FAST-TRACKING DEVELOPMENT IN OGUN STATE USING INHERENT HUMAN AND NATURAL ENDOWMENTS OF EACH ZONE
Prince Gboyega Nasir Isiaka FCA, ACS
(Being Text of a Lecture delivered by Prince Gboyega Nasir Isiaka (GNI) at the 4th anniversary lecture of Ijebu News Extra Magazine, held at the Banquet hall of Equity Resort Hotel, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun state on Sunday 31st January, 2016)
Protocols:
PREAMBLE
1. I consider it an honour to grace this podium this afternoon. Let me quickly express my appreciation to God Almighty for keeping us all despite our national challenges. We came through the general elections months back and prior to that period, the drumbeats of war and competing interest among individuals and political parties, created tension within the polity and it was as though we shall emerge from it in ruins; but at every turn when our differences push us to the edge, we always emerged stronger as one united and indivisible nation. I salute all Nigerians for this collective feat.
2. I congratulate the management and staff of Ijebu News Extra Magazine, the organizers of this event on the occasion of their fourth year anniversary. As a player within the Ogun state socio-political space, I had cause to relate with the management of the Magazine over the years to the point of recognizing the excellent role it has played in elevating the social interaction of the good people of Ijebu land and Ogun state in general. My applaud specially goes to Mr. Dayo Rufai and his team for this noble effort. In an uncertain clime as ours where doing sustainable business is becoming increasingly challenged, you have managed to keep afloat. My prayer is that in a couple of years from now, we shall have another opportunity to join you in celebrating ten years of journalistic distinction.
3. Whereas, we are here to celebrate a growing media institution, but in few days, our dear state, Ogun state- which came into creation on February 3rd, 1976, shall be forty years. Therefore, the topic I have been given to discuss here today could not have been more appropriate. Between its formation and now, the state has evolved in terms of social, economic and physical growth. It has advanced from the rustic post-creation theme to an emerging cosmopolitan city-state having sparkles of modern civilization although major parts of the state remain largely rural. While it has made bountiful leaps forward, the state is still punching below its weight in terms of development and its inherent potentials have not been exhaustively exploited.
4. The empirical growth of a state, anywhere in the world, will be captured in three broad ways: Physical development, Socio-Economic development and Human development. Physically, Ogun state has not done badly even though critical infrastructures are still emerging in bits-parts over the years.
5. Economically, the state is largely restrained and remains a bundle of possibilities. In terms of human capital development, its early exposure to education (which once earned it a reputation as arguably the most educationally advanced state in the federation) coupled with the political evolution of its foremost patriarchs, ought to be a veritable foundation for the creation of future stars, but statistics from recent years indicate a decline in the educational and entrepreneurial growth of our budding population, a clear a red flag for the future. Consequently, we cannot in all honesty say that the dreams of our founding fathers have been fully realized; forty years after.
6. Though we are definitely not where we were at creation, we are not where we ought to be, four decades after. Agreeably, the development of ogun state needs to be fast-tracked and this is exactly what we have come to interrogate today. Are we truly developing? What even constitutes development? How do we measure development? Is it in physical structures? Is it by economic numbers? Is it by the spending power of the citizenry? Is our development model socially inclusive such that there is shared wealth among the people? Have we efficiently deployed our resources to deliver both happiness and prosperity for the greatest number of our people? We can go on and on.
7. I dare say that the focus of the processes of any government must be the people. Do we say we are growing if a sizeable percentage of our population lives in varying degree of want? Albert Einstein recognized this when he said, “All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded every individual”.
Developmental imperatives
8. Before delving into our past as a state, it is important we have a common understanding of what development entails. There are varieties of development definitions based on different areas of human activity. In some areas, it is the usage of scientific and technical knowledge to meet specific objectives or requirements; while some other academics see it as the theoretical or practical aspect of conceptualizing, designing, discovery and invention. A more relevant definition sees development as the process of economic and social transformation that is based on complex cultural and environmental factors and their interactions; Michael Todaro, a respected development economist, encapsulate development as the process of improving the quality of human lives.
9. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) opines that, though development may lack a universal interpretation but it agrees that no matter the income level of any government and how illustrious its policies are, its assessment of development will be hinged on the Quality of life of its people.
10. In a recent release, the United Nations emphasized Human Development Index (HDI) as the cornerstone of development; and this encompasses life expectancy, adult literacy, access to the three levels of education, social welfare, access to healthcare, economic freedom (in terms of disposable income), political freedom and security.
