Standard Metallurgical company, Sagamu, Ogun state.

Standard Metallurgical Company (SMC) Limited is a company registered in Nigeria to carry on business in the Iron and Steel Industry. t is an Integrated Iron and Steel Complex with a capacity of 1.1 million tons per annum, which is to produce very high quality steel products that will be of, and conform strictly to, International Standard.

Some electrical and production facilities.

http://thenationonlineng.net/new/ogun-making-industrial-hub/

OGUN: The making of an Industrial Hub




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.

Good for Ogun.
Good for Nigeria.
Good for everyone in General.

scholes0:
Standard Metallurgical company, Sagamu, Ogun state.


Some electrical and production facilities.

My fellow Nigerians, so those reinforced steel bars you use in building your homes and bridges hope you all are seeing where a lot of them come from?

Very soon Ogun would become no man's land

Developed by outsiders

Great job OP, especially with the pictures. These are the kind of BIG investments a nation needs to attract in order to scale and industrialize its economy. We need more of these, and at this rate the state's economy would outperform others in terms of non-oil contribution to our National commonwealth.

Ogun will have no cause to worry about Federal allocation in less than 4 years from now, that is heartening news.

emiye:
Ogun will have no cause to worry about Federal allocation in less than 4 years from now, that is heartening news.

Very very correct.
With the amount of Internal Generated revenue they will be generating from all these industries flooding in, They will be self sufficient in less than no time!

OduaVanguard:
Great job OP, especially with the pictures. These are the kind of BIG investments a nation needs to attract in order to scale and industrialize its economy. We need more of these, and at this rate the state's economy would outperform others in terms of non-oil contribution to our National commonwealth.

Oyo state already has the second largest non-oil GDP in Nigeria, After Lagos.(as at 2010)
Ogun will come up fast, at the present rate of industrialization.

scholes0:


Oyo state already has the second largest non-oil GDP in Nigeria, After Lagos.(as at 2010)
Ogun will come up fas, at the present rate of industrialization.

Yeah! That's right.

Just love where the SW is heading!

scholes0:


Indeed....

ogun is heading on the right direction, god bless nigeria haters can go and die or trek to japan(africa japan)

Abeokuta is no man's land

Nice one for South West. East need something like this so as to have uniform industrialisation and absorb all their unemployed youths(that would stop thousands of them from running to SW). North need more agro companies but dis bombing is quite scary...

The Igbos will soon claim that they developed Ogun

This is one of the benefits in accommodating. We accommodate success in outsiders. So proud of my state (by adoption). Omo Ogun, ise ya!!

Ise ya a a
Ise ya a a
Omo Ogun ise ya a
Olodumare ise ma ya o e e
Ise ya
Enyin omo Ogun e se giri
Ise po fun wa lati se e e
Omo rere ki isa se e
Omo Ogun ki i s’o le e
Ebere gb’eru o o
Olorun mbe fun wa
E tera mose o o
Ise ya
Omo Ogun ise ya a

Source:
http://www.oguntoday.com/p/ogun-anthem.html

Proudly South Westerner

Proudly Yoruba.

proudlyhandsome:
Nice one for South West. East need something like this so as to have uniform industrialisation and absorb all their unemployed youths(that would stop thousands of them from running to SW). North need more agro companies but dis bombing is quite scary...

the east(abia state) has the steel fabrication yard equivalent to that side in ogun, though still under construction

Aigbofa:
Ogun is fast catching up with Lagos and may eventually surpass Lagos because Ogun state has more Land.

ogun surpass lagos? Maybe in another life time....

OduaVanguard:


Bro, it's like you read my mind o. With this news they will start flooding the Gateway state like a tsunami.

You nailed it bro. Expect them to start calling Ogun 'a no man's land' soon.

@OP, pls don't start a war u wouldn't be able to finish

You know our brothers from another mother do not expect any good coming out from South west

this is the kind of news that should be making front page not dumb information like Toto duke exposes boobs or wiz kids snaps pictures abi ice prince make up while on set.
kudos to SIA I hope the development continues even after her leaves office just like BRF continued from where BAT speed in Lagos.

Lastly my brothers from the east and North also needs this kinds of development from their governors.

It creates balance in the demography of the country.

Good bless Nigeria

TRIBALSTOOGE:



[s]alright you can keep and worship that colorful pictures .



i'm out of here .


while hunger and malnutrition persist .[/s]

You're not making any sense.

coreseam:
this is the kind of news that should be making front page not dumb information like Toto duke exposes boobs or wiz kids snaps pictures abi ice prince make up while on set.
kudos to SIA I hope the development continues even after her leaves office just like BRF continued from where BAT speed in Lagos.

Lastly my brothers from the east and North also needs this kinds of development from their governors.

It creates balance in the demography of the country.

Good bless Nigeria

Note

1 what ever you see there is not built by govt but private companies

2: which east are you talking about? because you saw these that means no other area has such?

