Yesterday, to the glory of Almighty God, the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun (MFR, CON), who has been in office for six years as the fifth democratically elected Governor, turned 65. The road has been rough, but grace has made the difference, so let the drums release great rhythms and let the music play on in praise of the God of all creation, the One who daily loads us with benefits. In all ramifications, Dapo Abiodun’s story exemplifies that of the proverbial man people said could not build a hut but has now built a giant edifice. A child of destiny born in 1960 when Nigeria obtained independence, specifically on May 29, a day now set aside to mark freedom from military rule and signpost freedom and liberty, Dapo Abiodun is a change agent whose story is intertwined with Nigeria and Ogun State’s destiny.
He was elected in 2019, but that wasn’t the first time he had aspired to occupy the Oke Mosan Governor’s Office. In 2002, he and Chief Gbenga Daniel contested for the governorship ticket. He came second but 17 years later, the divinely appointed hour, which we know never ever fails, arrived. And now looking back at the last six years, there is a lot to be thankful for. The Gateway State, Nigeria’s industrial capital, is now Nigeria’s investment destination of choice as the Iperu-born prince daily attracts business from around the world, making the state a giant construction site. Instructively, a prime political organization like the Southern Governors Forum also found him worthy to lead it, and he has been speaking for it and the zone. He is also arguably one of the staunchest defenders of President Bola Tinubu’s policies, pointing to Nigeria’s freedom from IMF debt peonage. He is extremely passionate about his mission, vision, and Ogun State’s future.
As Prince Abiodun turns 65, the land is basking in the transformations that have taken place. Ogun people, as the world saw during the Opening Ceremony of the ongoing National Sports Festival, can hold up their heads in pride, knowing that they have in Oke Mosan a man who truly cares, and who daily makes the state a business haven. As scholars of leadership have been keen to point out, great leaders lead by example, set clear vision and direction, communicate effectively, foster a positive culture, make informed decisions, enable others to grow, embrace change and innovation, and demonstrate emotional intelligence. Fully persuaded that leadership is problem solving, Dapo Abiodun has focused on social transformation in Ogun State. He recognizes that global change agents, including South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, who promoted racial reconciliation and national unity and addressed poverty, inequality, and social injustice, and China’s Deng Xiaoping, who introduced market-oriented economic reforms, opening up the country to foreign investment and trade, did not achieve landmarks attending to demented opposition figures.
He looks up to people like Franklin D. Roosevelt who, while confronted with the Great Depression, implemented the New Deal covering social security, unemployment insurance, and Japan’s Shinzo Abe, who achieved women’s empowerment and labour market reforms; not forgetting, above all, our own Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who led an educational and healthcare revolution, promoted economic growth through investments in infrastructure, agriculture, and industry, and championed social justice. He is strictly focused on the people’s mandate. After all, as John C. Maxwell says, “Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.”
The Ogun State helmsman priotitises critical thinking and self-discovery. He is a compassionate leader who epitomizes the Greek philosopher Socrates’ submission that “He who wishes to serve as a leader must, first of all, understand the souls of his followers.”
Before him, Gateway International Airport was dead, and the Olokola Free Trade Zone wasn’t even alive. But the music has changed. With over 1,200 kilometres of road spread across the state, Dapo Abiodun has shown that he means business.
There is no space to talk about the N50 million Ijebu Development Initiative for Poverty Reduction (Eriwe) introduced to develop the fish subsector and the empowerment of over 40,000 agripreneurs in cassava cultivation, or the distribution of motorcycles to extension agents to reach farmers in remote areas; the 20,000-hectare rice farmland in Yewa; the Ogun State Teaching Experience Acquisition Channel (Ogun TREACH) that brought on board 5000 interns, with 1000 transitioned to permanent teachers; the over N3.5 billion disbursed through EDUCASH to assist students and their parents, with 150, 000 students benefitting the full accreditation secured for the first time in 45 years and the upgrade of the Ogun State Schools of Nursing and Midwifery to collegiate status; the inaugurated Sexual Therapy and Assaults Referral Centre in Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH); the Family Planning Centre at the State Hospital, Ijebu-Ode; or the Ogun Free Surgical Intervention Programme that has benefited more than 2000 people since its launch.
Under Governor Abiodun, the investment portfolios are many: the April 2022 $400m investment by a foreign firm, Arise Integrated Industrial Platform, on the development of Olokola Free Trade Zone and Remo Agro Processing Zone; the over $500 investment by a steel conglomerate, African Industries Group; the Canadian Government’s pledged investment in the agricultural and technological sectors of the Ogun economy in May 2023 and the July 2024 South Africa-Nigeria Business Chamber’s pledged aggressive investment drive for Ogun State; the $500 million investment by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to enhance power infrastructure in Ogun State; the $300 million investment by the Chinese company, Inner Galaxy Steel Company Ltd, to establish a new steel plant for the production of specialised steel products in Ogun State; the October 2024 establishment of a $5 million battery recycling plant by a British company; the investment by Codix Bio Pharmaceutical Company, a pharmaceutical outfit that specializes in the production of medication kits for the treatment of diabetes, hypertension and heart-related diseases; the $400 million hot rolled coiled steel factory in Ewekoro; the Special Agro-Cargo Processing Zone created by President Tinubu to serve the airport as a Free Trade Zone (FTZ), located very close to airport, etc.
Posterity will never forget Prince Abiodun: he has written his name in history and it will outlive him. The silent achiever and peace and conflict resolution advocate who has led Ogun State on the path of peace for the last six years and contributed to inter and intraparty stability deserves plaudits. May the Almighty God continues to bless and keep him in the years to come. Happy Birthday to the People’s Governor.
–Akinmade is Special Adviser, Information and Strategy to Ogun State Government.
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