MAJOR ECONOMIC ACTIVITES

Agriculture is the main occupation of the people, providing income and employmentfor a large percentage of the population. The State is blessed with a conducive climate that SlliJports cultivation of a variety of crops such as yam, cassava, maize, rice, plantain, beans, vegetables and citrus fruits such as orange, paw-paw, pineapple and so on. The main cash crops produced in the State are cocoa, cashew, kola nut, oil palm and palm kernels, rubber and coffee.

The Agricultural Policy of the State is to increase agricultural output substantially as a weapon against malnutrition and a means of improving the standard of living of the people, as well as producing for export. The State is a major producer of kolanut in the country. The State also produces rubber on a large scale, as well as timber of various species. Out of the total land area of about 16,409 square kilometres, about 20 per cent is preserved as forest reserves. The Forest Reserves have over 26,352ha of gmelina, teak and pine. All these species are available as raw material for pulp and other wood ­ based industries. Because of their abundant natural resources,. ample level of infrastructure and availability of recreational facilities, these forest reserves have become a viable Tourist Centre.

There are large-scale industries in the State, both privately and publicly owned. The private industries include cement, pharmaceuticals, paint, ceramics, roofing sheets, plastic, agro allied, foods and beverages, foam, breweries, distilleries, soaps and detergents, to mention a few. Government-owned industries are the Gateway Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Ikangba, Gateway Industrial and Technical Company Limited, Gateway Hotels at Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode and Otta, amongst others. Moreover, Iwopin (Ogun Waterside) is witnessing a rebirth in the development of the multimillion naira Paper Mill in the State. There is also a salt Industry at Ijoko Ota. As a complement to the economic activities of the State, there is a good network of roads for the transportation of goods. However, transportation within the coastal areas of the State is by speedboats and canoes.

The basic objectives of setting up most of the industries are to meet the local demands for manufactured goods, provide industrial outlets for locally produced raw materials and provide employment opportunities for both skilled and unskilled manpower.

While some people find employment in the public service, others are engaged in private concerns, and specialise in professions such as tailoring, wood works and carpentry, cloth weaving, tie 'and dye and the like. The small ­ scale industries are mainly private initiatives. These include farming, bakery, sawmilling, metal fabrication, woodworks and carpentry.

Within the rural society, the major traditional economic activity of women is subsistence farming. Some of the literate women in the urban areas are employed in the mainstream of the public service, while a number of others are engaged in petty trading. The riverine areas of the State specialise in fishing, lumbering and boat building.

Both the Federal and the Ogun State Governments provide a wide range of gainful employment in the State through the long established Public Service, which include the Judiciary, the Military, the Police Force, Customs, Immigration and Prison Services, Local Government service, Residential and Industrial Estates and Sports Stadia.

Standard of Living in Ogun State  

The social welfare component of OGUN SEEDS centres on significantly empowering the people of Ogun State by means of their food security, housing, health, education, employment, happiness, sense of fulfilment and general well-being.
Poverty has been defined as the lack of income (in cash or kind) necessary to ensure access to a set of basic needs. But in recent times, it is defined to include powerlessness (the inability to change circumstances for better) isolation, vulnerability (a fear of loosing the little that one has).

In addition to the firsthand information the State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, obtained during his preelection assessment tour of the 236 wards of the State in 2002/2003, the situation analysis report ofthe various Transition Work Groups constituted by the Governor prior to his assumption of office in 2003, and the Report of the 2003/2004 Nigeria Living Standard Survey by the Federal Office of Statistics (now Bureau of Statistics) enabled the State Government to objectively assess the quality of life of its people. This report focused on three indicators to measure poverty across the nation, namely, Poverty Incidence, Social Capital and Community Participation, as well as Total Household Expenditure.

The poverty statistics and inequality measures indicate that 81.25 per cent of the State population subjectively classified themselves as "poor", using self-rated lines. The inequality measure using Gini Coefficient for Ogun State was 0.388, while the poverty incidence, by the relative measures was 38.73, placing the State in the 14th and 10th positions respectively amongst the other States in the country. On the other hand, with the per capital relative poverty by State, the Core Poor was 9.4 per cent; Moderately Poor was 29.4 per cent, while Non Poor was 61.3 per eent. In addition, the poverty incidence by minimum of 2900 calories puts Ogun State in the 10th position in the nation with 19. 76 per cent and 80.24 per cent, respectively. Above all, the total household income per capital expenditure was N4,300.

