ISEYA: Beyond Dapo Abiodun

The primary elections of the two leading political parties in Ogun State have come and gone, leaving behind a political landscape charged with anticipation, calculation and consequence. On the platform of the People’s Democratic Party, Ladi Adebutu, the familiar and perennial contender, has once again emerged, although the lingering factional disagreements within his party – and the question of whether his candidacy will ultimately receive the full imprimatur of INEC – remain matters of speculation.

On the platform of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, has secured the ticket. Naturally, all eyes are now on him.

But this moment must not be reduced to personalities, slogans or partisan triumphalism. It is bigger than ambition. It is about the destiny of Ogun State. It is about whether the developmental compass already set under Governor Dapo Abiodun’s ISEYA agenda – Infrastructure, Social Welfare, Education, Youth Empowerment and Agriculture – can be refined, expanded and elevated into a durable roadmap for inclusive prosperity.

It is about whether governance in Ogun will continue as a relay race, where one administration hands the baton to another in good faith, or whether the state will once again be dragged into the familiar Nigerian tragedy of policy summersaults, abandoned projects and wasted public investments.

For Yayi, the challenge is even more profound. His steady strides and visible dividends of democracy to the people of Ogun West in particular – and across the other two senatorial zones – have heightened public expectation. He has come to represent, for many, the possibility of long-awaited political justice, infrastructural balance and purposeful development. Having raised hope, he cannot afford to let down the people.

Ogun West expects inclusion. Ogun Central expects consolidation. Ogun East expects continuity and expansion. Ogun State, as a whole, expects leadership that is bold, competent, fair and future-facing. That is the real burden of this moment.

Ogun State has never been short of ideas, intellect or ambition. It has always been a crucible of policy innovation and enlightened public engagement. From Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s audacious free education policy in the 1950s to the industrial corridors that today bind Lagos and Ogun in a powerful economic embrace, the state has consistently demonstrated that sub-national governance can be a theatre of transformation.

The people of Ogun do not merely want administration; they demand vision. They do not applaud motion without movement. They expect planning, execution, accountability and continuity. They understand development when they see it, and they lampoon drift when they experience it. Ogun people are that sophisticated.

When Governor Dapo Abiodun introduced the ISEYA framework in 2019, it was not meant to be a campaign chant. He had already been voted into office. It was conceived as a diagnostic and developmental instrument to address Ogun’s structural vulnerabilities: weak rural-urban connectivity, deficits in human capital, youth unemployment, gaps in social protection, and an agricultural sector that had not yet fully delivered its potential.

In conception, ISEYA was pragmatic. In implementation, it gave governance a coherent direction. In its successes, it demonstrated that progress is possible when policy is anchored on clear priorities. And in its unfinished components, it has revealed the next frontier of transformation.

Therefore, as Ogun approaches another political cycle, the question should not be whether ISEYA worked. It did. The more important question is: how can it be deepened, institutionalised and made irreversible?

The next administration must move ISEYA from a governing philosophy to a codified state development architecture – backed by legislation, funded through realistic budgeting, measured through verifiable performance indicators, and protected from the whims of political transition.

Ogun needs not a demolition of the past, but a disciplined improvement upon it. Governance is not about reinventing the wheel every four or eight years. It is about honouring institutional memory, completing viable projects, discarding waste, adapting old ideas to new realities and ensuring that public money already spent does not become a monument to abandoned ambition.

There are, indeed, many unfinished chapters. To mention a few: a film village on the Lagos-Ogun border was once envisioned to harness the creative power of Nollywood, attract investment, generate employment and position Ogun as a major player in Nigeria’s creative economy. It was one of Prince Dapo Abiodun’s early policy declarations. The idea remains sound. In an era where the creative industry is no longer entertainment alone but a serious economic sector involving technology, tourism, fashion, music, film, logistics and digital distribution, Ogun cannot afford to sleep on such an opportunity.

The film village should be revived, but not as a ceremonial project. It should be reconceptualised as a full creative economy hub: studios, post-production facilities, animation labs, training schools, equipment leasing centres, performance spaces, hotels, digital content incubators and tourism linkages. Properly designed, it can create thousands of direct and indirect jobs for young people.

Similarly, on May 24, 2021, Governor Abiodun and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the Lagos-Ogun Joint Development Commission. That agreement recognised a basic truth: Lagos and Ogun are no longer separate economic islands. Their roads, industries, labour markets, housing demands, transport networks and environmental challenges are deeply interconnected.

People live in Ogun and work in Lagos. Factories operate in Ogun and serve Lagos. Lagos congestion spills into Ogun. Ogun’s expansion relieves Lagos. The two states share a destiny that must be planned, not improvised.

