By Dauda Lawal
A couple of weeks ago, the Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji (BAO) composed a team of experts under an umbrella called Ekiti State Economic Management team to drive the vision of having a state that is economically potent and viable to withstand the current global economic heat.
Members of the Ekiti State Economic Management Team comprised of people that have made their marks in their various spheres of life, are:
1. Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi (Chief Economic Adviser/Head of Team)
2. Mr Feyisayo Charles Ogoji
3. Mr Falil Ayo Abina
4. Mr Tope Adebayo
5. Dr Olugbenga Oyewole
6. Ms Folakemi Fatogbe
7. Arc. Eyitope Ajayi.
While, the quartet of Mr Akin Oyebode (Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development); Mr Niyi Adebayo (Special Adviser, Budget, Economic Planning and Performance Management); Mrs Tayo Adeola (Special Adviser, Investment, Trade and Industry) and Mr Ebenezer Boluwade (Special Adviser, Agriculture and Food Security) were coopted as internal members of the team.
Before now, every discerning Ekiti man knew that the state operates a monolithic economy. The state’s economic fibre rests primarily on the civil service structure. Whatever affects salary payment will automatically ground the economy and bring it to a halt.
However, Governor Oyebanji took a deft action to address this anomaly in order to set the state towards the stream of economic prosperity. He believed a well-lubricated 21st century economy is driven by private entity and industrial revolution, rather than one that relies solely on government.
Practically, the chief task ahead of the Senator Adetumbi-led team is to diversify the economy, identify areas of economic opportunities and how to harness them. The scope of their operation also covers modalities to adopt measures to block leakages in the system, so that the state can shore up its Internally Generated Revenue.
Putting it in a plain language, virtually all the governments that had come to govern Ekiti State had taken measures to strengthen the economy, improve revenue generation and create job opportunities, using different approaches. The aggregate of the position arrived at fondly depicts that a lot still needs to be done if we must take Ekiti economy to a more reliance and competitive level.
It was based on the above reality that Governor Oyebanji constituted the present economic team. The Governor must have realised that some potentials of the economy that could have helped in bringing the state out of full dependence on federal allocations need to be creatively harnessed. He must have seen the need to explore those areas for shared prosperity.
It is no gainsaying the fact that Ekiti has strong comparative advantage in agriculture, mining, tourism, arts, culture, and human resource sectors. But how far can this team go to fully, or optimally tap these resources for the benefit of Ekiti people?
In the area of Agriculture, Ekiti State has vast potential and opportunity to cultivate Yam and Cocoa productions in commercial quantity. In mining, it has vast mineral deposits in granite, kaolinite, columbite, charnockite, iron ore, baryte, limestones, aquamarine, gemstone, phosphate, limestone, tourmaline, gold coal in limited quantty among others.
In tourism, the state has the advantage to bank on its natural sites like Ikogosi Warm Springs; Arinta Water Falls; Olosunta and Orole hills of Ikere; Erin-ayonugba River at Erijiyan Ekiti; Fajuyi Memorial Park of Ado-Ekiti, Egbe and Ero Dams, and so on.
Without sounding indelicate,
the collective expertise and experience of the team members is expected to serve as a cannon to drive and deliver the State to a more prosperous destination if the right strategies are adopted to drive the vision they have for the state.
Industrial development has been captured as the major driver of any economy direction. For this team to make a serious, appreciable and impactful headway, it must work hard to attract industries or perhaps investors that can help in developing some of the areas where the state has strong comparative advantage, the way immediate Governor, Kayode Fayemi partnered Promasidor Nigeria Limited to revive Ikun Dairy Farm.
At one point in the state, there were frantic efforts to attract Cocoa processing industry to be sited in Ilawe Ekiti to boost cocoa production. The thinking then was that, the farmers will be motivated to plant more improved cocoa seedlings if they realise that there are companies to buy up and use their products.
Similar effort was made in biofuel sector in Iyemero Ekiti axis to buoy cassava production. But these efforts were futile probably due to lack of political will, or perhaps for lack of relevant economic template to propel the vision under successive governments.
Until the last regime of Dr. Kayode Fayemi, isn’t it disturbing and worrisome that the large sunk of granite being used in construction in the state are still been purchased from Ondo State? This was happening when Ekiti has abundant, but untapped igneous rocks all over the place.
The Ado and Iyin Ekiti hills, and the rolling hills along Efon-Ipole-Iwaraja-Erinmo axis are potentially positioned for our advantage but remained untapped till date. There is no doubt that the team will demonstrate its sagacity to project the quantum of granite deposit in the state to a multi-million dollar investment. A working roadmap is expected to be designed to attract industries to Ekiti State to mine her mineral deposit to generate revenue and increase job opportunities. Investors should also take the advantage of the ease of doing business in Ekiti State to invest in the state.
By global standards, leadership they say comes with responsibilities. Leaders are known to be pacesetters in any society. However, for the team to live up to the bidding of attracting investments to Ekiti State, they too must live by example.
I had taken time to read about the personal attainments of the team members, in fact, they all parade intimidating credentials. Some have chains of investments in Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Port Harcourt and other Nigerian cities.
They should endeavour to bring a branch of their investments to the state to add to the state’s industrial development. With all due respect, it will be herculean task for them to convince anyone to invest in Ekiti when members are not setting the pace in this regard, since they have the means and wherewithal to do so.
It would also be of tremendous benefit for the team to contrive ways of marketing our local contents like the clay pot in Isan Ekiti, the local mat at Ogotun, the locust beans in Moba and Ilejemeje axis to the outside world to ignite local economy and promote Small and Medium Scale Enterprises.
In fact, available information has it that the local mats in Ogotun are now being used for series of building designs in Abuja and Lagos and other state of arts. They are fondly used in place of asbestos being good absorbers of heat and for their unmatchable aesthetic values. There is an urgent need to propel local economy, so that our people with excessive skills in crafts and arts and other areas can be made relevant in the growth of our Gross Domestic Products (GDP).
Similarly, some notable hospitality businesses in urban cities are now using local clay pots as ornaments to uplift their environmental design for better attraction.
To accomplish the foregoing targets, the team would have to be more conversant in Ekiti State for them to have a full grasp and perfect understanding of the local economy. Without this, they will just be studying Ekiti on papers, which may defeat the purpose for which they were composed to help the state.
I quite apppreciate the fact that the team members had indicated interest to discharge the duties Pro Bono. No salary is attached. Despite this, they still need to work to meet the targets set for themselves. This remains the only way to convince the people that they have the professional expertise and nettles to salvage the state from its current parlous state.
It is noteworthy that Governor Oyebanji meant well for Ekiti State for composing the team. It signaled how committed he was to making Ekiti a microcosm of development and epicenter of good things in Nigeria in terms of concentration of projects that are masterpieces for comfort and lifters of standards of living.
But every arsenal must be deployed to make the assignment a success. And this requires taking pragmatic approaches that are beyond smokescreen or cosmetic measures. The team must go beyond boardroom thinking to be able to meet the expected targets despite any foreseeable challenges.
Dauda Lawal is a Public Affairs Analyst and Social Media Influencer