11. This has been expanded further by that world body; United Nations introducing a new socio-economic development indicator and benchmark called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); an upgrade on the MDGs that terminated in 2015. The main thrust of the SDGs is that it now captures critical areas like human rights, root causes of poverty and economic development. It has seventeen fundamental pillars including Zero hunger; Good health and wellbeing; Quality education; Gender equality; Clean water and sanitation; Affordable & clean energy and Reduced inequalities.
12. From all these, I believe development is about creating an environment in which people can develop their full potentials and lead productive lives in accord with their needs and interests and it can only be sustained if it meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
13. I also believe that economic growth and social infrastructure are only means to an end. That end is human development; and as they say, the end justifies the means. By inference, if the best effort of any governor is to award contracts to build physical structures (as good and useful as they are) like roads, new government house, bridges, markets, airport, rail line and such more, but fails to relate this to the effect on the people today and in the future, then such a chief executive may have only embarked on a medley of misdirected activities.
Misconception of development
14. A major misconception of development is that, economic and physical growth leads to human growth. This is misleading and has been proved in many countries. While income is ever available to successive administrations, the percentage of the poor and deprived should by now be substantially low but it remains high. It means more monies to government and economic growth does not necessarily guarantee development.
15. A second misconception is that growth and development may be influenced by the size of a nation. Europe, Asia and America combined, are about the size of Africa, yet these continents are more prosperous than Africa. Therefore, effective use of resources takes precedence over the size of a nation or even the quantum of resources available.
16. A third misconception of development is that it takes a strong leader to build a prosperous society. Strong leaders do not build a state, a tolerant leadership and knowledgeable followership does. A mutually binding social contract between government and the people is very important because it confers on the people, the power to make demands on government in terms of usage of public resources, desirability of projects and accountability.
17. For us in Ogun state, and after four decades, these are questions we must begin to ask as we align ourselves to the true essence of what development entails. We must boldly look into the future by setting our development imperatives which must be people-centered. With these fresh perspectives we can begin to do a mental inquest of what these forty years have been for us. Where we are coming from may not have been fully exciting and where we are now not particularly encouraging but we should be able to gaze into the horizon and see the shining possibilities of a much more prosperous state.
18. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are therefore not gathered here today to listen to (yet) another lecture on economics and governance; nor are we here to throw political punch lines or merely grumble on our past failures. We are here, in my opinion, as free-born citizens of Ogun state that believe that after forty years, the dreams of our founding fathers should have fallen in place. We must leave here convinced that given our God-given natural resources and human endowment, Ogun deserve to be a better society and the way to go about it must be shared by all and sundry. I am indeed to speak to the future of this great state.
OGUN STATE IN PERSPECTIVE (The Journey So Far)
19. Ogun state is one of the most blessed states in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, notably for its uniqueness and evolution. Created forty years ago, we have come a long way. The four ethnic divisions of the state consist of the Ijebu, Remo, Egba and Yewa/Awori people. Each has a rich and unique history of evolution and migration from Ife, the Yoruba cradle. The four divisions enjoy the benefit of a monolithic language, Yoruba, with noticeable variations in dialect. Despite being under different administrative and political formations at times, the relationship between them has been very cordial. The four divisions are equally blessed with quality men and women that have carved a niche for themselves in diverse field of human endeavour and it is no surprise that we have produced the first, in many areas. The early exposure to the missionaries gave us an early berth in western education with a relatively high level of literacy.
20. Ogun is bounded on the west by the Republic of Benin, to the south by Lagos State and a 20 kilometer stretch of the Atlantic Ocean, to the east by Ondo and Osun States, to the north by Oyo State. The location is good, the weather is temperate, the soil is fertile, topography is favourable, resources abound across its geography and she is blessed with credible human resources. The opportunities for growth are without bounds and the potentials for sustainable development are limitless.
21. We boast of a landmass of 16,762km2 that is both arable and fertile to grow a variety of economic and non-economic crops that grow all year round. Tropical rainfall starts within the third month of the year and ends around November for the dry season and harvest. In terms of topography, it has high lands to the north and lower lands to the west. We are uniquely located such that the entire south of the state is contiguous to the coastline of Lagos (Nigeria’s economic hub) while the same scenario replicates itself in the east via (ogun waterside) that is bordered by the Atlantic.
22. We are blessed with a population officially put at over four million people, brimming with strong intellectual and political history. Our patriarchs like Obafemi Awolowo, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo (Rtd), Chief MKO Abiola, and Chief Jonathan Odebiyi among others, played prominent roles not only in the formation of the state but within the larger Nigerian socio-political lexicon; which laid the foundation for the pride and honour the state enjoys today.
