Governor Dapo Abiodun is scattering projects like confetti over all Senatorial Districts; how individuals within and beyond the state view this is akin to the Hindustani story of the elephant and the blind men. A group of blind men heard that an unusual animal called an elephant had been brought to town, but none knew what it looked like or how it moved. They inquired and said, “We must inspect and know it by touch, of which we are capable.” So, they sought it out, and when they found it, they groped about it. The first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said, “This being is like a thick snake.” For another one whose hand reached its ear, it seemed like a fan. Another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is a pillar like a tree trunk. The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said to the elephant, “is a wall.” Another who felt its tail described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth, and like a spear.

While many people see Governor Abiodun’s accomplishments differently, particularly in the area of infrastructure, this writer, like one of the Hindustan guys, wants to see it through the lens of how it promotes economic development. Governor Abiodun recognised (and continues to recognise) the importance of investment as a driver of economic growth from the start. He founded the Ogun State Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency to do this. It was established “with a mandate to recruit investors into the state; coordinate private sector investment activities; and streamline processes and procedures to expedite the investors’ journey to successfully establishing their enterprises in the state.”

Other supporting initiatives include empowering over 2500 rural women across the state by providing them with goods worth N100m, improving the capacity of over 500 entrepreneurs across the State to enable them to access funding and scale up their enterprises, acquiring land within 30 days for the issue of C of Os through the introduction of an online portal, and most importantly, the Ogun State Land Administration and Revenue Management System (OLARMS). State.”

Governor Abiodun recognises the global connection between economic development and infrastructure provision. And that is exactly what he has been doing. Over 270km of new roads, totaling 661.76km and 99.1km, have been built or repaired across the three senatorial districts, with another 562.63km under construction throughout the state.

When several media executives joined the Commissioner for Works and Housing, Engineer Ade Akinsanya, on a facility tour of our state, they got a firsthand look at the infrastructure developments that are taking place. The tour train continued on the Abeokuta-Sagamu expressway, where they viewed the Sagamu-Benin expressway flyover bridge. The tourists passed through the Ijebu-Ode Mojoda expressway, the Molipa express on the Ibadan road, the Igan road in Ago Iwoye, and many more locations. Inner-city roadways were not overlooked. The route connecting Molusi College, Owode-Ilaro road, and Atan-Lusada road, among others, was visible to the visitors. Kemta and neighbouring places’ housing projects were magnificent.

Many visitors were perplexed by the simultaneous construction of the Ilishan-Ago Iwoye road, the Sagamu-Iperu roundabout, the Oba Eriwole road, the Ilaro-Owode road, the Somorin-Kemta road, the Olomore-Sani road, and the Mile 2-Ayetoro road. Craneburg’s Ijebu-Ode Epe road was used by the tour train. President Mohammadu Buhari recently dedicated that route. Another big project that the locals witnessed was the Atan-Lusada road.

In Ogun Central, the Abiodun administration constructed the Obantoko road, the Ikoritameje Adenrele/Olose Titun Vespa road, the Idi Aba-Oke Lantoro road, the Abeokuta-Shagamu expressway, the Channels TV road in Isheri, the Panseke-Adigbe road, the Kuto flyover bridge, the Lafenwa Rounder-Ayetoro road Road construction is currently underway on Old Bank Road-Oritameje Coker, Mowe Ofada, Siun, Sango Roundabout to Ijoke Bridge, and Oke Aro-Ojodu.

The impact of Dapo Abiodun’s infrastructure spread is also felt in Ogun East Senatorial District, particularly in communities such as Oru-Awa Ilaporu, Molipa, Fusigboye, Ayegun, Ojofa, Asafa Oke, and Asafa Isale. Iregun-Ilisa Road, Idarika Street Road, Olabisi Onajole Road, and Araromi Sokoto Street Road have all made a difference in their lives.

Among others, the administration has completed the Esure-Ijebu Mushin road, the Igan road, the Ekinrin-Idowa-Ibefun-Itokin road, the Awujale road, the Ijebu Ode-Epe/Sagamu Benin interchange flyover bridge, the Molusi College road, the Ilishan market road, the Iperu-Roundabout Ode phase 2, the Obafemi Awolowo Way-Ma Residents of Oyingbo, Olisa, Saka Ashiru, Togburin, Agodo, and Tigara, among others, have experienced the relief that road construction has given to their communities. They can attest to other regions’ work, such as the Sagamu Ode Lemo road and the Ikenne-Ilishan Ago Iwoye route.

