…Fulfilling the Transformation Promise in Oyo State Heads, You Win, Tails… You Win!
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OYO REPORT A PUBLICATION OF THE MEDIA UNIT OF THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE, OYO STATE MARCH 2013 ONWARD MARCH OF AJUMOSE …FULFILLING THE TRANSFORMATION PROMISE IN OYO STATE Heads, You win, Tails… You win! nvesting in Oyo State is hard to get wrong. What with the dice nicely loaded in your favour. We invite you to consider these rea- Isons, among many others, that will make your profitability sure-fire. Strategic and Central Location Our capital, Ibadan, remains the biggest single city in West Africa. Aside from its proximity to the interna- tional air and seaports of Lagos, it has its own airport as well as railroad, with a network of roads that make it the hub of the South West region Excellent Human Capital Home to the first university in Nigeria, our state, with its many educational and research centres of ex- cellence, continues to dominate in the provision of skilled and knowledgeable workforce for the nation and beyond Terra-Wealth! When you walk in Oyo State, you are treading on gold. Literally. Truly, the grass is greener here, 27,000 square kilometers ranging from thick rain forest to Sudan savannah vegetation awaiting cultivation. If you dig deeper, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the diverse mineral and precious stones that lie beneath Solid, Expanding Infrastructure Focused effort by the government has increased the infrastructural profile of Oyo State’s major towns and cities in vital areas of roads, transportation, power, telecommunications and ICT Track Record as Investment Haven As past success predicts potential, you will find the many investment success stories in Oyo State a ready template. See why corporate heavy weights such as British-American Tobacco, Procter & Gamble, Nigerian Breweries plc, University Press plc, Longman and others came and never left Now, it is your Move. Invest in Oyo State! OYO STATE OF NIGERIA PROLOGUE CONTENTS Prologue: From ‘Too Slow’ to ‘Too Fast’: The 3 From ‘Too Heads, You win, Tails… Trajectory of Ajimobi’s 20-month Slow’ to ‘Too Government Fast’ By Festus Adedayo Ajimobi 4 Proposed; You win! n May 29, 2011, as reported by Nigerian journalists who covered the swearing-in ceremony of Ajumose the then incoming Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, as well as witnesses who had a comparative knowledge of installation ceremonies at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, hith- Achieved! erto known as the Liberty Stadium, that stadium had never witnessed such tumultuous crowd Health on an inauguration day. Analysts were of the opinion that this was a reflection of the people’s Oyearnings for an about-turn in the governance of a state known to have carved an imperishable name for itself 5 in the art of good governance but which had, over the years in the hands of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government, been thrown to the dogs and which, unable to contain the filth and decay in its hands, the dogs Education in turn threw to the swine. 6 This excitement and thirst for good governance were palpable, not only fences even before the mowers set in. This showed the thirst of the people in Oyo State pre and post-inauguration, but in the hearts of lovers of the of the state, in spite of their momentary pains, to collaborate with gov- Security state. So when, six months down the line of the government of Senator ernment to change the age-long typecast of Ibadan, nay Oyo State, as an nvesting in Oyo State is hard to get wrong. What with the dice Ajimobi, those ground-breaking projects and developmental milestones unplanned city of filth and ‘anything goes’. 8 nicely loaded in your favour. We invite you to consider these rea- seemed to be few and far between, the apprehension and complaints that This plan of the state government to dualize major entrances to major sons, among many others, that will make your profitability sure-fire. followed could easily be understood and articulated. Stoked by the fire- towns in the state is also going on simultaneously in Oyo, Ogbomosoo and Welfare I wood of the opposition PDP, the typecast soon stuck to the government as Iseyin. This is aside virtually everywhere in the state benefitting from over Strategic and Central Location a ‘Go Slow’ administration. Every effort made by the government to explain 200 roads that are in various states of completion. 