23. Our People have led in many professions in Nigeria. Ogun State has produced amongst other, the first Premier of the old Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo; the first woman credited to have driven a car in Nigeria, the late Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti; the first Nobel Laureate for Literature in Black Africa, Prof. Wole Soyinka; the first indigenous Chief Justice of Nigeria, Chief Ademola Adetokunbo. Others include the first western trained psychiatrist in Nigeria and Africa, Prof. Adeoye Lambo; the former minority leader at federal parliament, late chief Jonathan Odebiyi; the first Nigerian lawyer, Alexander Akintola Sapara-Williams; the first Nigerian Supreme Court justice, Hon. Justice Olumuyiwa Jibowu; the longest serving Nigerian president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (1976-1979; 1999-2007); The founder of the Celestial Church of Christ, Samuel Bilehou Joseph Oshoffa.
24. Ogun State is also the home state of foremost industrialist, the late Chief Adeola Odutola who pioneered tyre manufacturing in Nigeria; Renowned Historian, Prof. Anthony Asiwaju; the great educationist, Tai Solarin, who established Mayflower School, a foremost private school that has churned out academic and industrial giants; Chief Ebun Oyagbola, the first Nigerian female to hold a ministerial position of cabinet rank.
25. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the Afrobeat king; Apala king, Haruna Ishola; Yusuf Olatunji (Baba Legba); are some of the great musicians from Ogun State who are no more. Renowned thespians from the state include the late Chief Hubert Ogunde and the late Chief Akin Ogungbe. Prince Bola Ajibola who was a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and who for many years represented Nigeria as Judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, The Netherlands, is also an indigene. We can still go on and on like that.
26. In the last forty years, the state has been administered by the military for eighteen years and the civilians for twenty-two years. These leaders did their best to develop it within the limits of resources and capacities available to them. Much of the period between 1976 and 1999 was spent under the military rule with the exception of the Chief Olabisi Onabanjo and Chief Olusegun Osoba administrations in 1979-1983 and 1992-1993 respectively. The military regime laid the foundation in terms of putting in place physical structures which successive administrations built on. In 1979, Chief Bisi Onabanjo, elected governor under the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), set the stage for the early infrastructural rebirth of the state. Ogun State University, Ago Iwoye (now Olabisi Onabanjo University), Ogun State Television, the Ogun State Hotels in Abeokuta, Ijebu Ode and Ota, were hallmarks of the efforts to put the state on a solid footing having been newly created.
27. Upon our return to democratic governance in 1999, the new government inherited an Ogun state that was a reticent civil service state and socio-economically sluggish such that the biggest business enterprise and only viable employer was government. The government of the day, under Chief Olusegun Osoba of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), tried to turn the tide of the state that have suffered under the long military interregnum and immediately put machinery in motion to open up the rural areas and embarked on some noteworthy projects that directly affected the lives of the people especially the rural dwellers through integrated rural development.
28. By 2003 when another government came under Otunba Gbenga Daniel of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), it reassessed the situation and created a blueprint called, awakening the sleeping giant. That government initiated policies to raise the economy. The managers of that period brought private sector experience to bear on governance. The state opened up, jobs were created, the environment received huge structural boost, opportunities identified, boundaries of possibilities expanded and Ogun became the investment destination of choice.
29. The incumbent administration under Sen. Ibikunle Amosun of the All Progressives Congress (APC) brought a plan called mission to rebuild, using infrastructure provision as the major plank of its development plan. Its effort so far, has seen some roads expanded and bridges built in selected locations.
30. In terms of economic development roadmaps, the state did not have one until 2005, when the Daniel government came up with a 20-years economic regional masterplan (2005-2025) for the state. That government ran it for a couple of years before it exited in 2011. It is doubtful whether the succeeding administration (the incumbent) paid much attention to that document and whether its 3- years economic masterplan (2012-2015) has any bearing to that long term plan. We must note that, development is never a short dash, it is a marathon and a single administration cannot have the time to exhaust it. More so, since government must be a continuum. Albeit, there is provision for rational review and/or updating but a good development plan must be implemented by successive government if it must attain sustainable growth.
THE OGUN ADVANTAGE (Resources, Advantages, Potentials)
THE RESOURCES:
31. Some of us are familiar with information about the advantages within our state but for the benefit of a wider audience and for us to again appreciate the benevolence of God to us as a people, I will briefly to take us through these endowments which will validate the fact that, our development can be fast-tracked if and only the right steps are sincerely taken in the right direction. The state is rich in abundant agricultural and mineral resources that are widespread across the four divisions under discuss.
The tables below provide information on the location of some of the resources available in the State.