From Ikola to Osi Ikola, from Raypower road to Igbesa-Ejinla road, from Imshai-Igan to Ayetoro, and from the Ilaro-Owode road, the Oke Ola road in Imeko, the Ilashe Koko-Alari road, and the Ado Odo-Ikoga road, there have been developments galore in Ogun West. The continuous effort in these towns, as well as the work in Atan-Lusada-Agbara-Morogbo and Singer to Toll Gate, is inspiring. The Lusada-Atan Agbara route, in particular, is critical to the South-West, Nigeria, and the West African sub-region: it houses Nigeria’s largest industrial complex.

Infrastructural Development for Economical Development

Among the projects inspected was the current Ilishan-Remo Agro-Cargo Airport project, which is anticipated to be completed by the end of this year. According to the Governor, the airport’s construction, which began in March 2022, will have its first official cargo plane landing in less than six months.

The Ogun State Government got a Special Award for Concept and Design of the State Airport on September 8, 2022, at the Aviation and Cargo conference organised by AVIACargo Journal in conjunction with atqnews.com.

The State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Ade Akinsanya, said the Agro Cargo Airport under development is a very viable project with the socio-economic impact that will be seen across the value chain of the agro-processing sub-sector when he accepted the award on behalf of Governor Dapo Abiodun at the Lagos Marriott Hotel in Ikeja.

Ade Akinsanya, State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, accepted the award on behalf of Governor Dapo Abiodun at the Lagos Marriott Hotel in Ikeja. He stated that the Agro Cargo Airport under construction is a very viable project with a socio-economic impact felt across the value chain of the agro-processing sub-sector.

Akinsanya, who explained that the proposal is more than simply an airport, said the agro-serving part is the most exciting since it would be a conglomeration of agro-processing enterprises that turn raw materials into completed commodities. “The airport will also include facilities for cargo processing, storage, warehouses, and a training centre, among other things,” he stated. It’s an aerotropolis. When completed, the Agro-Cargo Airport would function as a conglomeration of agro-processing enterprises as well as an aerotropolis with added value services.”

In his words: “This very road is what earned us the industrial capital of this country. Before now, the condition of this road was nothing to write home about. It was in complete disrepair, rendering a lot of business moribund. Companies were closing shops and going somewhere else. Some even left the country and we thought this was not good enough.

“I made a presentation to President Muhammadu Buhari to take over the road because it is a road of economic importance and we can not claim to live up to our responsibility without taking up the repair of the road.

“Apart from leading to the industrial hub state’s industrial serves as a link to Lagos, neighbouring states, and some states in the north, so, it became imperative for us to put the road in good condition”

Kudos Governor Dapo Abiodun!

Aside from the Lusada axis road, others distributed throughout the state would allow farmers to transport their commodities to cities such as Lagos for sale. For manufacturers, the highways will facilitate the delivery of goods from factories to locations of consumption. By extension, good infrastructure will serve as an infrastructure for global investment capital. Businesses will also pop up there, bringing in extra cash for the state government through taxation.

And when the government’s highways, such as the Ijoko, Alagbole, and Ojodu highway, are constructed, the value of houses in the Ogun, Lagos boundary areas would skyrocket. According to Engineer Akinsanya, “contracts have already been given for segment one from Sango and segment six from Akute, with work now underway.” He went on to say that the road’s contract had been given for N300 million to repair the remaining four segments by making them drivable before they were completely rebuilt.

He said: “the Sango-Akute-Alagbole road is a 32-kilometer road awarded by the previous administration and unfortunately abandoned. What we are doing now is that instead of six lanes, we have re-scoped the road and our contractor is moving to the Sango-Ijoko area, working on that and of course the Lagos end. Segments one and six have been awarded. Included in the work is the palliative work that will ensure that from phase 2 to phase 5 should be motorable all Sango to Yakoyo end by December.”

And, once the government’s roadways, such as the Ijoko, Alagbole, and Ojodu highways, are built, the value of property in the Ogun and Lagos boundary areas will surge. “Contracts have already been given for segment one from Sango and segment six from Akute, with work now underway,” Engineer Akinsanya said, adding that the road’s contract had been awarded for N300 million to repair the remaining four segments by making them drivable before they were completely rebuilt.

He said, “From toll gate to underneath the bridge at Sango, I am very confident that between two to three weeks, it would have completed the stretch of the road from tollgate to the bridge.

“The last time I was here, I promised that this road will be reconstructed within two weeks and I have come back today to ensure that the promise we made then has been kept.

“I also inspected the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta road, starting from the old tollgate section, which is completely non-existent, it has failed. I have since awarded the contract for sectional rehabilitation of that road, all the way to Ewekoro. Work has started.”