OgunNewsFact:
Why Ogun State must prioritise employment generation —Daniel
Tribune January 30, 2016
http://tribuneonlineng.com/why-ogun-state-must-prioritise-employment-generation-—daniel
Chief Gbenga Daniel is the longest serving governor of Ogun State till date, having been in the position between 2003 and 2011. In this interview commemorating the 40th anniversary of the creation of the state, he speaks on the transformation of the state in the past four decades, his achievements and the projects embarked upon by his administration. He also expressed his views on the current administration and his expectations towards moving the state forward. WOLE EFUNNUGA brings the excerpts:
Tribune: WHAT readily comes to your mind with the appellation ‘Gateway State’ which Ogun state is often referred to?
To me, most people don’t appreciate that tag ‘Gateway State’. It means gateway to everything: It is the only legal entry point to Nigeria at least, in the South-West. I used to make jest with my friends in Lagos that all the various routes that lead to Lagos are from Ogun State. The only other border that Lagosians have is the Atlantic Ocean. So, if Ogun State should block all the local government routes, nobody will come out of Lagos either from Ikorodu, Badagry, Epe or wherever.  That’s by the way. Ogun State is an international gateway. As a matter of fact, these were the reasons we developed our economy based on what we called the ‘Gateway advantage’ when we were in government.
 
When we were conceptualising the Agro Cargo Airport for instance, it was based on the fact that this is the gateway. We saw the congestion in Lagos and knew that there should be an alternative airport. That is why there is Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton. Now, Lagos was not ready to do another airport and the option is for us to seize the opportunity and get a location that is equidistant. The location that we picked for that project is just 30 minutes drive from Lagos, 30 minutes from Ibadan, 45 minutes from Ilaro and 25 from Ijebu Ode. So, with that position, if you know the concept of a dam, what we wanted to do is to dam the ‘river’ so that anybody who wants to go to Lagos does not have any other alternative than to come to this ‘gateway point’ and from there, the state can now develop: agriculture, agricultural  industries, warehouses, all sorts of things. The gateway advantage is major. In fact, it is the major economic concept which I am hoping future administrators of the state can take a look at and develop along those concepts.
 
Tribune: Ogun State is 40 years and you were young at the time it was created. But, cast your mind back then and now, what do you see?
I think that is for the people of Ogun State to answer. But there is no doubt that a lot has changed.  For example in 2003, when our administration came on board fresh, there were few banks operating in the state. Before we left and today we have many banks doing business in Ogun State and that is an indication of what has happened to the economy as banks do not go to where there is no commerce and financial activities. It was uncommon in those days to have the likes of ‘Mr. Biggs’ outside Lagos. Now it’s all over the state. In those days, real estate was not a venture people really wanted to go into in Ogun State because it was not profitable as there were very few industries. For example, in Sagamu there was only WAPCO (Lafarge). Now we have Flowergate Factory (Nestle) and many others springing up and real estate is now thriving in the area. In those days, land was selling for around N200,000 but has now shot up to as high as N10 million in some places, as if we are in Lagos. It’s neither different from Abeokuta or Ijebu Ode and, of course, Ota. So, I think Ogun State has now come a real long way. In my own opinion, the giant has been awoken. There is now a big scramble for Ogun State and it is worth it. Apart from people just coming to bury their dead over the weekend, we thank God today that things are really thriving now. I think to a large extent, a lot has happened.
 
What most people do not know was that to open up Ogun State and take the advantage of Lagos explosion, we played a trick. When you are coming out of Lagos, coming to Ogun State, by the time you leave the border of Lagos then, there’s nothing to write home about. The first thing you could notice then was the old OPIC building. There wasn’t any building that attracted anybody along that expressway and that was why our administration built what we called ‘Gateway City’ which has now been renamed OPIC building. Once we put those buildings there, everybody now started moving there and it was a welcome development because we have more or less raised the standard and we can now see where we are going. Anytime I had the opportunity to drive along that axis and see the development there, I feel very, very happy. So those are some of the things that have happened. Now, on both sides of the expressway, you see industries springing up left and right. Of course, it has to do with our land policy which was liberal. A lot of people didn’t understand it when we were encouraging people to come and take land.  We can now give them land and collect tenements rate and taxes as it is too late for them to take their buildings and industries out of the place. Those are some of the tricks we deployed during our time to bring Ogun State to where we wanted it.
 