28(a) Agricultural Resources
S/N Resource Type Location Possible Industrial Uses
1 Cocoa Statewide Beverages, Chocolate and Wines Production; Livestock Feed Production; Cosmetics, Baby Cream Lotion and Cocoa Butter Production
2 Oil Palm Statewide Food and Vegetable Oil Processing and Soap Making
3 Cassava Statewide Cassava Flour; Ethanol; Livestock Feed, Glucose extraction, chips and pellets processing
4 Cotton Abk North, Abk South, Imeko/Afon, Ipokia, Ado-odo/ota, Ewekoro, Obafemi-Owode, Yewa North & South Textile industries; Pharmaceutical Industries
5 Kolanut Statewide except: Imeko Afon, Ipokia and Yewa South and North LGAs Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, pharmaceutical products
6 Rice Statewide except: Imeko Afon, Ipokia, Odeda and Remo Flour production, baby food production, livestock feed production industries.
28 (b) Mineral Resources of Ogun State
S/N Resource Type Location Possible Industrial Uses
1 Limestone Sagamu West-wards through Ewekoro & Ibese to the border with the Republic of Benin Cement, Limestone Production and Calcium
2 Bitumen Ijebu-Ife in Ijebu-East to Water-Side Tarring of roads
3 Feldspars Abeokuta, Ijebu ode, Odeda Ceramic, Glass & Ornament Stones Production
4 Glass Sand Ifo, Ado Odo, Ilaro Glass Production
5 Granite Stone Abeokuta, Odeda, Ijebu- Ode Construction Aggregate, Road Surfacing
6 Gypsum YewaNorth/South Cement and P.O. P
7 Clay Abeokuta North/South, Ifo, Ota Local Pottery and Burnt Bricks Production
8 Kaolin Yewa South/North, Abeokuta North Painting, Ceramics, Pharmaceuticals, Tiles
9 Quartz Abeokuta North/South Glassmaking, Porcelain Wares etc
10 Phosphate Ifo, Remo, Yewa North/South Fertilizer Production & Phosphate beneficiation plant
11 Tar Sand Ijebu – Ife in Ijebu East to Water Side Petrochemical Production
12 Gemstones Odeda, Ijebu Ode, Ijebu Igbo Jewelleries and Ornamental Making
Crude Oil Tongeji Island, Ipokia and onshore Waterside Petrol, diesel oil, kerosene
32. FURTHER ADVANTAGES: Beyond the natural endowments, the gateway state is uniquely laden with advantages for development and investment some of which include:
The resourcefulness of Ogun state people attributable to its deep human resource, a talented and educated workforce and home to the highest number of education institutions
Ogun State is along the busiest commercial corridor in Nigeria. About 70% of freight cargoes are transported through Ogun State to different parts of Nigeria
It again enjoys location advantage being along the trans-border trade route to the West African sub-region where a lot of economic possibilities exist
Ogun state has vast uncluttered virgin land suitable for various kinds of large scale development activities like agriculture, housing, industrialization and leisure
It is within the 20km out of Nigerian shoreline, opening into the Atlantic Ocean, with the deepest portion being in Ogun State; (about 16meters natural draft)
It enjoys proximity to Lagos state, Nigeria’s commercial capital with heavy concentration of industries, ports, airport and financial services
Massive spread of tourism potentials that have been hitherto underutilized. They include: Birikisu Sungbo Shrine at Oke –Eri in Ijebu-Ode; Yemoji Natural Swimming Pool – Ijebu-Ode; Oronna Shrine – Ilaro; Ebute Oni – Ogun Waterside; Orisagamu ewe Shrine – Sagamu; Laogo Paradise Island – Waterside; Olumo Rock – Abeokuta; Madam Tinubu Shrine – Abeokuta; St. Peter’s Church and Centenary Hall – Ake; Celestial City – Imeko; St. James Anglican Parsonage – Ota; Ijamido River Shrine- Ota and Oyan Dam – Yewa
33. If these potentials inherent within us have been vigorously pursued, devoid of politics, the socio-economic development of the state would have been long established and the quality of life of our people would have been substantially elevated. Development must be people-centered and these gifts freely given to us by God must be exploited for the benefit of the people. What the mind of man cannot conceive, the eyes cannot see and neither will the hand touch.
Where are we today (Ogun Economic Figures?)
