Still basking in the euphoria of the successes recorded from its maiden edition of its Investors’ Forum, Ogun State appears set to consolidate with the hosting of the second edition of the forum. MUYIWA LUCAS writes
Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Ogun State governor, is a happy man. Amosun’s happiness stems from the silent industrial revolution currently going on in his state. Two years after the maiden edition of the Ogun State investment forum, about 45 companies, each with a minimum investment of $100 million, have made the state their abode.
And in this, the high-rise cap wearing governor takes delight. “Today, I have the pleasure that Ogun State is now the industrial base of the country. No state has the number of industries that we now have in this state; it is not an unhealthy rivalry with anybody,” Amosun told a gathering at a forum preparatory to the second edition of the state investment forum which commence today at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kobape Road, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The investments spilling into the state are said to be the fallout of the policies put in place by the administration since its inception in 2011. For instance, early in the life of the administration, a clear-cut focus was put in place for achieving the set goals, one of which was to improve on agriculture and also embark on urban development. This reasoning was premised on the belief that agriculture will lead to urban development, and at the same time create wealth for the state considering its capacity to employ more people and the possibility of processing farm produce, which will ultimately lead to the harnessing and development in agriculture.
It is therefore not out of place that the theme for this year’s investors’ forum is “Agriculture and Urban Development: Ogun State… The new Frontier.” Besides, it is the belief that promoting sustainable agriculture will lead to industrialis-ation. “That is why we belief that agriculture is imperative for urbanisation. For instance, a starch manufacturing firm came here to grow cassava; and we had to encourage them to set up their processing plant here to produce the starch since the raw material is here. This will also create employment for our people; we are encouraging industries not to look far for their raw materials elsewhere because they are all here in our state,” the governor noted.
Amosun explained that the state chose the two sectors as the focus of the forum because, apart from the fact that they are interwoven, they also serve as agents of change, while agriculture, in particular, gives the state an edge over other states of the federation in terms of potentials and the gateway position of the state to other neighbouring countries. For him, the proximity of the state to Lagos State and also being an entry/exit point to other countries in the West African region, make the state stand tall above others as far as commercial agriculture is concerned. His words: “What we have in Ogun is not the seven million population but the ease with which we can be a hub. We are very close to Oyo and Lagos population. So, it is easy to make Ogun as hub. We are creating and repairing our roads, and as well building modern markets. So with these, you can access the West African countries through Ogun.”
As part of measures to turn the state into an industrial hub, the state is working closely with the Bank of Industries (BoI) to aid credit facilities for investors. This is aside the ease of acquisition of land for investment purposes like farming and siting of factories and other industries. Ogun State government, The Nation learnt, gives as much as 70 per cent rebate on cost of acquiring land and ensures that documentation of such properties are concluded at the speed of light. However, such lands have a caveat: development must commence on it within six months of its allocation. This, the governor explained, is to ensure that only serious minded investors come to the state. For him, the target is to feed, cloth, house and move Lagos, as well as becoming the industrial hub of West African region. By this he means being the all round provider of the needs of Lagosians, in the area of agriculture, accommodation, and others socio-economic needs of the state. A high point of the forum will be the launch of the state’s metro city project, on which the urban development programme of the administration is anchored. This aims to bring mega cities, comparable to what obtains in developed countries and places like Dubai, to the state.
These efforts appears to be falling in line with a study conducted shortly after the inauguration of the present administration which hinted that the state will attain fiscal autonomy by 2015, provided her current economic realities are sustained. This was contained in the preliminary report of the peer review exercise conducted by the policy consultant to the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), Mr. Ilyasu Gashinbaki. According to the report, the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) was projected to exceed that of Oyo State by 2013; and may be ranked in the same category with major IGR driven states like Lagos, Kano and Rivers by 2020. It reckoned that if the current policy thrust is sustained by successive regimes especially regarding port development – deep sea port Olokola regional free trade zones, Kajola special rail system; Gateway International Airport, tourism, trade and commerce, construction boom and trans ECOWAS trade, then Ogun will become the most advanced subnation among countries in the West African sub region. Besides, the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is said to be bigger than that of countries like Togo, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Gambia, Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe amongst others.