In the area of household dwelling by type, 66.2 per cent lived in single rooms, 5.3 per cent in apartments/flats, 26.4 per cent in whole building, and 2.1 per cent in others. Regarding the type of construction, 31.16 per cent of the houses in the State was built with mud bricks, 59.79 per cent with cement/concrete blocks, 4.63 per cent with burnt bricks, 2.11 per cent with stone, 0.42 with roofing sheets and 1.89 per cent with other materials. Also, 90.7 per cent of the structures was roofed with iron/zinc sheets.

On assessing the sources of light available to the people, 59.0 per cent has access to electricity, 35.9 per cent uses kerosene, 0.7 per cent uses gas and 4.4 uses other means. For cooking, however, 52.6 per cent uses kerosene, while 44.5 per cent uses firewood. Most importantly, the report ascertained that 66.88 per cent of the people have access to safe drinking water.

Macroeconomic Framework

Considering the immense human and material endowments of Ogun State, however, it is obvious that this has not had an appreciable effect on the economic growth and development of the State. In other words, for a very long time, the State has been operating far below its potentials, thus affecting the living conditions of the people negatiVely.

In spite of its abundant natural resources and arable farmland, the State has remained a Civil Service State since its inception about 30 years ago. Although the number of industries is rising daily, it is still abysmally low compared to the number of job seekers in the State. This implies that despite the creative strategies of the Government on employment generation, unemployment is still high and those in employment have to fend for many unemployed people, leading to reduced earnings for the employed and mass poverty both for the workers and non-workers.

The poor industrialisation of the State and the accompanying high unemployment also translates to poor internally generated revenue (IGR) for Government. Thus, for instance, at the beginning of this administration, 75 per cent of Government revenue went into recurrent expenditure. Even now, with prudent management and higher earnings from the Federation Account, it -has only reduced it to 55 per cent. Obviously, this affects the ability of Government to lay a solid foundation for high living standards for the people. A huge recurrent expenditure crowds out the resources needed to provide good road networks, well equipped hospitals, potable water, housing, and good schools. Therefore, the achievements of the Government of Ogun State in all these sectors have been made possible by creative use of resources and prudent management.

In addition, the absence of good infrastructure in the state, the large size of government characterised by inefficiency and corruption places a heavy burden on the people and the Government. This was the picture at the inception of this administration in Ogun State in 2003. This is the problem the Government is now confronting with the instrumentalities of Ogun State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (OGUN SEEDS).

POPU LA TION :
The current (2006) estimated population of Ogun State is over 5 Million. This figure is based on a projection of the 1987 census which put the State's population then at approximately 1.5 million. In view of the large-scale under-counting during the 1987 census and the wide- spread apathy towards the exercise in some parts of the State, it is generally believed that the State's population was much than 3million in 1987.

CAPITAL:
It's capital and largest urban centre is the historic city of Abeokuta (Population 0.4 million) situated barely 100 kilometres or one-hour drive from the Federal capital, Lagos.Other major towns include Ijebu-Ode, Sagamu, Ilaro, Ijebu-Igbo, Ota and Aiyetoro.
CUSTOM AND TRADITION Ogun State is a homogeneous entity peopled pre dominantly by the Yoruba-speaking group, a major Nigerian ethnic group, and the largest ethnic group on the West African Coast. The Egbas, Egbados, Egun/ Awori.
..........The State is also extraordinary in terms of its track record in the supply of highly trained manpower to the country at a time when the rest of the country was yet to be fully exposed to western education. In the colonial and pre-colonial days, the people of Ogun State dominated the professions, particularly the legal, educational, medical, engineering and administrative professions as well as religious vocations. It is not surprising, therefore that the State has produced many prominent citizens in various walks of life. Prominent among them were Sapara Williams who qualified as a lawyer as far back as 1876; Oludotun Ransome-Kuti who was an educationist of high repute; his wife, Funmilayo who had the singular honour of being the first woman to drive a motorcar in Nigeria apart from her role in nationalist struggles for Nigeria’s independence; Chief Obafemi Awolowo who was the first premier of the Western Region; and a host of others particularly in the legal and medical professions. So as history has shown, Ogun is a pacesetting State whose people are reputed for their progressive minds.

In commerce and industry, the pioneering efforts of Madam Tinubu and late Chief Adeola Odutola have landscape. The duo, like many others in that part of the country, contributed a lot in placing Nigeria on the path of economic growth. It is also our pride that the first newspaper in Nigeria, Iwe Irohin fun Awon Egba by Reverend Townsend was established in Abeokuta in 1796.

Also remarkable about the State is the fact that the political leadership of the region was under the control of the State from the early forties to the mid sixties when democratic governance in the country was halted by the military. Today, the people of the State are still at the forefront of the country’s commercial and industrial enterprises, as well religion and the professions. It is a State of which I am proud as an indigene. Therefore, I would like to talk a little more of its history.

