Ore: From theatre of war to industrial hub


Ore, the headquarters of Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, gained its prominence during the Nigerian Civil War. It was the place where Nigerian soldiers stopped advancing Biafran army. But the town has now become the industrial hub of the Sunshine state.


Although the town has been in existence before 1967, Ore in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State gained its prominence during the Nigerian civil war when Biafra and Nigerian Armies battled for control of the town.


During the war, the Biafra Army led by Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu had conquered the Midwest states and was on its way to capture Lagos when the Nigerian Army mobilised and confronted the ravaging Biafra Army in what is popularly called the battle of Ore. It is known in Yoruba parlance as ‘Ija Ore’


Ore was the town where the final battle for the soul of Nigeria was fought and won. The Biafra Army who could not withstand the firepower of Nigerian Army surrendered and the war ended in 1970.


It must be noted that the centrality of the town made it the gateway between Southwest, Southeast and South-South geo-political zones. Also, it links the Ondo Central senatorial district to the South Senatorial districts in Ondo State. For travellers going to the South-South/ Southeast from Lagos, Ore is the stop-over point where they eat, drink and get refreshed before proceeding on their long journey to the Eastern part of the country.


Being a gateway town, many industrialists have made a move to establish one company or the other in the town. Being a town at the centre, getting raw materials from the hinterland and market in Lagos has now made the town a business hub.


The Federal Government, who knew the importance of the town, started an Independent Power Plant (IPP) some few years ago. The immediate past government also set up an IPP in order to distribute electricity to companies who may want to establish in the corridor.


All the governments in the state had one way or the other tried to woo investors to Ore, as the gateway town between the West and Eastern States. The efforts did not yield the desired result until two years ago when a Chinese Company moved to the town to establish five companies in a row.

The investment drive which began by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has started to pay off as no fewer than five new companies have settled and ready to begin operations in the Ore Industrial hub.

Before this investment drive, the Sunshine State was often described as an agrarian state, or at best, a civil service state. All governorship candidates of political parties have always promised to change the narratives of the state from civil or agrarian state to industrialized state.

The last time deliberate and genuine efforts were made to industrialize the state was during the administration of the first civilian governor, Chief Adekunle Ajasin, between 1979 and 1984. The Oluwa Glass Company and the Okitipupa Oil Palm were the pride of the state at the time. But four decades after, the sites of the companies are overgrown with weeds. This was because the government was owner of these companies and they died with the initiators as the subsequent governments said ‘government has no business in businesses


Even the cocoa plantations which gave the state its logo was no longer attractive to younger generations who opted for white collar jobs. The once beautiful and buoyant state became a shadow of its former self. It now depends on paltry monthly allocations from the Federal Government, almost three-quarter of which goes into payment of salary of the state workforce.

The determination of Akeredolu has given room for a fresh of hope for the state, as it joins the elite club of industrialised states in the nation. Already, five companies – a paper mill, ethanol plant, medium density fiberboard, high-density fiberboard, plywood, and a textile company have sprouted from the mustard seed that was planted when the state signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Linyi municipal government of Shandong province of people Republic of China.

Determined to ensure a solid economic base for the state, the Governor had embarked on an investment tour to China in June 2017. That tour has given birth to what is now known as the Ore Industrial Park.

It will be recalled that he had earlier flagged-off the 10,000 hectares ODSG /Wewood afforestation project, where Gmelina arborea have been planted on 1,500 of the 10,000 hectares. The industrial revolution in the state has taken a very strong foothold with the ethanol plant at about ninety-five percent completed and set to roll. According to the Business Development Manager of Wewood Limited, Mr. Sun Peng, a special specie of cassava are being planted in – between the Gmelina which will be used to feed the ethanol plant.

Speaking with reporters at the site of the company in Ore, Sun Peng said the ethanol factory is almost ready, with works at ninety-five percent completed. His words “We are expected to begin test-running of the machines before the end of April,” Already, about 1,000 people have been employed for the ethanol factory for direct jobs. The plant is also expected to provide jobs for more than 10,000 people, particularly cassava farmers and traders.


Local farmers are excited about a ready and lucrative market for their goods. Shehu Oladapo, a cassava farmer in Odigbo Local Government area of the state, was full of praise for the governor. Oladapo said “I thank Governor Akeredolu for this initiative. Farmers like me now have a ready market for our cassava. It has encouraged us to increase the number of hectares that we will prepare to grow cassava for the next harvest season.”


The WinWin Textile factory located inside the park commenced production of textile thread a few months ago. With 300 workers already employed, WinWin Textile has helped to ease the problem of unemployment on the people, especially the locals, who for the first time have found a worthwhile venture outside the civil service.

