OUR POTENTIAL:
Created out of the old Oyo State in 1991, blessed with 9, 251km2 land expanse and an estimated current population of 4.75 million, The State of Osun sits atop enormous human, natural and material resources tucked in the following sectors:
A. AGRICULTURE
The State of Osun has 925, 100 ha of land. It is blessed with abundant rain forests to the South, Savannah to the North and a sprawling arable soil. The State possesses the right conditions for multi-crop cultivation.
Osun is favoured with good climatic conditions that support farming and agricultural development. Annual rainfalls can reach up to 1800 mm, mostly falling during the wet season from April to October, leaving the rest of the year for land preparation and harvest. This offers the opportunity for multi-crop cultivation to serve a national population expected to reach 223 million by 2025.
It is our plan to better structure production, optimize returns across the value-chain and further prepare untapped land.
We instituted Programmes and Policies to increase sectorial capacities for collecting market information, enhancing farming input and strengthening market linkages across the agriculture value chains.
We established Land Bank to optimise land use by facilitating land acquisition and leasing processes, and upscaling land exploitation. Some 30,000ha will be added to its portfolio.
We created Osun Rural Enterprises and Agricultural Program (O-REAP), a multi-dimensional programme to promote a private-sector-led industrialisation of the sector. Farmer-centric programme by nature, it considers all elements of the value chain from land management to transformation and distribution of farming output.
Opportunities in the Agriculture Sector:
- Opportunities exist all along the value chain in the Osun agriculture sector.
- The affordable available land makes the State a prime investment destination for industrial crop cultivation.
- The water-abundant eastern regions of Osun provide resources for the cultivation of high-value-added tree crops, such as cocoa, palm oil and cashew.
- The western region offers a climate suitable for vegetable cultivation, including exotic vegetables.
- Private actors can engage in co-creation models with the State, ensuring demand for local farmers while leading the development of crop cultivation and their integration in global value chains.
- We desire to bring together different stakeholders to facilitate market linkages while ensuring a better input provision to the agrarian population to upscale production.
- Service companies can step into the sector to lease production material to farmers, as well as facilitate market information collection and dissemination, and linkages between farmers and off-takers.
- In addition, micro-financing bodies can find opportunities to funnel funds to farmers while benefitting from tools such as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s agricultural credit guarantee scheme.
- Private actors have the opportunity to reinforce storage capacity and logistics, including a cold chain.
Investment Opportunities in Osun Agriculture Sector:
The following investment opportunities exist in the agriculture sector:
- Large Scale Crop Production Integrated with Outgrower Programmes. Available crops in this area are:
– Tomatoes, Chilies, Green Pepper, Vegetables, etc.
– Plantain, Citrus, Lemon, etc.
– Kola nut, Cocoa, Palm Oil, Cassava, Cashew, etc. - Beef Chain Development:
– Improved Cattle Genetics / Breeding
– Cattle Fattening Enterprises
– Abattoir Infrastructure and Slaughter Services
– Beef Processing and Marketing - Establishment of Agriculture Produce Markets
- Development of Agro-Industrial Parks
- Establishment of Seed Companies
- Fresh Water Fish Farming
– Concessioning of 12 water bodies to investors for fresh water aquaculture (catfish, tilapia, etc.) - Partnership to Develop Farming Services
– Quality Seedlings Supply
– Farming Equipment Leasing
– USSD-based Information Dissemination Systems - Development of Financial and Extension Services to Farmers
– USSD-based Farmers Business Education
– Microfinance Services - Research & Development
– Establishment of a Research Centre
– USSD-based Data Collection System - Farming Waste Re-Use
It is our policy to run agriculture as business and run it efficiently and effectively to make it a huge internally generated revenue earner and to provide jobs for over 50 per cent of our unemployed youths
B. MINING:
The State of Osun has a deposit of untapped natural resources, including Gold, Quarry, Lead, Zinc, Quartz and Feldspar in huge commercial quantities.
The Federal Government graciously offered the State mining rights and we have followed it up by ramping up ease of doing business in the sector.
We created the Office of Forestry, Natural and Mineral Resources and acquired 17 mining licenses from the Nigeria Mining Corporation. We are making strenuous efforts to tap these mineral resources to drive industrialisation
We are also partnering with local and foreign investors to develop these mineral resources.
Investment Opportunities in the Mining Sector:
The following are the investment opportunities in the Mining Sector:
- Exploitation of minerals and rocks;
- Off-grid power provision service for mining and mineral-processing activities;
- Human resources provision and management;
- Education and training on mineral exploitation and processing in the following areas:
Feldspar — Glass-based products
Quartz –Construction material
Gold — Refining
Granite & Clay — Construction material
Ceramic — Construction material
Kaolin — Pharmaceutical products
C. INFRASTRUCTURE/PPP
Osun boasts of 225 km of boundary highways, 451 km of intercity roads, 228 km of township roads, 318 km of local government roads and 203 km of rural roads.
The State has embarked on huge road network in the last nine years. Road maintenance and construction remain our top priority. It is our desire to significantly improve on this by constructing and rehabilitating roads on an equitable basis across the State. We have begun this by rehabilitating roads in the nine a Federal Constituencies in the State as it is our plan to use good road network to drive our Development Agenda.
