Osun Newsroom:
The narrative about Osun in the past years is that it is a civil service oriented economy. How’s the narrative changing under Governor Adegboyega Oyetola?
Olaonipekun:
Thank you. The narrative changed at some point in time, but it is changing again. The only constant thing in life is change. Osun use to be the hub for commodity distribution in the days when it was Osun division of the old Oyo State, when we had multinationals distributing their commodities, goods, services, to all other states in this hemisphere because Osun has active borders with five other South-West states. So, it was a vantage location for multinational like PZ, Lever Brothers, AG Leventis, John Holts, and several others, to distribute their goods from Osogbo to all these other neighbouring states. That was what was responsible for the merchandise glory of the then Osun division of the old Oyo State. This was still the case even after Osun became a state, until when the rail system broke down and the roads went bad. Transportation, which is one of the key areas in logistics of good distribution, became expensive. Getting goods to be distributed from here became difficult as prices went up because of logistics. That was when the narrative changed and Osun became known as a civil service oriented state. Now, Osun is returning to that period in history where we have good roads and easier networks. Also, we have rails from Lagos and from the North passing through Osogbo again. The current administration has effectively deployed infrastructural developments in strategic ways. So, the narrative is changing again, this time, for the better. Apart from the infrastructural developments, there is also need to think about contemporary developments in merchandise as well as contemporary visioning. This has brought us to ensuring that the digital economy and e-commerxe also comes alive in the State. Most of our industries that went moribund because they could not be serviced with necessary raw materials by reason of expensive logistics, are beginning to experience a new lease of life today. The State government has stepped into the situation to ensure that most of our moribund industries are rescued from the situation of inactivity to the point where they are producing again. We have quite a number of them, who through the State intervention in either re-negotiating their debt or through direct support in financial, administrative or advisory term, have been upscaled into improved economic situations.
To crown it, if we have done all of that – having in-flow of goods and services, financial interventions, availability of resources – and there is no purchasing power, we will only find ourselves within the paradigm of abnormal supply. So, the government has crowned it by not owing salaries. The purchasing power of the people is optimally improved while supply of goods, services and production also has optimally improved. So, all these put together are geared towards the change in narrative of the State to the old glory of merchandise.
Osun Newsroom:
In the last three years of the administration of Governor Oyetola, there have been series of initiatives touching on commerce, industry, cooperatives and empowerment. Are these initiatives enough to make Osun an investor’s destination? What are the selling points of the State?
Olaonipekun:
Three things are key in investment attraction: infrastructure, human capital development and land capital. As we speak, we have these three available in Osun.
Look at all the areas that the state government of Osun is touching right now, look at the Free Trade Zone which parades about 1,600 hectares of land and is meant for industries and processing. Look at the International Trade Centre at Dagbolu which is approximately 1,200 hectares; that Centre is a composite entity and is self-serviced, from power, to internal infrastructure, to water provision and every other aspect of its development. Look at the level of infrastructural developments in all our markets like the Ayegbaju market, the new Atakumosa market, and other markets that are coming up with the same form of development. So, all of these come under infrastructure.
If we take the human capital development, the State in the last three years has trained over 20,000 artisans, traders and Micro, Medium and Small Enterprises in the state. This is all in preparation of the greatness ahead.
The land capital is also available. The other resource that is critical is finance, and that is what investors are bringing. So, we are prepared, and that means we are good to go once the investors are prepared.
Osun Newsroom:
Someone once said that poverty alleviation answers to the empowerment of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. So, what has the government of Mr Adegboyega Oyetola done to empower MSMEs in the last three years?
Olaonipekun:
Just like i mentioned, over 20,000 individuals, trade group members, cooperatives members and MSMEs have been trained so far. The governor has a unique approach to governance and that is what is manifesting across sectors. We haven’t trained any individual or group without empowering them. If you train someone without minimally supporting them to start up, then it is as good as one hasn’t trained, because chances are that the people become docile and knowledge becomes useless when start-up capital is not available. So, what we do for the categories we train is that they are brought to an analysis of expertise and needs, and based on the report of the analysis, they are given a commensurate and measurable assistance financially. In the last three years, people that have benefitted between 100,000 naira and 2.5million naira have numbered over 5,000 in Osun. This happened at different times under different schemes. This forms the bedrock of the commercial industrial and trading activities of the State. So, all of these assistance to MSMEs, and our traders both in medium and petty grade, goes a long way in ensuring that our Micro, Small and Medium enterprises are empowered and strong enough to withstand the economic shavings that we face ordinarily and also by reason of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Osun Newsroom:
So, can you say there’s been a strategic recycle in terms of what MSMEs contribute to the State financially?
Olaonipekun:
Sincerely, there is no other sector in Osun today that has contributed anything greater than what that sector has contributed and is still contributing to the economy of Osun. As small as they are, they pay taxes, and those little contributions make a big impact at the end of the day. We should also be mindful of the fact that all the times the economy has receded from the period of the oil crisis to the time of inflation, the MSMEs have remained constant. So, it is safe to assume that trading, commerce, services, petty productions of food, leather and the likes, have been the bottomline of this economy. Besides the Federal allocation, what we are able to galvanise through the MSMEs has been a good source of revenue for the State. They are many and they have been faithful.