According to Ahmed Adeyinka, the Nigerian Manager of WinWin Textile said the textile is presently producing polyester sewing thread. He said the factory will move to the next stage of producing textile materials like lace and Ankara among others. His words, “Presently, we have 300 people working for us. We now produce all kinds of sewing polyester thread for the local market. In a couple of months from now, the factory will begin to run at full capacity with the production of textile materials of all kinds.”


The Weewood Plywood/HDF factory is already bubbling with life. Young men and women, who would have been roaming the streets, are busy with one task or the other. The company’s products, high-quality fiberboard plywood are already in high demand in local markets across the state, while the state is being positioned to earn foreign currency through the export of the product.


A short distance away, the expatriates are screwing the nuts and putting finishing touches to the giant paper mill factory. According to Jack Sun, Business Development Manager for Weewood, the factory is now about eighty percent completed. On completion, the paper mill is expected to employ more than 3000 direct staff, while many more are expected to benefit from jobs created down the value chain.

The paper mill, like other factories in the Ore Park, is structured to create more indirect jobs for the locals. For example, long before the machines for the mill began to arrive the shores of the country, Weewood commenced preparations by planting the trees that will form the primary raw materials for the mill.

Today, the almost 10,000 hectares of land allocated for the /Wewood afforestation project by Gov. Akeredolu is beginning to yield the expected result, as the trees continue to grow into maturity.

An elated worker in one of the factories said “The governor deserves commendation for this initiative. This is a win-win situation for Ondo State and its people. The company will employ our people on the farm to plant the trees, it will go on to employ our people in the factory and other auxiliary jobs that would be created.”

At the ethanol project, it was observed that farmers, businessmen, and women are already reaping from the indirect jobs created by the ethanol plant. Inside the ethanol factory’s warehouse, several thousands of bags of dried cassava are waiting to bed into the machines, while more than 10 trailer-load of cassava are waiting to off-load several other bags of cassava.

The Ore Industrial Park is fashioned after that of Linyi municipal government of Shandong province in China. Investors under Shandong group have made good their promise to make Ondo State a model for a one-stop industrial park in the country.


And if the experience of the Linyi’s economy, which is based around its wholesale markets and an annual trade volume of 40 billion RMB (~US$5 billion), is anything to go by, the state government has set sure set a standard by which governance would be measured in the country.

I remembered Ore Town during my undergraduate days
Whenever I arrive here from Abuja or the East, Lagos seems more closer to me than ever.

Racoon:
I remembered Ore Town during my undergraduate days
Whenever I arrive here from Abuja or the East, Lagos seems more closer to me than ever.

you travelled through ore from Abuja enroute Lagos! Na you gan gan follow isrealites do waka ooo.

I need someone to Tell me why Ojukwu Led His Biafra army to South west...What was Ojukwu Purpose of leaving His Biafra Territory to the Yoruba Land?....Was He planning to capture and Enslave the Yoruba's or what?....I just need answers to the questions and no sentiment should be attach.

ore is just a small village I deposit my faeces while traveling from the east to Lagos

Babatundecash:
I need someone to Tell me why Ojukwu Led His Biafra army to South west...What was Ojukwu Purpose of leaving His Biafra Territory to the Yoruba Land?....Was He planning to capture and Enslave the Yoruba's or what?....I just need answers to the questions and no sentiment should be attach.

is bcus ur father refuse to use condom on you...
hope am correct
next quest....

What remains in ondo state are series of bridges in ilaje local government and refineries construction.

God Bless Ore, this is good development

God bless the good people of the Yoruba race. Am from Ondo and we are so bless! Gov Akeredolu started slow but now is one of the best performing Governors.

Babatundecash:
I need someone to Tell me why Ojukwu Led His Biafra army to South west...What was Ojukwu Purpose of leaving His Biafra Territory to the Yoruba Land?....Was He planning to capture and Enslave the Yoruba's or what?....I just need answers to the questions and no sentiment should be attach.

He wanted to capture Lagos

Good

Kudos to Governor Akeredolu. He's refining governance. His industrialization drive is highly commendable. NO wonder Ondo State now has the fastest IGR growth in Nigeria. I have no doubt that in few years time, Ondo State will be contending with Lagos in terms of Industrialization and IGR. Apart from the several industries springing up in Ore, there's also an ongoing construction of a Fly-over bridge. Akeredolu is working

NNEWIsuper:
ore is just a small village I deposit my faeces while traveling from the east to Lagos

Ore was the slaughter house for 5000 Biafra soldiers

Very nice. I see huge potential.

Babatundecash:
I need someone to Tell me why Ojukwu Led His Biafra army to South west...What was Ojukwu Purpose of leaving His Biafra Territory to the Yoruba Land?....Was He planning to capture and Enslave the Yoruba's or what?....I just need answers to the questions and no sentiment should be attach.