34. Despite all the resources and capacities as encapsulated, key information about our State currently are as provided in the table below as compiled by Federal Government Study for Poverty Profile (Africa) Final Report:
Ogun is the 4th Non-oil economy in Nigeria with GDP of $10.470b
Per capita GDP of 247.28
5th highest state in IGR – N17.4b (2014)
16th in Nigeria by landmass ad population density per km2
14th rank in adult literacy
Poverty rate of 29.84% ($/day)
Poverty gap Index (PGI) of 0.1023 & Human Poverty Index of 24.5%
Inequality index of 0.5251(disparity of internal development and wealth)
Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.471 (the smallest in Southwest)
Unemployment rate of 8.5%
35. From the figures above and other statistics not readily provided here, Ogun state has a progressive growth in GDP but not so reflected in human development. It is unacceptable that despite a GDP of over $10.4billion and literacy levels of over 66%, we still have a majority of our population immersed in extreme poverty. As at today, rural to urban road linkage is very low as majority of these rural roads are in a state of utter disrepair. Majority of our primary healthcare centre and general hospitals lack essential drugs and basic facilities which makes it difficult for the rural and urban poor to access healthcare. Some other social services indicators are not also encouraging.
36. In terms of human capital development, the standards of education have deteriorated as the performance of our students in major external examinations such as WAEC, NECO and JAMB has fallen drastically in the last few years. There is a preponderance of youth population in Ogun state which is a strong resource base for the future but nothing is being specifically done to engage them at the moment. Over 78,000 primary schools’ pupils lack access to necessary books and learning materials while the environment under which these pupils learn leaves much to be desired.
37. The poverty levels are clearly unacceptable which is a function of the economic disempowerment and inability to create wealth. These inequalities and inadequacies are part due to inefficiency in governance as indicated by lack of vision, policy reversals, poorly conceptualized projects, preference for politically motivated projects over socio-economically viable projects, mismanagement of available resources and uncoordinated approach to development planning and implementation among the among the various level of governance.
DEVELOPMENT MODELS
38. There are many routes to development. A development model will be the peculiar methods, principles and structures that deliver the best results to the state. From history, many nation-states have made remarkable leap from the backwaters of underdevelopment and recorded huge transformation that have stunned the world, using different approaches, strategy or models. Nations such as China, Singapore, Norway and to an extent our earlier contemporaries like Brazil, Malaysia and India, have shown that any government that gets its priorities right and adopts the right economic approach will sooner than later reap the benefit. It has also been proven that regional or sub-national economies can be appraised and developed in a way that they will indeed be the driver of national development. What this mean is that, if we look inwards and explore our potentials, Ogun economy can grow and become a model within the Nigerian nation.
39. Whereas, we are looking at development models with an eye on what will best suit Ogun state considering its advantages and opportunities but we cannot extricate it from the larger Nigerian economy that is really struggling at the moment. Crude prices continue to spiral downwards which means less revenue and the monies accruable to the states get smaller, creating social dislocations. It means, the dependency on oil can no longer be sustained and even if crude prices make a rebound, the emerging dynamics in the global energy sector does not guarantee good demand. This paints a gloomy fiscal picture not just for the Nigerian nation but also for our states.
40. There is no harm in copying what is good and has worked elsewhere. We only need to adapt it to our local peculiarities and create a winning formula. Across Asia, Europe and America, many sub-national governments have exploited their potentials and have economies that rival the national economy. Let us look at just three of this models and what lessons we can draw to fast-track our development. These are- The Indian model, Nordic model and Chinese model.
41. The Indian Development model: India used to be rated lower than Nigeria at a point in history but in terms of development and standard of living, it is today a fast developing economy transforming to a major manufacturing and exporting hub and now a giant in pharmaceuticals, ICT, automobile and medicine. It is pertinent to note that while their national leadership created favorable conditions in terms of policies, licenses and legislative frameworks, these changes were mainly brought about by the ingenuity of the states; that looked inwards, exploited their potentials and contributed to national growth. The states run localized economies and are at different stages of development. Twelve very high performing states out of India control 50% of national GDP and have 1.5% higher growth rate than the nation herself. These states, propelled by strong governance and economic reforms, identified their potentials and created what is called economic clusters in each district (akin to the four divisions of Ogun), based on the potential and resources in each area.
Indicators 12 States India
Human Development Index (2011) 0.55 0.47
Direct Tax (% of GDP 2003-2011) 8.9 5.2
Urbanization rate (2003-2012) 43.7 23.4
Fiscal deficit (% of GDP 2001-2012) 2.21 2.35
Investments (% of GDP 2002-2012) 41.5 34.8
Cultivatable land (% of total area 2010) 60.0 51.2
Coastline exploitation (% share 2012) 68% nil
*Source: Mckinsey Insight India estimates
42. Based on these figures, it is projected that these states will achieve 55% urbanization by 2025 while the standard of living of its people would have gone very near the high income nations of today. A cursory peep into few of them will provide additional insights:
Bhavnagar: Massive diamond cutting industries, employing over 6000 people. It is India’s largest salt producer (34,500tons/annum). The state has the largest ship breaking yard in the world.