Osun Newsroom:
Let’s talk about sustainability plan. When you were speaking earlier, you mentioned that the narrative was once favourable at a time when Osun was a playing ground for big industries. Now that the narrative is changing for good again under Governor Oyetola, what is the sustainability plan to ensure that the efforts being expended to attract new investors and revitalise commercial activities, do not experience a negative slide again?
Olaonipekun:
Our sustainability framework stands on a tripod. The first leg is about what we are doing now. We are not doing what we are doing for rhe purpose of today, we are simply futuristic in our approach to governance. The human capital developments that we are running at the time as a policy, is to prepare our work men and MSMEs for what we are expecting to come in from outside, whether direct or indirect investment. If they are not trained to meet up with contemporary practice obtainable in other parts of the world, when those investors come, they will be irrelevant because of a lack of knowledge of the workings of the processes and technology they are bringing. So, we are at a critical phase of upgrading the knowledge, expertise and practices of our people. This leg of the tripod is very foundational.
The second leg of the tripod is in institutionalizing the changes we are effecting. As we speak, from our sector alone, we have not less than six bills in the House of Assembly. All the changes that the administration of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola is making should and must go beyond this administration, and this can only be achieved through institutionalisation, making it a lawful practice that cannot be flipped away by rule of thumb. Be it the revenue generation framework, be it the human capital development framework, be it the infrastructural development framework, be it environmental practices, all that affect commerce and industries are being institutionalised to ensure that it endures and surpasses our own time.
The third leg is ensuring a public-private partnership, which we believe places a heavy demand on the owners of the investments not to look away from the structures where their finances are invested.
So, these three approaches to sustainability are sacrosanct as far as this administration is concerned and as far as the commerce and industry sector of the economy is concerned.
Osun Newsroom:
Let’s talk about you and the governor. How has the personality, the drive, the vision, the energy of Governor Oyetola informed the way you go about your business as the Commissioner for Commerce, Industry, Cooperatives and Empowerment?
Olaonipekun:
There’s a saying that you cannot build something on nothing. So, in all ramifications, whatever energy you see me exude, whatever vision you see me focusing on, whatever dtive you see me exercising, or whatever quality in governance you see us exhibit, have all been derived from what His Excellency, the governor, dictates. He’s been a leader who leads by example, and working with him productively and constructively means that you should also be able to follow his good examples. It is only wise to key into his drive, his energy, his prudence, and his accountability nature. I have personally learnt a lot of lessons working with him, and the lessons I’ve learnt from him will remain with me for a very long time after my engagement here is over. Sincerely, its been a totally different learning curve for me. Working with someone who is always after results, who asks you what every investment brings back to the State, goes a long way in stirring a passion in me. I am always conscious of the fact that I need to defend whatever I take to him. I am always conscious of the fact that I must be able to justify certain expected outcomes. I cannot afford to allow my outcomes to be inconsistent with my defenses, else my integrity becomes questionable. This is the kind of mindset the governor inspires in me. This is a new learning curve that I have been able to glean from him as a leader. I don’t have any regrets working with him because it has been an awesome experience for me.
Osun Newsroom:
Finally, from a professional point of view, especially as it relates to trade and commerce, and economic revitalization, what does Osun have to gain if Oyetola returns for a second term in office?
Olaonipekun:
What Osun stands to gain? For want of a better expression, let me say that Osun is entering the cruise level with Governor Oyetola’s return. You know, when you board a flight, ascension is always very difficult and rigorous, but by the time you enter the cruise level it is a point of ease. That is exactly what we stand to experience by giving Governor Adegboyega Oyetola a chance for a second term in office. Let me say that the foundation you lay determines the height of the building that comes on it. The foundation that Oyetola is laying in Osun is one that will transcend his administration (because he isn’t a man that thinks about himself alone). He is highly futuristic and his thought level is about the future. I make bold to say that what Oyetola is doing today is for the next ten administrations to benefit. Take Dagbolu for instance, it is absolutely impossible for this administration even after a second term to maximally take benefits from there, yet Oyetola is labouring to build it to finish. If it were an administration that is self-centered, it would have been a case of attending to a negligible chunk of the project and passing the buck to the next administration. But Oyetola is attending to all the components – the aggregation Centre, the bonded terminal, the dry port, the industrial segment, the market, the housing segment, the car mart; seven components being attacked at the same time. So, you understand what I mean when I say this administration is building a foundation for the future, one that ten successive administrations will continue to reap benefits from. So, the issue isn’t so much about asking him to return, but that he should continue to help us in the fashion he has been doing in the last three years. Actually, what Oyetola is offering Osun is help because I know the sacrifices he’s had to make to achieve some of the things we are seeing today. So, the return of Oyetola is not something we should joke with, it is what everybody should put hands on deck to ensure that it happens so that we can indeed enter into that cruise level of governance and administration.