Not necessarily...the idea was to open up a war on two fronts for the Nigerian Army

At the start of the Civil War in 1967, the Midwest Region was neutral and the war was being fought on the Biafran northern border. As a result, the Biafran Army opened up a second front by capturing the Midwest region...which was lightly defended, entering the Western region, capturing Ore, with Lagos being in their sights (a creek-borne invasion was planned)

This invasion had two effects

1.It tipped the Western region to the Federal side (previously they were kind of neutral).

2.It forced Gowon to declare total war, form a total war cabinet, and begin to fight seriously

The Midwest region was recaptured, and the war heated up.

P.S The Biafran Midwest governor...Albert Okonkwo declared the Midwest a republic called 'Benin Republic' which lasted 24 hours. The idea was to have a buffer state between Biafra and Nigeria. It did not work

PS2. As a result of the failed invasion, several biafran officers...Ifeajuana, Banjo and several others including Sam Alale were executed for treason.(Rumor has it that they were planning to capture the Western region, then remove Ojukwu, and then acheive the goals of the January coupists....something alluded to by Ademoyega in his book 'Why we struck')

Babatundecash:
I need someone to Tell me why Ojukwu Led His Biafra army to South west...What was Ojukwu Purpose of leaving His Biafra Territory to the Yoruba Land?....Was He planning to capture and Enslave the Yoruba's or what?....I just need answers to the questions and no sentiment should be attach.

There was no Abuja, attacking Nigeria means attacking Lagos, I don't think it was a Yoruba thing rather Nigeria seat of power. Similarly, rebels are currently attacking Tripoli because they want to capture Libya capital.

Ore should have developed more than it is now considering the number of people that pass through the town daily. Good hospitality industry can make people sleep over rather than stopping there for just few minutes.

Ore reminds me of bananas and groundnut as kids travelling from Lagos to the South East.

The mention of Ore will send chills down the spine of some people. A town where they mowed down thousands. Long live the federal republic.

Ore na chop chop area for me

Lagos-Ibadan express newspaper will never write anything straight.......

Nobody has ever gotten freedom by merely appealing to rights of people...no one.


Avoid Ibadan express newspaper...

This lugard entity must break one day

One of the greatest lessons of life could be found in the Champions League Match between Liverpool and Barcelona of yesterday.

After the first leg, majority of people and football pundits (myself inclusive) easily predicted that Liverpool could win the second leg but would not qualify to the final, but the world and football is always full of surprises and that was what the world witnessed yesterday.

*Five Bitter Lessons from the Match*

1). No matter the odd that is staked against you, *never give up*.
Ask Salah why did he put on a shirt with the inscription *"Never Give Up"* even when his team was down by 3 goals from first leg, yet he went to the stadium with faith and hope.

2). Pride goes before a fall, ask Messi who had a clear chance to score to make it one-one but decided to entertain the crowd by dribbling away from goal, thereby losing the one glorious chance that would have been vital to their survival.

3) Never underrate your opponent, no matter how bruised he or she might have been. Barcelona believed that without Salah and Firmino, Liverpool do not have the required firepower to stage a surprise, but the remaining boys proved them wrong.

4). In the moment of battle, never attack half way or reserve your best for the opportune time as this might become a disaster to you.

5).The opinion of others don't count what counts is what you believe in. Liverpool believed that they can never walk alone, and they showed the world the stuff they are made off.
You see, life is never favourable to anyone, you just get to get up and tell yourself daily, I am gonna make it. Just as Aary Stark told the Woman of Light in the *_Game of Thrones_* when she was asked what would she tell the _god of death_, she replied *Not Today*. Liverpool told the world and those who wrote them off...NOT TODAY. so when failure comes knocking on your door reply like the Liverpool players and Aary Stark.. NOT TODAY.
You are formed for something great, so rise up and defeat whoever stands on your way

You mean Ore village?

When I get to work I will read and comment.

OK, what an amazing transition







Meanwhile, change how you do business FOREVER, check this thread out to find out HOW

https://www.nairaland.com/5175755/change-how-business-forever

Babatundecash:
I need someone to Tell me why Ojukwu Led His Biafra army to South west...What was Ojukwu Purpose of leaving His Biafra Territory to the Yoruba Land?....Was He planning to capture and Enslave the Yoruba's or what?....I just need answers to the questions and no sentiment should be attach.

The troops where LED by Banjo a Yoruba soldier in Biafra Army. This was not a tribal conquest but to capture Lagos (the military power in Lagos).

Racoon:
I remembered Ore Town during my undergraduate days
Whenever I arrive here from Abuja or the East, Lagos seems more closer to me than ever.

long route

one of the greediest cities in Nigeria...they take advantages of people by increasing the cost of goood cos most people travelling got no choice