The State is drained by fast flowing coastal rivers and empty into the lagoons of Lagos State. The most important of these rivers include Ogun, Yewa, Osun and Saasa. It is worthy to note that the name of the State is actually derived from the largest rivers, River Ogun.

In its early days, the State was actually a small part of the then Western Region of Nigeria, which was one of the three regions into the country was divided in 1948.
The Region comprised today’s Western Zone of the country as well as two of the South-South States of Edo and Delta. In 1963, the latter two were carved out of the region and given the name of Mid-Western Region. Then, in 1967 just before the Civil War assumed full escalation, the region was broken into two; the Western State and the Lagos State. The present Ogun State was then a combination of three provinces – Egba, Egbado and Ijebu provinces. And on February 3, 1976, these provinces were created into Ogun State by the Murtala/Obasanjo military regime.

The State is bounded to the West by Republic of Benin. Ondo State is to the East, while Oyo State lies to its North.
The Egbas were well organized administratively and politically with a secured revenue base so much that well into the last century, they enjoyed some relative independent status outside the sphere of British control that was based in Lagos. It was only after the advent of the famous Adubi war that the federation of Egba states eventually lost its independence and was effectively brought under the control of the British administration as part of the Southern Protectorate.

Similarly, the Ijebus, renowned for their versality and proficiency in commerce were finally dislodged from their control of trade between the coastal town of Lagos and Yoruba hinterland by the British forces in the famous Imagbon expedition popularly known as Ogundana Sungbo war of 1892.

These contacts, face-offs and confrontations with the colonial powers have lent credence to the historical fact that the people of Ogun are a set of highly enlightened and sophisticated people who can be easily led but very distinguished characteristics of mental, spiritual and physical independence of the old that the Ogun indigenes are exhibiting till today.

Significantly also is the fact that the elderly contact of the State with western civilisation did make the people relatively more socially sophisticated, politically conscious and economically prosperous than the rest of the people of Nigeria. And in spite of the vicissitudes of history which the people had experienced, they have left nothing to chance in jealously guarding their heritage of self-assertiveness and freedom of action.

The State is especially blessed by nature in terms its geographical location. It is not only a creek and lagoon region, it is also blessed with a coastal plain with the elevation increasing northwards from above 40m to 250m above the sea level. The undulating plain is broken by the North West / South East sandstone extending from near Aiyetoro in Yewa zone eastward to Ijebu-Igbo. There are pockets of rocky outcrops dotting the landscape especially around Abeokuta. With a good climatic pattern of evenly balanced wet and dry seasons, and with a total landmass of about 16,409.26 square kilometers, the State is undoubtedly a fortunate one in terms of location from the point of view of economic, tourist and natural resources potential.

Abeokuta, the capital city of the State, is only about 100km from Lagos, the country’s industrial and commercial nerve centre. This proximity and the State’s geographical contiguity to Lagos has placed the State in an advantaged position in terms of access to the economic benefits and inspiration that Lagos offers.
The State has a population of about 3 million, consisting of a homogenous people of the Yoruba extraction. But within the population are sub-groups with distinct linguistic characteristics. Notable among these are the Egbas, the Ijebus, the Remos and the Yewas formerly known as the Egbados.

Yoruba is the mother tongue or what linguistics will call the first language of the people of the State while the second and official language is English. But the dialects are distributed according to the sub-groups in the State and among these are Aworis, Egbas, Eguns, Ijebus, Ikales, Ilajes, Remos and Yewas.

In terms of political administration, the State is made up of twenty local government areas, including: Abeokuta South Local Government with the secretariat in Ake, Abeokuta; Abeokuta North Local Government Area (LGA) with the secretariat in Akomoje, Abeokuta; Ado- Odo/Ota LGA with the secretariat in Ota; Yewa North LGA with the secretariat in Aiyetoro; Yewa South LGA with secretariat in Ilaro; Ifo LGA with the secretariat in Ifo; Ijebu East with the secretariat in Ijebu Ode; Ikenne LGA with the secretariat in Ikenne; Obafemi Owode LGA with the secretariat in Owode; Odeda LGA with the secretariat in Odeda; Odogbolu LGA with the secretariat in Odogbolu; Ogun Waterside LGA with the secretariat in Abigi.
The others are Sagamu LGA with the secretariat in Sagamu; Imeko-Afon LGA with the secretariat in Imeko; Ipokia LGA with the secretariat in Ipokia; Ijebu North East LGA with the secretariat in Atan; Ewekoro LGA with the secretariat in Itori; and Remo North LGA with the secretariat in Isara.

