The Oke-Ogun zone of Oyo State has started putting its act together, ahead of the 2019 governoship election.
The zone has 10 out of the 33 local government areas of the state. Oke-Ogun is a bloc of homogenous agrarian communities scattered across several kilometres of land.
It has been receiving special attention since the inception of the administration of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and later, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Oke-Ogun has not produced a governor since the creation of the old Oyo State in 1976. The late Cicero of Esa-Oke, Chief Bola Ige, was the first civilian governor of Oyo State. He won the election to become governor in 1979.
He was succeeded by an Ibadan man, the erudite scholar and mathematician, Dr Omololu Olunloyo in 1983. After nine years of military interregnum, another Ibadan man, the late Kolapo Isola, became governor in 1992.
At the return of democracy in 1999, Alhaji Lam Adesina, an Ibadan man, was elected governor. He was succeeded by another indigene of Ibadan, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, in 2003.
But, in 2007, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, who hails from Ogbomoso, was elected as the governor. He was succeeded by, another indigene of Ibadan, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, in 2011.
Throughout the period, Oke-Ogun indigenes, under various pressure groups, called for political balancing. They criticised the system as marginalizing them for creating no opportunity for any indigene of the area to emerge as governor. The topmost position they have been getting is that of the Deputy Governor. For instance, Chief Hameed Gbadamosi was Chief Kolapo Isola’s deputy, while Chief Iyiola Oladokun was elected deputy governor during the tenure of Adesina. Both are from Oke-Ogun.
The current deputy governor Moses Adeyemo, is also from Oke-Ogun and in his second term in office.
Among the governors, Ajimobi showed much interest in the zone. In his first term in office, he appointed same aides who hail from the area. For the first time, Oyo State government dualised a major road in the zone Iseyin township Road.
Ajimobi’s also established a School of Nursing in Kisi and upgraded the Saki campus of Ibadan Polytechnic, named Oke-Ogun Polytechnic. His administration also established high courts in Kisi and Iseyin, in addition to the only one in Saki. Besides, he established three zonal headquarters of the joint security outfit, the Operation Burst, in the area.
The zone voted for Ajimobi in the last year general election. The governor only lost to Chief Alao-Akala in Orelope Local Government.
The attention given to the zone by the Ajimobi administration seemed to have assuaged their feeling of marginalisation.
Since assuming office for the second time, the governor has launched two major initiatives to transform the economy of the zone.
First, the government launched its farming project tagged: Agric-Oyo, and later made a concrete promise to establish an international aso ofi market to promote the traditional fabric, which is a major product in Iseyin, a popular town in the zone. It has also approved the dualization of Saki township Road.
While Agric-Oyo opens up land for mechanized farmers in a bid to diversify the economy, empower locals and generate ?revenue for the state. This is in addition to the emergence of the Minister of Communication, Mr. Adebayo Shittu as the representative of the state in the Federal Executive Council. Shittu hails from Saki.
All these seem to be weakening the marginalization in the area.
At a town hall meeting last week, Ajimobi solicited their support of the zone for Agric-Oyo and the education reform, which will see each public secondary school have a Management Board.
The governor said Agric-Oyo was aimed at Job creation, poverty alleviation and food security through massive engagement of the human and material resources of the state through agricultural value chain.
Held at Harmony Gardens, Gedu Estate, Ibadan Road, Saki, the governor explained that the purpose of the visit was to thank the people of Oke-Ogun for their support, to discuss development of the state, to highlight government activities, to find joint solutions to critical issues, obtain feedback from all stakeholders and to bequeath a lasting legacy to the younger generation.
He stressed that the target of the state was to harness its agriculture potential with the ultimate ambition of becoming the food basket of the Southwest.
With an expanse of land spanning 28,454 square kilometre, the governor said the state had the largest arable land in the southern part of the country and human resources, which gave it comparative advantage over many other states.
Ajimobi called for attitudinal change among the people, advising that citizens must work hard to survive, instead of relying on prayers to meet their needs.
His words: “Now that oil, which is the major source of economy of Nigeria, has crashed, the government and our people should put to maximum use the available land mass, physical infrastructure and clean environment to invite investors for the economic growth of the country.
“Nigeria is now at crossroads, because even our strategic reserve is nothing to write home about. Oil is our largest source of income in Nigeria but it has crashed due to oil glut in the international market. We are very lucky in Oyo State. Out of our 33 local governments, 28 are agrarian. So, what Lagos State has in water, Oyo State has in land. We need to harness these through the agriculture value chain to revive our economy.”