Nice one by ogun state creating an enabling environment for investors. Op we still dey expect more o! This pix are pleasing to the eyes lol

NB: pls let's not spoil this beautiful thread with unnecessary tribal slurs and op you shld be @ the forefront of this and not joining in it!

I do not share some sentiments being displayed here over what is going on in Ogun State.By cheer closeness to Lagos, Ogun has what Lagos lacks seriously-Land but with what is on ground, successive government in the state has failed to take advantage of that while Gbenga Daniel did worse by not maximizing the use of the OPIC land around the long bridge for housing and economic activities that would have opened up the area for massive economic activities even Amosun is yet to pay sufficient attention to those areas.I think Ogun state should show more seriousness in developing all those 'New Lagos' that would have drawn services industries en masse. Let me take the case of Warewa to Mowe on the Lagos Ibadan Expressway for instance. All settlements/estates were exclusively developed without government inputs in such areas as Warewa,Arepo, Magboro, Ibafo, Aseese etc and the most discouraging part of it is that the key industrial areas of Magboro and Ibafo have had no power supply for close to a year and so many small associated services that would naturally promote economic activities are still domiciled in Lagos from barbing salon to cold rooms.The government of Ogun state is just trying under the current regime but to me the infrastructural development of the state should focus on these 'Lagos Extensions' that is where the future of the state lies and its tax or income levies.

If roads and housing programs are developed around Otta, Mowe Ibafo and Agbara and financial services companies and other associated investments which will actually draw more middle class population will birth and many economic activities that will generate taxes will come up. By then Ogun can begin to dream about becoming a second Lagos but as of now , its a tall dream far far away.

What about the mega churches and other religious centres in ogun state. They have the lowest cost of operation and make much more income than these industrial oganisations without giving benefits in terms of employment and taxes to the state. They occupy more acreage of land, disturb public peace with provocative noise, scam the gullibe , promote affluence and arrogance, encourage fake expectations, and enjoy undue protection from the nigerian system at the expense of general populace. Something has to be done urgently to address this injustice because there is no justifiable reasons why the productive sector should enjoy less protection compared to the unproductive but highly profitable and arrogant religious sector. This scenario is partly responsible for why there is high unemployment in the country.

pls, abegi, ejo, biko mod put this thread for front page na.

Thanks.

No offence.

meccuno:
ogun surpass lagos? Maybe in another life time....

In terms of industry it may happen. There isn't too much room for expansion in Lagos.

Scholes007:
Note

1 what ever you see there is not built by govt but private companies

2: which east are you talking about? because you saw these that means no other area has such?

1. No right thinking company will come to an unfriendly environment for business. He did well and thats why the investors are trooping there for the opportunities available.

2. good if it exist other places. but dont run down the achievements of someone else just because you want yours elevated.

mandarin:
I do not share some sentiments being displayed here over what is going on in Ogun State.By cheer closeness to Lagos, Ogun has what Lagos lacks seriously-Land but with what is on ground, successive government in the state has failed to take advantage of that while Gbenga Daniel did worse by not maximizing the use of the OPIC land around the long bridge for housing and economic activities that would have opened up the area for massive economic activities even Amosun is yet to pay sufficient attention to those areas.I think Ogun state should show more seriousness in developing all those 'New Lagos' that would have drawn services industries en masse. Let me take the case of Warewa to Mowe on the Lagos Ibadan Expressway for instance. All settlements/estates were exclusively developed without government inputs in such areas as Warewa,Arepo, Magboro, Ibafo, Aseese etc and the most discouraging part of it is that the key industrial areas of Magboro and Ibafo have had no power supply for close to a year and so many small associated services that would naturally promote economic activities are still domiciled in Lagos from barbing salon to cold rooms.The government of Ogun state is just trying under the current regime but to me the infrastructural development of the state should focus on these 'Lagos Extensions' that is where the future of the state lies and its tax or income levies.

If roads and housing programs are developed around Otta, Mowe Ibafo and Agbara and financial services companies and other associated investments which will actually draw more middle class population will birth and many economic activities that will generate taxes will come up. By then Ogun can begin to dream about becoming a second Lagos but as of now , its a tall dream far far away.

Inhave always believed Ogun is soo under achieved witg the vast opportunity at its door step vis proximity to Lagos.

I hope the state government does not derail in bringing success to the state.

akoaki:
What about the mega churches and other religious centres in ogun state. They have the lowest cost of operation and make much more income than these industrial oganisations without giving benefits in terms of employment and taxes to the state. They occupy more acreage of land, disturb public peace with provocative noise, scam the gullibe , promote affluence and arrogance, encourage fake expectations, and enjoy undue protection from the nigerian system at the expense of general populace. Something has to be done urgently to address this injustice because there is no justifiable reasons while the productive sector should enjoy less protection than the unproductive but highly profitable religious sector. This scenario is partly responsible for why there is high unemployment in the country.

Government is yet to know how to get more from the religious organisations all over the nation. Especially tjose along that axis of Ogun Lagos roads