According to 2007 GDP estimates, the state was ranked ninth in the country with regards to GDP, with approximately $10.5billion GDP when the State’s population based on the 2006 census, was about 3.75 million and 16th among the 36 states in Nigeria. But these have since changed in the last three years. Ogun State now provides a home for many as a large number of the workforce of Lagos now reside in the Ogun due to the urbanisation and rural development schemes that have given room for several satellite estates emerging in various locations in the state. Likewise, most of the direct foreign investments coming into the country have found an appropriate business atmosphere within her several industrial layouts, including new businesses which are coming into the state in droves. These and more makes Amosun to say that “today, Ogun State is not only open for business, it is business.”
The Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, told The Nation that apart from the 45 industries that came as a result of the 2012 economic forum, 19 other industries are at the various stages of construction. He said that the influx of industries into the state has made her the state where President Goodluck Jonathan has visited the most to commission industries and factories. “These are the result of the last forum. It shows that we have been able to sort out things for our people. You can see that infrastructure goes with urban development. I am happy to tell you that we are also a leading state in driving the SMEs and the result has encouraged us to hold the second edition of the investor’s forum,” an obviously satisfied Ashiru said. The multiplier effect of these efforts is that it has created wealth, increase IGR, and started an industrial revolution. This is evident in the average monthly IGR of N4 billion revenue now being generated by the state compared to N730 million when Amosun took over the administration in 2011.
Ashiru, who disclosed that the state has the largest concentration of limestone in the country, also revealed that of the 28.6 million metric tonnes of cement produced locally in Nigeria, 14 million metric tonnes of this comes from Ogun State. The commissioner further said that in the last 30 months, his ministry has been able to increase its IGR by 1, 282.77 per cent, which he says is an indication that it has been able to identify all sources where revenue can be generated to grow the state.
Both Amosun and Ashiru are, however, not oblivious of the fact that for the state’s economy to be more vibrant, it must be private sector driven; a factor that the governor said has made his administration to continually provide an enabling environment for businesses and investment to flourish. This is why, according to Ashiru, the administration is pursuing with vigour infrastructural development, whereby construction is on-going in all parts of the state; towns and villages are also being reengineered.
Yet, it is still not eldorado for the state. This is because there is a need to close some gaps in the areas of large unregulated informal sector and integration of tax planning, urban planning and urban regeneration. “Residence and tax jurisdiction challenges, property audit in urban areas, financial empowerment strategy by issuance of bankable titles (C of O for all houses); beautification by corporate bodies, signage, indirect tax systems, goods and services tax, for example consumption tax for hotels and diversifications – tax and non-tax IGR sources: Warehouse receipt bill; tourism, trans-ECOWAS-trade and industrial development agenda,” Gashinbaki noted as areas to bridge the gap.
A faculty of renowned business technocrats and investors locally and internationally has been lined up as speakers and panelists for the 2-day forum. The former President of Mexico Mr. Vicente Fox is the keynote speaker. Other speakers are: YB Dato’ Tajuddin Bin Abdul Rahman, Malaysian Deputy Minister of Agriculture; Dr Kandeh Yumkella, former Director-General UNIDO; Mr. Thomas McCallum, International Finance Corporation (IFC); Mr. Uche Orji, Managing Director, Sovereign Wealth Fund among others.
Certainly, the Ogun State government looks poised to make the state a global investment destination, creating several industrial estates, and the infrastructural base that would encourage both local and foreign investors to come to invest in the state. These include an independent power plant, adequate security, and the roads across the state which are being reconstructed and expanded. And for this, the governor takes delight. “It tells us that we are beginning to grow the economy of our state and that is our vision for Ogun State, where we see a Dubai in the making,” a very optimistic Amosun said.