9 Our capital, Ibadan, remains the biggest single city in West Africa. Aside from its proximity to the interna- that no sane government jumps into its milestones without adequate super- Perhaps the most visible of the massive efforts of the state government structural arrangement, fell on deaf ears. in changing the face of the state is its urban renewal efforts. Many unsolic- tional air and seaports of Lagos, it has its own airport as well as railroad, with a network of roads that make it Twenty months on however, the sing-song of the opposition and even ited commendations from within and without, except from the ranks of the Agriculture the hub of the South West region the good people of Oyo State, has changed considerably. Berating the gov- opposition parties in the state, have likened what the Ajimobi government ernment in a recent release, the state PDP condemned Ajimobi for “lack is doing in its urban renewal programme to a Copernican Revolution. 10 Excellent Human Capital of foresight” in “constructing too many roads in the same axis at the same Ranked in a global agency’s assessment of cities of the country as one Home to the first university in Nigeria, our state, with its many educational and research centres of ex- time,” thereby, according to it, inflicting a traffic snarl on the good people of the filthiest, running neck to neck with Aba, the Enyinmba City, dirt had, Rural cellence, continues to dominate in the provision of skilled and knowledgeable workforce for the nation and of Oyo State. The PDP was making reference to the almost six-decade old before now, typecast Oyo State people, to the chagrin of everyone. Situ- Bodija Bridge, left un-rehabilitated, which over-filled its banks in the Au- ated in a plan-less landscape, Ibadan, the capital city, was everything but 11 Integration beyond gust 2011 flood but which the Ajimobi government was reconstructing; the aesthetically pleasing. These years of impunity have eaten into the fabric of Terra-Wealth! monumental Mokola flyover bridge and the Cele/Mokola road being reha- the society and like swine regale in mire, Oyo State people had taken dirt to bilitated but which, agreed, had lengthened traffic on the route. be a fact of life, until Ajimobi came. Infrastructure When you walk in Oyo State, you are treading on gold. Literally. The PDP in the state and even at the federal level, which has no history Right now, Ibadan has received unquantifiable face-lift. The Iwo Road Development Truly, the grass is greener here, 27,000 square kilometers ranging from thick rain forest to Sudan savannah of creating as massive a job scheme as the 20,000 Youth Empowerment axis, which had become a symbolism for the lethargy and conspiratorial 12 vegetation awaiting cultivation. If you dig deeper, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the diverse mineral and Scheme of the current Ajimobi administration, also picked holes, sometime buy-in of past governments to under-develop the state, has received so last year, in the systemic hiccups that delayed the salaries of the cadets for great turn-around that pleasantly baffles visitors. Even though it is not yet Urban Renewal precious stones that lie beneath about two months. Even the Mokola bridge, which is the first of its kind by rainy season and the greenery of Iwo Road has not fully manifested, the Solid, Expanding Infrastructure any civilian administration in the state in the last 35 years, received mordant order that replaces the chaos that Ajimobi met is so palpable. 14 criticisms of the PDP henchmen. Comparing its N2.5 billion cost with same Of significant mention is the Toll Gate area, hitherto a hub of miscre- Focused effort by the government has increased the infrastructural profile of Oyo State’s major towns and bridge in Ogun State, the opposition party reasoned that graft must have ants and which projected Oyo as a state of filth. Right now, this area, espe- Youth & Sports cities in vital areas of roads, transportation, power, telecommunications and ICT sneaked into the hearts of government in the bridge negotiation. But when cially the interchange, is so aesthetically appealing. Take for instance Molete Track Record as Investment Haven its counterpart in the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) took the henchmen Under-bridge, Bode, Oja-Oba, Bere, Oje Eleso and Gate axis, as well as the 15 on a detailed explanation, like a shamed dog that wags in its tail, you would Challenge/ Ring Road axis. The changes in these areas are so monumental As past success predicts potential, you will find the many investment success stories in Oyo State a ready be sorry for a party like the PDP which, in the first instance, pushed out such that many people resident in Ibadan condemn the governor for chewing too Economy template. See why corporate heavy weights such as British-American Tobacco, Procter & Gamble, Nigerian uncritical reasoning. many projects at the same time. Right now, the mantra on the streets of Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, former governor of the state, has also Oyo State is that the governor should slow down and remember that the rot Breweries plc, University Press plc, Longman and others came and never left been enjoying the panoply of make-believe hype that attended his Accord in the state was not accumulated overnight and would not leave overnight.