Due to the fact that the State lies in the moist tropical forest area, much to which has been deforested to give original forest exist. But significantly, agriculture remains the major occupation of the people of Ogun State. Indeed, quite a sizeable proportion of the people of the State are employed in the agricultural industry. In effect, the State has been contributing a lot to the production of raw materials for the development of the various agro-based industries in the State in particular and the country as a whole. And to a very large extent, the State is self-sufficient in food production.

The State is especially endowed with wide, extensive, fertile and arable lands which could be turned into agricultural use. With the savannah land in the northwestern part, there exists a large opportunity for livestock production on a large scale to meet the needs of State for livestock of such products.

The State also has vast forest reserves that could be reforested to meet its demands for timber and wildlife while at the same time preserving the forest resources. Besides, there is a network of lakes, rivers, lagoons and ocean fronts whose resources are also available for tapping.
Thus, Ogun State is one State in Nigeria which must have no reason for being poor. And by any, it is not a poor State. For with the State’s proximity to Lagos and the legendary enterprising disposition of its people, Ogun State is today one of the most industrialized and commercialized States in Nigeria.
Abundantly blessed with qualitative and quantitative manpower, Ogun State is second to none in the area of the geniuses and intellectuals who are of immense national and international repute in virtually all walks of life.

What the State needs, therefore, is the harnessing of its human and natural resources in such a way as to assure for its citizens the highest attainable standard of living. It needs to take its youths off the streets through full and gainful employment, it needs to revolutionize its agriculture, it needs to develop its social infrastructure, it needs to create the enabling environment for all-round developments of its various sectors.

In the area of culture, the State has a lot to offer Nigeria and the international community. The State is an embodiment of outstanding traditional cultures which over time have been refined without distortions to make them internationally attractive and alluring. In effect, the State is today the tourist’s delight. From Remo to Egba and from Yewa to Ijebu, there abound spectacular tourist attraction that could leave the most cynical tourist gasping for breath.
Some of the State’s traditional festivals have become the talk of town not only in Nigeria but also in the international community. Included here are the Egungun, Osun, Igunuko, Ogun, Olumo, Gelede, Oro, Orisa Oko, Obinrin Ojowu, Agemo, Obalufon festivals, to name the most fascinating and thrilling ones.

Apart from these, the State boasts of water fronts that could easily be developed and upgraded to beaches and arenas of real recreation in some areas of the State like Makun Omi in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area and Akere in Ipokia Local Government Area. Resort centres, boat riders, and holiday and sundry facilities could be provided to further develop the State to make it the foremost tourist centre in the country.

Perhaps the most popular tourist attraction in the State is the Olumo Rock located in the heart of Abeokuta. Legendary tales has it that it protected the people of Egba against enemy attacks during the frequent wars that characterized the ancient city centuries. There are also the old Manse at Ogbe in Abeokuta and Madam Tinubu Shrine in Ilaro, Tongeji Island in Ipokia, St. James Anglican School in Ota, Ijamido River shrine also in Ota and Area J4 Forest Reserve all of which offer remarkable tourist attractions. Besides, the State is blessed with an abundance of historic monuments that include the Bilikisu Sungbo Shrine at Oke-Eri near Ijebu Ode and River Yemoji which has a natural swimming pool at Ijebu Ode.

In the field of education, the State is first among equals. Given its size relative to that of the other States in the country, it is remarkable that the State has three Universities namely, the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta which belongs to the Federal Government, the Olabisi Onabanjo University owned by the State, and the Babcock University, Ilisan which is a private one.

There are two colleges of education: the Federal College of Educaiton in Osiele, Abeokuta and the Tai Solarin College of Education in Ijagun in Ijebu Ode. Another federal presence in Ogun State though educational institution is the Federal Polytehnic Ilaro while the State has two, namely, the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta and the Polytechnic of Remo. Added to these are various other educational and related institutions which are spread across the State and are doing the State proud. These facilities qualify the State to be an educational State which can be put on world educational map if the State is further rallied to successfully project its educational potentials.

Considering the proximity of the State to Nigeria’s major sea port, in Lagos a lot of commercial and industrial activities could be generated to such a level that the over-congestion of Lagos State as the ultimate place of business which is becoming problematic can be given some respite by opening up Ogun State as a complementary alternative. If the State is braced up to the challenge of living up to providing an alternative and conducive environment for industrial activities, it will become an industrial haven to entrepreneurs.

What is more? The State is very rich in mineral resources, as there are large and seemingly inexhaustible deposits of limestone across the State. Gypsum, tar, gravel, chalk, high quality stone and phosphate are also extensively available in the State and are waiting to be prospected and tapped. And there is an increasing evidence of crude oil.