Ogun Guber: ‘Dapo Abiodun ni’, Impressions From A Visit To Ijebu-Ode And Thoughts On The Election Battle
The Oasis Reporters
March 6, 2023
@gregabolo
@Theoasisreport1
On March 11, 2023, the election battle in Ogun state would shift to the gubernatorial and State Assembly contests.
Earlier in June 2022, The Oasis Reporters had taken a Twitter view on the governance of Dapo Abiodun who is running for a second term to return as governor in late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s home state.
I am not an emperor by any chance and this is not my family inheritance.
— Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun – MFR (@dabiodunMFR) June 3, 2022
I am holding this position in trust for all the people of this state and I have vowed to be fair, just and equitable and this is the solemn agreement I made between the Almighty God and myself. pic.twitter.com/QnC5hltZHU
After reading all the comments of twitteratis that month, I volunteered to visit Ijebu-Ode, a prominent town in the Gateway state to seek candid views on the state of Ogun that I hadn’t been to in over a decade.
While in a taxi that I boarded, I noticed a Fly-over bridge then asked the cab driver to tell me the governor that constructed it. Or rather still, under whose administration the bridge was constructed.
“Dapo Abiodun ni”, the driver told me with a tinge of pride in his voice, believing that I must be a Yoruba language speaker. But I don’t speak the widely spoken language in Nigeria’s Southwest. But I knew what he had just said.
Dapo Abiodun, said to be the son of a teacher, ‘constructed’ that bridge.
And that is in Ijebu-Ode, perhaps, the second or third most significant town in the state.
That would be like Ughelli or Oleh in oil rich Delta State, but where no significant effort has been made to improve infrastructure despite the humongous amount of money that accrues to the state that has an unenviable huge debt burden of 298.6 billion naira as at 2022 according to the Debt Management Office (DMO). Yet the borrowing binge has continued.
Soon afterwards, we got to a second Fly-over and I asked my friendly taxi driver who by now was smiling in pleasure.
“Oh, this second bridge?”
“Amosun ni”. In other words, one governor, one Fly-over bridge for only Ijebu-Ode in a space of twelve years. Other towns and cities like Abeokuta, Sango-Otta and Sagamu must definitely have something pleasing to say about governance and continuity in Ogun state. If I were in that state, I would vote for Dapo Abiodun.
I came across a news piece that read:
Gateway Agro Cargo Airport will transform the Southwest region – Osinbajo.
It is from a Nigerian news site which was copied and pasted on a WhatsApp group with the omission of the name of the news outlet that owns the copyright. I kindly plead with them to reproduce it here.
“Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has said that the Gateway Agro Cargo International Airport will transform the entire southwest region.
He stated this on Thursday, February 23, 2023 during the maiden test flight on the newly constructed Gateway Agro Cargo International Airport in Iperu, Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State.
A statement emailed to Nairametrics quoted Prof. Osinbajo to have said that the construction and development of critical infrastructure that will create jobs and transform the economy is one way to build a modern and prosperous future for all Nigerians. He said:
“In a few months, Kajola dry port will also be operational. I am confident that this airport will transform the entire Southwest region, and serve as a catalyst for economic growth and development in our nation and sub-region.
“This is how we build a modern, prosperous future for all Nigerians. I have no doubt that the culture of innovation and progress that the Gateway Agro Cargo International Airport has already brought will continue to motivate the people of Ogun State even more.”
Positioning Nigeria for AfCFTA: Osinbajo emphasized the significance of the Agro Cargo Airport and Kajola Dry Port projects in the operationalization of the Special Agriculture Processing Zones, as well as Nigeria’s participation in the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
He said the airport will serve the Special Agriculture Processing Zones established with the generous assistance of the African Development Bank (AfDB). According to him, the airport is also an essential tool in Nigeria’s preparation for full participation as serious player in the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement.
What you should know: The Gateway Agro Cargo International airport is a category 4E airport. It is one of the best-constructed airports in Nigeria.
It can accommodate an Airbus A380, a Boeing 777, and a Boeing 747.
It has a 4-kilometre runway, a 36-metre control tower, a fire station, a cargo apron and terminal buildings.
It has 82, 000 square meters of cargo apron for types E and C aircrafts when completed.”
I contacted Zents Kunle Sowunmi, a prominent citizen of the state who is based in the USA to give me his views.
He writes:
“I had the opportunity to take the Lekki road to Epe through Ijebu-Ode to Abeokuta around 8pm last Tuesday, and it baffled my imagination. The road made my ride smoother. Dapo Abiodun did a good job there.
I realized a development in one area of the state is also a development in the whole State because we will all end up using the infrastructure.
I was told the Governor is doing fine, that I saw during my short visit to Nigeria.
However, I wish he can dualize Shiun Road to Ajuwa, Ogere and Iperu down to Ogun State University.
He should find a solution to construct an Interchange road to Papalanto.
Odeda local government is not feeling his administration, the road in Obantoko in Abeokuta should have covered Mountain of Fire/Ogunbona Drive.
That Federal Abeokuta/Ibadan road in Abeokuta is a mess.
The Governor is yet to make an impact in rural areas of Obafemi Owode, the largest local government in terms of landmass in the State, and that incidentally is my home local government.
Kajola interchange is yet to have any state hospital, no bank, no water, Gov Abiodun needs to work harder in this local government, nothing in Orile Igbein of Lusabi, Orile Imo, Orile Igbore, Orile Itori Odo, Mokoloki and Ofada( famous Ofada Rice) the only school in my village Eriki Odofin is without a roof”.
Well, I hope this gets to Governor Dapo Abiodun in Abeokuta. There’s still work to do.
Greg Abolo
gregabolo@gmail.com
