Today, we travel to Oyo State as part of our Make Nigeria Better series to examine its economic potential

Ayo Akinfe

[1] With a population of about 8m Oyo State is the sixth most populous in the Nigeria. It also has the largest landmsss of all the states in the south of the country with area of 28,454 square kilometres. It is thus no surprise that Lagos State for instance, hires land in Oyo State for agriculture. Going forward, Oyo may have to do a bit more of that, given that Lagos has no land for agricultural expansion

[2] Nicknamed the Pacesetter State because Ibadan was a pioneer city in so many regards, Oyo should have positioned itself as the biggest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Nigeria but sadly, that has not happened. Ibadan had Nigeria’s first university and stadium and was home to sub-Saharan Africa’s first TV station as well as our continent’s first sky scrapper. To match that, Oyo State needs to keep electing visionaries as governors

[3] Agriculture is the main occupation of the people of Oyo State as the climate favours the cultivation of crops like maize, yam, cassava, millet, rice, plantains, cocoa, palm produce, cashew etc. There are a number of government farm settlements in Iseyin/Ipapo, Ilora, Eruwa, Ogbomosho, Iresaadu, Ijaiye, Akufo and Lalupon. These need to be upgraded into mega plantations under public private partnership agreements that can churn out crops in industrial quantities. This in turn means that all those urban centres like Ibadan, Eruwa, Saki, Ogbomosho, Oyo, Iseyin, etc, must all become locations for agro-processing plants. They should all be home to industrial estates that convert raw materials into finished products

[4] One niche sector where Oyo State also has an edge is with fruit production. The town of Fiditi is renowned for producing oranges, bananas, mangoes, pineapples, cashews, papaya, etc. I would like to see the Oyo State Fruit Company floated, with the government having maybe a 20% stake in the venture. This company should add value to all these crops and service both the domestic and foreign markets with finished, packaged products

[5] Shaki in the far north of the state is often described as the breadbasket of Oyo State. It should be one massive industrial estate where people order processed foods from from all over Nigeria. Shaki should then have a freight railway link to cities like Ibadan, Ilorin, Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, etc, so its finished products can easily be shipped across the rest of the country

[6] In addition, Oyo State also has an abundance of clay, kaolin and aquamarine, which should make it a major centre for building materials. Just imagine the number of jobs that would be created when factories converting all these building materials into finished building products are opened right across the state

[7] Oyo State also has a big presence in the livestock industry as it has vast cattle ranches in Saki, Fasola and Ibadan. It also has a dairy farm at Monatan in Ibadan. I would like to see the Oyo State government buold on this by entering into a joint venture with a multinational dairy company to open a milk processing plant that will churn out milk in industrial quantities for both domestic consumption and export

[8] In addition, Oyo State also has several tourist attractions, so has the potential to generate a lot of revenue through tourism. Major tourist attractions located in the state include the Agodi Botanical Garden, Ado-Awaye Suspended Lake, Mapo Hall, University of Ibadan Zoological Garden, Ido Cenotaph, Trans-Wonderland Amusement Park, Old Oyo National Park located in the historical site of the ancient capital of the famous old Oyo Empire, Iyamopo and Agbele Hills in Igbeti, Bowers Tower and the Cultural Centre, Mokola. Around all these facilities, we need to upgrade the hotels, restaurants, bars, amusement parks, etc

[9] Ibadan has historically also been Nigeria’s major research centre. Institutions in the city include the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions and the Institute for Advanced Medical Research and Training. This needs to be build upon. Ibadan should become the global research capital for every known tropical ailment and the centre for research into every tropical crop we grow in Nigeria

[10] Isheyin is also a major centre for making the famous Yoruba Aso Oke. I am perplexed as to why the city does not have a world renowned textile firm that has patented the design and is mass producing finished goods for both the domestic and foreign markets. What stops the Oyo State government from floating the Isheyin Textile Company in which it will have say a 25% stake that will mass-produce aso oke, turning it into a major export earner

Ayoakinfe@gmail.com