The geographical location of the State of Osun makes it a prime destination for transportation, connection, energy generation and distribution activities.
Osun possesses an outstanding investment-friendly environment. The inventory of the available infrastructure in the State includes road and rail networks linking the State with several other states and especially Lagos, and positioning Osun as a commercial epicentre and market hub for all industrial products.
We seek investment collaboration with the private sector and foreign development partners to boost our infrastructure architecture.
The investment opportunities in the infrastructure sector include:
- Construction and rehabilitation of the MKO Abiola Airport in Ido-Osun into an international airport.
- Development and Management of Inland Dry Port in Osogbo.
- Construction and Management of Free Trade Zones in the state.
- Cold Chain Operation and Management to support the increasing Development of Agriculture And Agri-Food Processing.
- Upgrade of South – North Railway Line.
- Development of Independent Power Plant to Support Industrial Clusters in the State
We seek private actors to tap into existing dams and water sources to generate energy to replicate the partnerships with the French Development Agency in Erinle and Owala.
D. CULTURE AND TOURISM
The State of Osun, The State of the Virtuous and the heartland of the Yoruba people, is the Home of Art and Culture. Osun parades 78 annual festivals and 65 tourism sites and accommodates over 75,000 tourists Osun annually.
It is blessed with natural and cultural endowments, thus offering a powerful platform for tourism promotion.
The State’s proximity to Lagos and its upgrades in the transportation network help attract an increasing number of pilgrims and tourists from Nigeria, Africa and abroad over the past years.
The people of Osun have a historical expertise in producing notably indigo-based, crafts work celebrating their culture. In addition to merchandised products, dance, painting, filmmaking and other expressive arts are highly present and celebrated in the State.
Furthermore, as tourism has been identified as a primary motor for socio-economic development, the government wishes to further globalise cultural festivals indigenous to Osun by establishing a Yoruba World Heritage Centre in Ile-Ife.
As the State is highly visited for its natural and pilgrimage sites, we shall further develop entertainment options to diversify its offer to visitors. In that light, the State has established the Osun Tourism Board that brought various stakeholders together to understand the state of tourism in the State, identify and prioritise revenue generating sites and upskill sectorial actors.
In a move to facilitate private actors’ implementation and invest in the potentials of natural land marks, the State has pledged to provide land titles to newcomers within 60 days.
Investment Opportunities in the Osun Tourism Sector
Investment opportunities in the State include:
- Establishment of Destination Management Organisation (DMO) through Public-Private Collaboration.
Natural Sites in the State are:
– Olumirin Water Falls, Erin Ijesa
– Ayikunnugba Watershed, Oke-Ila
– Owala Dam, OkinniHistorical & Cultural Sites in the zest are:
– Osun International Tourist Village, Osogbo,
– Oke-Oore, Iwo
– Apomu Slave Trade Spot, Historical Landmark
– Jalumi Cannon, Inisa, Historical Landmark
– Kiriji Peace Treaty Memorial Site
– Owa of Igbajo Palace Historical and War Museums
– Owa Ooye of Imesi Ile Palace Historical and War Museums
– Ila Orangun War Memorial SiteThe State’s Mystical Sites are:
– Oduduwa Grove and Shrine, Ile-Ife
– Oranmiyan Staff and Shrine, Ile-Ife
– Oke-Iragbiji, Iragbiji
– IgiNla, Iwara near Iwo - Establishment of a Yoruba World Heritage Centre in Ile-Ife (New Ife) to promote indigenous arts and products.
- Promotion of Indigenous Products:
– Construction of malls and markets in major cities and towns - Eco-Tourism windows are:
• Natural Wildlife Corridor
• Upgrade of existing sites for trekking
• Entertainment activities on and around natural and historical sites
• Construction of cable cars linking hills at some tourist sites in the State - Accommodation
Establishment of World Class Resort Centres, Hotels, Relaxation Centers around the tourist sites.
E. EDUCATION SECTOR:
We regard education as the tool for powering our Development Agenda and make it sustainable. It is the priority of our Administration and we are providing quality and affordable education for our children on an equitable and sustainable basis.
The vision of the State of Osun on education is to continually increase access to quality education that will empower Osun citizens to realize their full potential. This includes functional education at all levels such that prepares people for work and fulfilment.
Osun boasts of 1, 849 primary schools, 780 secondary schools, nine technical colleges, eight universities, eight polytechnics and three colleges of education.
We are investing heavily in vocational and technical education to create jobs for the teeming youths and boost middle level manpower.
We seek to to create knowledge-based economy through innovation, science and technology, education and constant human capital development to drive our Development Plan.
TVET Programmes and Policies in the Education Sector:
The TVET is designed to methodically and consciously produce manpower in the technical and vocational sub sector to foster development and check unemployment.