The Lagos-Ogun Joint Development Commission must, therefore, be reactivated with seriousness and urgency. It should not remain a document in government archives. It should become a functional institution for joint planning in transportation, rail connectivity, road infrastructure, water systems, waste management, industrial zoning, border communities, security, housing and climate resilience.

If properly implemented, the commission can transform areas such as Mowe, Ibafo, Arepo, Akute, Alagbole, Ota, Agbara and the entire Lagos-Ogun border corridor into organised economic zones rather than chaotic settlements struggling under the weight of unplanned growth.

The proposed Sports Commission also deserves fresh attention. Sports should no longer be treated as a seasonal jamboree or a medal-hunting exercise. It must become a structured youth development system. Ogun has talent in abundance – in football, athletics, boxing, table tennis, basketball and traditional sports. What is missing is a strong institutional pipeline and it should not be about whether Kunle Soname wants to head it or not.

A revived Sports Commission should identify talents from schools and communities, develop coaches, rehabilitate sporting facilities, organise regular competitions, attract private sponsorship and link sports to education, health, tourism and enterprise. Many young people who might otherwise be lost to idleness, drugs, crime or despair can find purpose through sports. That is governance with foresight.

Institutional memory also demands that Ogun revisit other abandoned or underutilised public investments: model schools, bridges, roads, housing schemes and other ambitious projects initiated under previous administrations, including those of Otunba Gbenga Daniel and Senator Ibikunle Amosun. Governor Abiodun deserves credit for activating the Ilishan Airport project, a strategic infrastructure that can open Ogun to new investment opportunities. But the logic of continuity must go further.

Completing viable inherited projects is not political weakness. It is fiscal wisdom. It is respect for taxpayers. It is evidence that government understands that public infrastructure belongs to the people, not to the ego of the governor who started it.

In 2019, Governor Abiodun inaugurated a Contracts and Projects Review Committee chaired by Engr. Adekunle Mokuolu, a former President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers. The committee’s audit of contracts awarded over the previous decade exposed serious gaps in compliance, execution and fiscal discipline. It revealed that 114 contracts worth ₦349.4 billion had been awarded, with more than ₦218 billion required to complete abandoned projects.

Those findings should not gather dust. They should become the starting point for a new era of project accountability. Ogun needs a transparent project dashboard showing inherited projects, completion status, funding requirements, public value, contractor obligations and timelines. Citizens should be able to see what government is doing, where it is being done, how much it costs and when it will be completed. That is how to build public trust.

Security must also occupy a central place in the next developmental agenda. No economy thrives where citizens live in fear. Farmers cannot cultivate in fear. Traders cannot prosper in fear. Investors do not commit capital to unsafe environments. Families cannot sleep peacefully when criminality, cultism, kidnapping, land grabbing and communal tensions are left to fester.

Security must move beyond episodic interventions. It should be institutionalised as a core pillar of governance. Community policing, intelligence gathering, surveillance technology, support for security agencies, collaboration with traditional rulers, neighbourhood watch systems and youth engagement must be woven into a comprehensive security architecture.

Ogun’s geography makes this even more urgent. As a border state with international and interstate gateways, it is exposed to unique security pressures. The next administration must treat security not as an afterthought, but as the foundation upon which development rests.

Youth development is another area where urgency is required. Ogun’s young population is not a problem; it is an asset waiting to be activated. But a demographic dividend does not happen automatically. It must be deliberately cultivated through education, skills, access to finance, mentorship, technology and enterprise support.

It is regrettable that the Ministry of Youth Development appears to have lost momentum in recent years. There is not a commissioner in place now. This must change. The next administration must put youth at the centre of policy, not at the margins of political mobilisation.

Skills training must be aligned with market realities. Ogun youths should be trained not only in conventional vocations but in coding, data analytics, agro-processing, renewable energy installation, fashion technology, digital marketing, logistics, film production, animation, robotics, welding, fabrication, automobile diagnostics and construction technology.

The state should establish innovation and enterprise hubs across the senatorial districts, with each hub tied to the comparative advantage of its zone. Abeokuta can grow as a technology and administrative innovation centre. Ogun West can become a manufacturing, logistics and cross-border trade powerhouse. Ogun East can expand its strength in education, tourism, agriculture and creative enterprise.

Young people in Abeokuta, Ilaro, Ota, Ijebu-Ode, Sagamu, Ijebu-Igbo, Imeko, Ipokia and Ayetoro should not feel compelled to migrate to Lagos or Abuja before they can find opportunity. Opportunity should meet them at home.