Amravati: Large concentration of textile industries; One the top three producers of cotton along with ginning-pressing mills. It has massive plastic, chemicals and fertilizers manufacturing hub.
Goa: India’s leading tourist destination with over two million annual visitors; a distinct mining hub for iron ore, magnesium and bauxite.
Kochi (3 clusters): Prominent tourist destination; a leader in spice trading and jewelries and largest hub of drug manufacturing.
Mumbai (7 clusters): India’s financial services capital, Leading textile, ICT, films and automotive manufacturing hub.
Ludhiana (5 clusters): Asia’s largest hub of bicycle manufacturing; produces 60% of India’s tractor parts, major apparel manufacturing centre, a rich farm economy focused on food grains & cotton.
Vijayawada (4 clusters): Agricultural processing hub for rice, tobacco, cotton and chilies; Home to India’s largest natural gas reserves and allied companies.
Essentially, the Indian model is one that is built around embracing science and technology for the exploitation of local potentials and turning them to manufacturing delights.
43. The Nordic model of social welfare: This development trajectory is named after the five countries called the Nordic countries namely, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland. These are small functional countries with open economies. This model thrives on a liberal economy and welfarism. It encourages a democratic culture that pays critical attention to the social welfare of its citizens. Though they are not socialist nations but they practice free market capitalism with ample provision for the people. They prioritized education and healthcare as the cornerstone of their welfare system. In these nations, education and healthcare are totally free. They run a free enterprise society where there is a progressive taxation system which ensures that everyone pays taxes proportionate to their levels.
44. In the Nordic model, every economic participant is a free agent with minimal regulation which means everyone sells their product at the price they deem fit. They are top on the list of least corrupt countries. This model significantly reduces poverty. Just recently, a top Democratic Party presidential aspirant for the upcoming American elections, Bernie Sanders is seriously advocating for the adoption of the Nordic model in the US. Another proponent of the model, Nobel Prize winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz says, it promotes higher economic mobility describing the Scandinavian nations are the new land of opportunities. Economic Pundits have said, while it can work in nation with large heterogeneous population, it works even better in smaller societies and that is where a state like ours can take advantage.
45. If it works in tiny Iceland with about 300,000 population and an adaptation of it is working in densely populated Holland with about 80million population, then it can work in most places provided there is cooperation and trust among the citizenry and sincerity on the path of the drivers of government.
Essentially, the Nordic model is a practical way of combining lavish welfare systems with fast growth and low unemployment. It has been successful at significantly reducing poverty and inequality. This model encourages the thriving, supports the striving and takes care of the struggling.
46. The Chinese Model (Beijing Consensus): The Beijing consensus is the alternative name for the Chinese economic model which began after the reign of Mao Zedong. It is a hybrid of authoritarian and capitalist model of development. Under this model, the development is state-led. Government controls calculated industries, picks strategic private sector partners, uses state funds to drive vested investments and then pushes the banking sector to fund and support these big national firms and industries to play both locally and internationally. Though it created highly favourable environment for foreign investments, government still exerts high control over the economy such that government controls a greater number of companies and business. From a backwater economy in the 1970s, it rigorous reforms have resulted in fast continuous growth and by October 2014, the IMF announced that China had surpassed the US as the world’s largest economy.
47. China is today a model for growth and stability and the most attractive point of this model is that it has taken about 600million people out of extreme poverty within the last three decades. The single most serious challenge to serious liberal democracy in the world today comes from China which has combined authoritarian government with a partially marketized economy.
Though there is an ongoing global debate on its practicability and applicability in other nations due to the socio-cultural nature of the Chinese. The takeaway from the China model is: Visioning, effective long-term planning, focus on (inward-outward) investments, export-oriented plans. It is also built around a long tradition of meritocratic leadership recruitment, civil-service examination, a high emphasis on education and deference to technocratic authority.
Eclectism of developmental models
48. There is no single development model that can be lifted wholesale and adopted in Nigeria and indeed in Ogun state. The socio-economic and political reality in each nation differs and the prescriptions will also differ. In view of our peculiarity, we can choose to adopt one or adapt parts of different models to suit our local situation. In view of this, I believe that “eclectism” is the way to go; whereby, we do a medley of developmental models to grow different areas of our local economy. The ideas in those models have been tested and proven to be effective, therefore we can creatively draw inference from them to build a custom-made development plan for ourselves.