The programmes and policies are:
I. The Engaging Artisans programme:
As part of Osun’s Medium-term Sector Strategy, the State aims to involve and engage artisans in TVET programmes, in order to benefit students and make connections that are useful to a TVET workforce. The Engaging Artisans programme’s goals are as follows:
• 100% of artisans to be engaged as trainers in technical schools by 2021
• 100% of students on industrial placement with local artisans by 2021
• 100% of local artisan trainers certified by 2021
II. Osun Life Academy: (Example of a successful partnership)
The project in partnership with Italian development partners is aimed at creating an enabling environment for core technical and vocational skills. The academy serves people aged 18 and above. The majority (70-80%) of these fall into the youth bracket, but other professionals attend the academy for retraining. The academy typically offers three- to six-month training programmes in addition to shorter six-week training courses.
While there is currently only one Life Academy in the State, the goal is to establish nine with the support of the private sector, with student fees and the sale of student-made products constituting sources of revenue. The existing Life academy has been enjoying Federal Government patronage since establishment in terms of student enrolment, and over 180 mechanics, furniture-makers, tillers, ceramicists, welders, plumbers among others have graduated.
Partnership & Investment Opportunities in the Education Sector:
• Establishment of Life Academies in partnership with the private sector in areas such as Mechanics, furniture making, ceramics, welding, plumbing, tilling etc
• Upgrade and management of existing vocational and technical institutions, equipment and teacher-training facilities.
• Partnership with Non-governmental organisations and .development partners on capacity building for teachers and students
OTHER KEY FACTS:
a. The presence of the National Distribution Centre of the unbundled Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) offers the State about 18 hours of stable power supply daily, the highest figure in the country. This naturally makes Osun the most investment-friendly State and a potential investment destination in Nigeria.
b. Osun is the winner of the Most Peaceful State in Nigeria (2018). As the reigning most peaceful State, we have fought vigorously to repel the flashes of insecurity that occurred early this year as a result of the general insecurity in the country. We have returned to the status quo. Osun is proudly safe!
c. Located 200 Km away from the largest African city, Lagos, the State of Osun enjoys an ideal geographical position in Nigeria, making it a natural connector state between the hinterland and international markets.
d. Osun is a multiple award winning State: Most Peaceful Sate in Nigeria and the second best State in the World Bank Save One Million Soul project facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Health. This status speaks to our outstanding capacity to walk our talk and offer value to our partners and investors
e. Osun has a railway terminus that links it with Lagos and the northern part of the country for ease of transportation of passengers and goods.
OUR GOAL
We came into power on the benevolence of the people who we gave our word to deliver a Development Agenda to reposition the economy, deliver the good life to the people and transform the State of Osun.
We pledge on our honour to deliver qualitative and equitable services in all the sectors.
Eleven years down the road, we have demonstrated to our people that our word is our bond. We have been delivering equitable services and projects in all the sectors of the State economy, winning awards along the way.
It is our resolve to continue to be true to our mandate.
OUR STRATEGY:
Our strategy is to get the best hands to drive our goal, design a workable template, host an Economic and Investment Summit to unlock our potential and learn strategies to achieve our Development Plan and weave weave a workable template from development to implementation to achieve our dream.
After designing ours Development Agenda, we sought person specification by assembling the brightest of the best in terms of experience, skills and expertise as commissioners.
As part of their orientation programme, we else a Retreat Programme where world-class experts were invited to orientate them on policy, strategy and leadership techniques.
The Commissioners were thereafter handed Performance Charter complete with tasks and timelines to gauge their performance.
We are holding an economic and investment summit from November 19-21, 2019 in line with its agenda to sustainably reposition the economy, woe investors and deliver prosperity to the people.
The 3-day summit, which will draw over 20 world-class resource persons, top-notch speakers and renowned investors, panelists and moderators, is a multi-stage, multi- stakeholder summit that will dissect and recommend strategies which will drive meaningful youth employment, enhance food security and agricultural development, activate mining prospects and boost tourism potential of the State and, more importantly, showcase Osun as a strategic location for industrialization.
The summit will comprise mainly plenary sessions and it will focus on key potential growth sectors which include: Agriculture, Mining, ICT & Innovation, Culture, Tourism & Creative Economy, Youth & Jobs (Light Manufacturing), Infrastructure Development, Industry & Commerce, Environment (Waste to Wealth), Health and Technical & Vocational Education.
Over 1,000 participants across the world are expected at the summit.
The Summit will afford us the opportunity to receive the knowledge of practice from top-notch academics and practitioners and graft it on Osun local content.
This Summit is borne out of a genuine intention to make The State of Osun the commercial hub of the South West. There will be Government to Business, Business to Government discussions, and a good focus on businesses and entrepreneurs in Osogbo and other parts of the nation as well as exhibition opportunities for businesses in Osogbo and the State.
Memomoranda of Understanding will be signed on the sidelines. Investment Guides have already been produced.
CONCLUSION:
The State of Osun parades a compelling profile for investment. It is blessed with huge human and natural resources. It is the safest State in Nigeria. It has the best electricity supply. It has impeccable strategy to drive business and investment. The government has the political will. The people are hospitable. It plays host to thousands of tourists every year.
An investment in The State of Osun is profit and prosperity guaranteed!
We welcome you all.
