Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, the Alake and the Paramount ruler of Egbaland, is not a man given to frivolities. He doesn’t suffer fools gladly either. As an ex-serviceman, he still retains that Spartan discipline which is a hallmark of the military. Oba Gbadebo stunned participants of the National Defence College, Course 23, Group 3 who had paid him a visit in his palace sometimes in 2014 that “‘when this town was to be founded in 1830 by Egbas, … Ifa oracle told them that when you have the 10th Alake, Abeokuta will change. So when I got here in 2005 as the 10th Alake, in the first six years, nothing changed and I almost disbelieved the Oracle; not knowing that in 2011, a government will come and put into practice what was foretold by the Oracle….”
Oba Gbadebo is in a vintage position to know. Historically, he is a custodian of contemporary history and tradition. Politically, he was almost dethroned for daring to advise the immediate past state government to uplift the road infrastructure of the state capital.
The monarch has good reasons to the effusive. Abeokuta is now a new city away from the massive rustic village it was in the very recent past. Indeed, many cities in the state have experienced transformation never seen in the history of the 40 year old state.
Although Governor Ibikunle Amosun inherited huge economic and social deficit on assumption of office in 2011, he was undaunted. He soldiered on with uncommon zest erecting policies and programmes aimed at positioning Ogun State among the elite states in Nigeria.
He came with a blueprint of where he wants the state to be. Amosun is always quick to tell his audience that “My plan is to make Ogun state what New Jersey is to New York (in USA). We intend to exploit our proximity to Lagos to our advantage”.
Although he might not have fully attained the goal, Ogun is well on course and the citizenry are reaping the benefits. It was BusinessDay newspaper that first announced the new status of the state. The newspaper declared Ogun State as the fastest-growing economy and first choice for industrialists and entrepreneurs in Nigeria. The state won an award to that effect.
To the newspaper, Ogun State, won the award “because it has the highest number of businesses established in its domain and that the government has made the environment more attractive to investors. Ogun also has the highest Gross Domestic Product in the last one year…”
‘SecurityWatch’ magazine followed suit. It named Amosun as the most security conscious governor in West Africa.
If those were national and regional recognitions, the report of the World Bank, ‘Doing Business in Nigeria 2014’, rates Ogun as one of the top five states in Nigeria “that made the biggest strides towards the national frontier of good practices”! The biennial report was released in October 2014.
This iconic feat by the government can be better appreciated when juxtaposed with the situation of the state before the advent of Amosun. The World Bank, in its 2008 and 2010 reports had ranked Ogun State among the lowest overall performing states in Nigeria in terms of ease of doing business. Put bluntly, doing business in Ogun State that time was a high-risk venture!
But Amosun confined that to history. According to the World Bank, “thanks to concerted effort, Ogun improved on three of the four ‘Doing Business’ indicators benchmarked.” The report observe further that in Ogun State, “The construction permitting system was radically overhauled, with the state government …decentralising the approval system and set up a new committee monitoring delays. “Building permit applications and payments can now be made simultaneously in district offices. Private professionals issue environmental-impact assessments in accordance with the conditions and templates set out in a framework agreement.
“The digitalisation of the Property Records by the state Bureau of Lands also introduces a refreshing edge into property acquisition and documentation in the state. The effect was the ‘Home Ownership Charter’ which, apart from the speed of availability of property document, slashed the fee payable on land titles by as much as 70 percent”, the report noted.
But Ogun state didn’t just move from zero to hero overnight. It was the fallout of series of strategic and deliberate actions. For instance, before the advent of Governor Amosun, security was a big headache. Policemen were largely incapacitated by lack of requisite equipment and political will to deal with criminality.
But the governor changed all that. He invested heavily in security equipment in a manner never seen in the history of Nigeria. In one fell swoop, the state government imported 14 high-grade Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) for the police. The governor also bought 1000 AK-47 rifles, two million rounds of ammunition, 500 bullet proof vests, 500 bullet proof helmets as well as 600 patrol vans fitted with communication gadgets to ensure mobility and presence of security officers. The effect was that crime statistics in the state plummeted to the relief of residents as robbers flee the state.
Political thuggery, occasioned by intolerance, also became history as the governor allows constructive criticism and liberalised the media space for dissenting voices.
The era of ritual killings equally became history as the government consciously gave special attention to the various dark spots and relaxation centres across the state for policing.
Suddenly, Ogun state, once notorious for its high crime rate, became one of the most secured states in Nigeria. The new security status encouraged Investors to view the state as investors’ preferred destination.
Indeed, former President Jonathan, during his 2015 re-election campaign in Abeokuta confirmed that 56 new firms have berth in Ogun state within the first four years of the Amosun government. The figure has since risen to 88.
Indeed, security remains the biggest attainment of the Amosun government. Residents now sleep with two-eyes closed as they realised that the government and security outfits have bandits in check.
Long before the national economic downturn, Amosun had prioritised the rebuilding of the finances of the state. He introduced prudence into public financing and accounting system. He blocked leakages in the state financial system and put his experience as an accountant to bear as he unfurled an innovative financial re-engineering plan. He grew the Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state from the paltry N730m he inherited to over N5bn. He also slashed salaries and allowances of political office holders to free fund for developmental projects.
Interestingly, the financial re-engineering has ensured that the state remains insulated from the harsh economic vagaries currently ravaging the country.
Expectedly, the surge in the income the state afforded the government to embark on an ambitious urban renewal programme where 20 roads and 12 bridges situated across the three senatorial districts, were constructed. The Urban Renewal programme is perhaps one sector where the Ogun government has drawn most applauds as alluded to by Oba Gbadebo.
The agriculture sector also witnessed remarkable turnaround. In a single intervention, 86 pieces of multi-million naira land clearing and preparation equipment were launched by the governor.
To further prove that the state is serious with the idea of reclaiming its glory in the agriculture sector, the state government enthroned a policy where investors-local or foreign, interested in agriculture will only need to pay 20 percent of the cost of agriculture land.
- Balogun, is a media aide of Governor Amosun.