49. For us, my recommendation will be that a prosperous Ogun State of our dreams should align its economic growth with Indian model because of the observed dispersed nature of our economic resources along regional lines. Also, the provision of free and qualitative social services such as health and education has a lot to gain from the Nordic model where those services are practical on offer to the citizenry free of charge at no cost. In the same vein the Chinese model in spite of its limitations in our environment offers excellent example that can be easily applied in our domain. These examples include leadership development, long term planning, meritocratic administration and visioning.
STRATEGY FOR FAST-TRACKING OGUN DEVELOPMENT: LINKING THE ENDOWMENTS, MODELS AND ACTION PLANS
50. There is nothing that is impossible for a people that has convinced themselves to take the uncharted path. With the abundant resources, potentials and human capital at our disposal, the state has a lot of possibilities for development.
51. Our over aching objective should be for Ogun state to become the new economic hub of the West African sub-region; a state where people are happy, healthy, educated and achieve their potentials. If we can conceive it, we can sure achieve it.
General Development Principles:
52. Our development roadmap must have an identity and be set on concrete principles. These can be called the “Guiding principles of development decisions” by the state. I make some recommendations here.
a) A realistic vision and development roadmap for Ogun state that factors the reality of its history, location and resources, advantages, uniqueness and opportunities within the state.
b) Ensure that yearly budgets are derived from development plans and not from mere conjectures.
c) Preference for economically viable projects and relevant, cost-effective infrastructure over politically motivated ones
d) Promotion of rapid industrialization through stimulation of private sector partnerships and attracting the interest of development partners
e) Strong local content policy to ensure spread of resources, promote wealth retention and even prosperity across the state.
f) Building our human capital to sustain development efforts now and for future generations.
g) A pursuit of a true federal structure where federating units enjoy full autonomy in the control of their God given resources while upholding their true and total allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Economic action plans: Linking the development models
With the endowments and resources we have, the possibilities are endless but a few is listed here:
53. OGUN EAST:
Many states in other climes have developed their economies by exploiting their coastline potentials. Ogun has about 20km stretch of coastline suitable for a deep seaport and export processing zone. The high sea along Ogun waterside and Olokola provides great possibilities in this regard for any government that knows the way to go about it.
We can embark on sustained Bitumen deposits exploration in these areas
We can become a major logistics hub via the development of a cargo Airport around the Ikenne area. The infrastructure in Lagos is already overstretched and it can serve as an alternative to the cargo demand of the region; and we know the importance of an airport economy. It will also serve as a ready-made export route for our agric products
Pursuit of other untapped resources like gemstone reserve around Ogun east areas
54. OGUN CENTRAL:
Creation of ICT cluster for science, vocational and technological research centers that will serves as incubators for the future of our economy. The existing ICT centers can be remodeled to meet this purpose. The likes of Apple, IBM, Microsoft and Huawei can be partnered for technology transfer
The Kajola Free Trade Zone (FTZ) can be made more relevant for the local community by sourcing raw materials and other needs from within the zone. And the rail line should be pursued more vigorously.
We can create a financial services hub in the state capital similar to what is obtainable in Mumbai, India
There is huge opportunities for real estate within this axis that can become an income spinner for the state
Resuscitation of the industrial parks
Fertilizer and burnt Bricks Production and pharmaceutical products manufacturing are also good possibilities here
55. OGUN WEST:
The massive arable land across Ogun west can be enough to create an Agric Processing Zone (APZ); building an agricultural production, manufacturing and allied industries cluster. Fortunately, there are two existing clusters in Ota and Agbara already, so that could be a third cluster of industries in that division
Ogun can transform into an industrial hub in the West Africa sub-region by taking advantage of the trans-border trade route of West Africa and also being on the busiest commercial corridor in Nigeria
The limestone belt along the axis would be further utilized and exploited
The Igbesa Free Trade Zone (FTZ) can be expanded to create more opportunity for manufacturing concerns
The Tongeji Island Crude Oil prospect can be vigorously pursued for oil exploration
56. OTHER INITIATIVES:
Develop new economically viable cities around manufacturing clusters and the emerging economic hubs in the state.
Create new investment opportunities around the tourism potentials through vigorously exploitation and funding
Initiate an integrated transport system that takes cognizance of the new realities of economic clusters and the need for movement of products across the state.
