award, and that is actually the meat of this piece. First, Prince Abiodun was able to create an enabling environment for business to thrive in the state. Unlike before when the state was plagued with political crisis leading to assassinations, not to talk of the hounding of the opposition by the government in power, there is now calm and tranquility in the state. And this is remarkable because Governor Abiodun’s immediate past predecessor has maligned his character, image and government to no end during rallies across the state, desperately seeking to drag him out into the arena of conflict. But the governor has not budged. Instead, he has addressed security crisis squarely, making the state safe for investment and for residency. He has unfolded the state security outfit, Amotekun, and equipped the police extensively. And while there are still security concerns, security agencies in the state have the wherewithal to respond appropriately.
The Abiodun administration is noted for providing a competitive tax climate, realising that businesses must first make money before they can pay tax. This was partly why he again won the good governance award at the Nigerian 62nd Independence Anniversary and Global Award Gala held in London, the United Kingdom and why, last month, he was adjudged by the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Zone B, as the best governor in the South-West in the area of infrastructure development. The award recognized the fact that in less than three years, his administration had been able to construct, reconstruct and rehabilitate over 600km of roads across the state. For instance, in Ogun East Senatorial District, it reconstructed the Ijebu-Ode-Epe road which has opened up the district to industrial development and in Ogun Central Senatorial, it built the 42km Sagamu Interchange-Abeokuta road while in Ogun West Senatorial, the 22km Atan-Agbara-Lusada road leading to the largest industrial estate in Nigeria has reached 80 per cent completion.