Tribune: You left as governor five years ago. Today, we have Senator Ibikunle Amosun in the saddle. In his rebuilding mission, can you talk about the progress in the last five years as someone who has also been a governor?
I think every governor has his own areas of emphasis. From what I have seen, I think the present governor has concentrated a lot of energy on building flyovers and that can be seen everywhere. In Abeokuta, at the last count, we have about five or six. There is one in Sagamu. I have seen two in Ijebu Ode. They are trying to do another in Ijebu Igbo and in Ota axis too. Whether we like it or not, those are landmarks that are there permanently and, of course, people will remember him for those constructions.
 
I have also seen some schools which they call model schools. We are still waiting but I can see them in one or two locations and we are hoping that they will turn out to be what they intended them to be.
 
I think by and large, one thing we must give to Senator Amosun is the boldness with which he pursued some of the things he wanted to do. I was not strong enough to do those demolitions, I must confess. When we were to do the Lalubu Road, we just extended the road and there were a lot of protests and after about two, three or four meetings, we had to plead and build their fences. I think he has demonstrated strength of character that is rather too unprecedented.
 
Tribune: Where would you like to see Ogun State in the next five years?
 
I will like to see the projects that are well-conceived are re-examined and tackled based on what such projects have to offer Ogun State. Of course, part of the industrialisation process that I started was to create the three Free Trade Zones. We also ensured that we balanced it. As a matter of fact, many governors were accusing OGD because at that time, Ogun was having three Free Trade Zones that we got the licences for. We are the only state in the country with such. The Olokola Free Trade Zone, the Ogun Guangdong FTZ, which is already functioning and, of course, the Kajola Specialised Transportation Free Trade Zone. Ogun Guangdong FTZ is running in Igbesa already. We have got licences for the one in Olokola as well as Kajola. What we did with the then president was that we have removed the terminus of railway from Ido to Kajola and so the whole essence is now to develop that zone as a free trade zone where transportation business will be going on. We want to see an Ogun State where those FTZs are developed because those are the opportunities beckoning on us to employ our people massively. At the last count, before we left government, there were about 30 major companies running in Ogun Guangdong FTZ and I knew that the master plan provided for about 100. By the time I was leaving government, a shoe manufacturing company there had employed about 200 people. So, if you look at about 100 companies employing about 200 people in that FTZ alone, that means about 20,000 jobs. So, we don’t have any reason to talk about unemployment. And, I can tell you, Ogun Guangdong is the smallest of the three FTZs. The Kajola FTZ is bigger, so is the Olokola FTZ. So, the potentialities are enormous. I see Ogun State as the location for the seaport which is supposed to serve the entire West African sub region. We have finished it. The job was already done. It remains only the implementation. It is just for us to look at it and see it for what it was.
 
Projects that have capacity to generate employment and to add value to the state and add money to the state coffers must be given priority. What most people don’t know is that in 1999, the IGR of Lagos State was about N5 billion. Today, it stands at about N30 billion. Now, if Lagos State is generating N30 billion, there is no reason why we should not be having like half of that and the potential is there in some of those things that I have mentioned, from the location of the deep seaport, to the airport and other various companies. If we had the opportunity to develop the airport and seaport, why are we wasting time? What we have and Lagos doesn’t have is land. If Lagos goes commercial, then we can go industrial. That is really the Ogun State of my dream and that’s actually the title of the book I wrote before I became governor “The Land of My Dream.”