Social Services imperatives
57. As lofty as any economic blueprint may be, the ultimate focus must be how it affects the people. Social services are very important in achieving our objectives and we will anchor on four:
a) Education: Ensure Free Qualitative Education through massive funding of the sector in terms of infrastructure, learning, teaching, research and training. We must ensure that no child is out of school owing to lack of resources. Science, Technical, Engineering, Management (STEM) and Vocational Education should be introduced to enhance learning in science and technology. We need to inculcate academic excellence in the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions and restore discipline, integrity and core values into the educational system. Ensure that the educational system remains relevant to the needs of the society by introducing entrepreneurial training and civic responsibility into the educational system.
b) Health: Government must guarantee Free Basic Healthcare by ensuring that no citizen is denied access to basic medical treatment in our hospitals due to lack of financial resources. This must be achieved by conscious funding and provision of health infrastructure, drugs, equipments and personnel. We must facilitate a sincere programme that gives free care to kids, the aged and the rural poor.
c) Human capital growth: Besides the broad and qualitative investment in education, government must take deliberate steps to invest in its best brains by training and empowering a sizeable numbers of its budding population in the acquisition of gilt-edge knowledge in areas of: Science & Technology, Economic Management, Information & Communication Technology, Business Development & Entrepreneurship, Arts & Sciences. We must also ensure superior skills acquisition by our artisans in different vocations from knowledge transfer partnerships with partner nations.
d) Sustained social welfare system: Government must encourage the thriving, support the striving and take care of the struggling among us by providing micro credit to cooperatives societies for enhanced business activities aimed at poverty reduction and develop economic resources around rural communities as a means of empowering the rural communities. Initiate welfare and realistic social security schemes for unemployed graduates, rural women, physically challenged citizens, widows, and rehabilitation of destitutes. We can also establish a pyramidical structure for sports promotion beginning with primary and secondary schools and going up to college level, encourage the establishment of community sports club in communities in the state to uncover talents, improves physical fitness and encourages important social skills.
e) Good governance and transparency: We must ensure a system of governance that guarantees transparency and accountability in the conduct of government business. Both in terms of policies and spending.
f) Other social services that government should pay close attention to include: Housing, Rural Roads, Integrated Transportation and Security.
THE NEW PARADIGM
58. With the potentials well established, my message is simple: We have what it takes to make the giant leap forward. I am equally persuaded that we should not allow our situation to define us; rather it will only teach us to shape the future and we all have a role in shaping that future. We will not achieve our aspirations and our hopes by doing things the same way. At forty years of being created as a state with all our God-given resources, Ogun is still confronted with enormous poverty and low quality of life. By transforming the economy, promoting good governance and respect for the rule of law, we can significantly transform and improve the quality of our lives. Many of our people go about their lives every day with just too many challenges to enable them live a comfortable life.
59. We can be better in all forms and it is clear that development does not happen by accident. Development occurs through well-conceived and executed plans that focus on the ever changing and increasing needs of people. The way things have gone on in our state, development has become a wish instead of a clear vision; and we cannot make that clear vision realizable unless we change the way we do things. It is that change that we desperately need to move our state forward and bring hope and opportunity to the state.
60. The new paradigm simply means the new ways of thinking, aligning our systems and processes with clear plans such that things are consciously organized to work. It comprises transforming our economy to one, driven by knowledge, technology and industrialization; which creates jobs and opportunities for even the weakest among us. We can provide meaningful infrastructure so that it works for our people, support rapid economic growth and improve the quality of life in our local communities. We can modernize our agriculture to increase productivity to feed our people and our factories.
61. We can transform our education such that it produces an inexhaustible pool of human resources capable of continuously expanding our economy while securing the future. We can transform our healthcare to ensure a healthy population with increased life expectancy. We can transform governance such that it facilities the right attitudes and relationship between government and the people. Leadership must encourage the thriving, support the striving and take care of the struggling.
62. We will only realize our potential if those who are entrusted with the public responsibility have a clear vision and are conscripted to elevate governance to its rightful place. This is a step we so desperately need, to make our state great and provide Life More Abundant for its citizens. The development plan must engender hope in our people. We can conduct the act of governance with vision and strong leadership that will put our dear state on the path of peace, opportunity and prosperity for generations to come.
63. A people deserve the type of leader they deserve; therefore, it is the responsibility of you and I to be conscious of whoever we put in leadership position. We will not achieve our aspirations and hopes if sincere leadership is not offered. John C. Maxwell said, “Everything rises or falls on leadership”.
CONCLUSION
64. Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, more than 450 years before the birth of Christ, Confucius said, “What I hear, I forget; what I see, I remember; what I do, I understand”. We have heard what we need to do, we have seen what we need to do, now is the time to do it and together, we can do it. Ogun state can be great, Ogun state will be great and Ogun state shall be great. I so believe.
65. Once again, I congratulate Ijebu News Extra for this occasion and appreciate the opportunity given me here this evening. I wish everyone safe journey back to our respective destinations. Thank you all for listening.
Isiaka, a investment banker, was the Gubernatorial candidate of PDP in 2015 elections in Ogun State.