Women’s empowerment must also move beyond tokenism. Women dominate informal trade, agriculture, micro-enterprise and community welfare systems. Supporting them is not charity; it is economic strategy. Scalable microcredit, cooperative financing, market infrastructure, maternal healthcare, business training, digital literacy and legal protection can transform thousands of households. As Kofi Annan wisely observed, “When women thrive, all of society benefits.” Ogun must take that wisdom seriously.

Social welfare, too, must evolve. A modern state cannot rely on guesswork to identify the vulnerable. Ogun needs a credible, digitised and regularly updated social register to ensure transparency in subsidies, grants and welfare interventions. Primary healthcare centres must be rehabilitated and equipped, especially for maternal and child care. Health insurance coverage should be expanded. Nutrition, school feeding and elderly care should receive stronger policy attention. Social welfare is not a burden. It is an investment in stability, productivity and human dignity.

Education remains the soul of Ogun’s identity. This is the state of Awolowo, Soyinka, Fela, Ransome-Kuti, Solarin and generations of teachers, writers, professionals and reformers. Ogun must not lose its historic advantage as a centre of learning.

The next administration must prioritise teacher training, digital classrooms, technical education, school infrastructure, curriculum reform and stronger links between education and employability. Technical colleges should be revived and repositioned to serve the needs of industry. Tertiary institutions should become engines of research, innovation and local problem-solving.

Agriculture must also move from subsistence to serious agribusiness. Ogun has land, people, markets and proximity to Lagos. These advantages should translate into food security, agro-processing, export potential and youth employment. Cassava, rice, poultry, aquaculture, oil palm, vegetables and livestock value chains can be expanded through mechanisation, storage, irrigation, rural roads, extension services and access to credit.

The state should not merely produce raw agricultural goods; it should process, package, brand and export them. That is where jobs and wealth are created.

Industrialisation must be deliberate. Ogun already hosts one of Nigeria’s largest concentrations of industries, but industrial growth must be better planned and better supported. Roads to industrial clusters must be maintained. Power solutions must be decentralised. Broadband must be expanded. Housing must be affordable. Environmental standards must be enforced. Investors must be treated with seriousness, but communities must not be sacrificed.

The next administration should pursue an aggressive but responsible industrial policy anchored on infrastructure, ease of doing business, local employment, environmental sustainability and public-private partnerships.

There is also a need for stronger public finance discipline. Ambition without funding is rhetoric. The next government must improve internally generated revenue without suffocating small businesses. It must block leakages, digitise revenue collection, prioritise capital expenditure and ensure debt sustainability. Every naira must count. Every project must justify itself. Every ministry, department and agency must be held to measurable outcomes.

This is where the ISEYA framework can be upgraded. The next phase should be known not merely by promises, but by targets: kilometres of roads completed, number of schools upgraded, number of youths trained and employed, number of women-funded businesses, number of primary health centres functional, hectares of farmland cultivated, industries attracted, jobs created and communities connected.

ISEYA provided the compass. The next administration must provide the roadmap, the vehicle, the fuel and the discipline to arrive at the destination.

For Yayi, the task ahead is both historic and delicate. His emergence carries symbolic weight, especially for Ogun West, a zone that has long yearned for a fairer place in the state’s power equation. But the mandate he seeks must not be interpreted narrowly. He must be a governor for all of Ogun – from Yewa to Ijebu, from Egba to Remo, from Awori to the Eguns, from the border towns to the rural communities, from industrial estates to farming settlements.

He must reassure those who fear exclusion. He must inspire those who expect transformation. He must unite political forces without becoming captive to them. He must reward loyalty without sacrificing competence. Above all, he must govern with clarity, courage and compassion.

The developmental agenda before Ogun is vast, but not impossible. The foundation has been laid. The ideas are available. The institutions can be strengthened. The resources can be mobilised. What is required is leadership with energy, humility, discipline and imagination. Ogun does not need noise. It needs results.

The next administration must complete abandoned projects, revive deferred visions, institutionalise ISEYA, secure communities, empower youths, support women, modernise agriculture, deepen industrialisation, strengthen education, expand healthcare and build a government that listens as much as it leads.

The people of Ogun are not asking for miracles. They are asking for seriousness. They are asking for fairness. They are asking for a government that sees every zone, hears every community and delivers visible improvement to everyday life.

The promise of ISEYA must now move beyond one administration. It must become Ogun’s permanent development doctrine – refined by experience, expanded by innovation and driven by a new urgency. The foundation has been laid. The next phase must build higher, faster, fairer and deeper. Ogun is ready for its next leap. The incoming leadership must be ready too.

••• Somorin, former Chief Press Secretary to Governor Dapo Abiodun, writes from Crescent University, Abeokuta.