State of the nation: Economic and social integration of the South West zone

BY now, the Clinton family of US would have become unpopular in the Federal Government circle because of the forthrightness in the speeches of the famous members of that family.   About five years ago, Hilary Clinton, as America‘s Secretary of State expressed her shock and disbelief that an oil rich Nigeria could be an heavy importer of oil refined products.

The official, but dubious reason was that the domestic refining capacity would not support local consumption and therefore, it would be necessary to import. However, importation continued and this has led the country into a colossal wastage of about N2 trillion in subsidy payment, apart from sordid performance of many “importers”.

Recently, a former President of the US, Bill Clinton expressed his dismay about lack of expected developmental progress in Nigeria, while attributing poverty as a major cause of social problems.  The official reaction was that the Nigerian economy was buoyant and that the gross domestic product (GDP) was rising about 7% (while the growth rate in developed countries was around 2-3%).

Also, the foreign exchange reserves at about $47 billion could be adequate for 10-month imports, while inflation rate was reported to have reduced to less than 10%.  Many Nigerians know that these elegant statistics mean nothing considering the staggering unemployment rate and the deepening poverty throughout the country.

Gbonigi, Olajumoke & Falae: Fighting the Yoruba cause

In view of the uncertainties in the political and economic policies of the present Federal Government and the continued misplaced emphasis by the politicians on the 2015 elections, many patriotic Nigerians would like to examine other options to avoid the looming disaster.  A more realistic option comes to mind in the social and economic integration of each of the present six zones of the country.  Why not start with the South-West zone, with its developed infrastructures as a result of Lagos, being the former capital of Nigeria?

For the avoidance of doubt, the South-Western political zone of Nigeria comprises Oyo State, Lagos State, Ogun State, Ondo State, Osun State and Ekiti State.  However, for the purpose of this article, the people of the South-West are not limited to the Yoruba which constitute the majority tribe, but also include the non-Yoruba who number about six million people.  These groups include more than four million Ibos, now resident in the principal cities of the South-West zone.

It is known, if not completely recognized that a Lagos citizen needs not to be a Yoruba, but that person who resides in Lagos, works in Lagos and contributes to the development of Lagos in all aspects, irrespective of tribal origin.

Many non-Yoruba people who have settled peacefully for years in different parts of Yorubaland, have mastered Yoruba language with its delicate dialects, have inter-married and often, had eaten with relish the forbidden fruits (traditionally reserved for indigenes). The sonorous stanza in ‘Ayinde Wonders‘ lyric is no longer a strange sound in their ears.

The South-West zone is richly blessed with fertile land, vigorous and sturdy people (both indigenes and non-indigenes).  A cursory visit to any Yoruba urban centre would not fail to notice the wonderful combination of indigenous industry and genuine participatory efforts of others.

Lagos, a cosmopolitan city is a best example of the co-operative endeavour of many tribes of Nigeria in the field of social and economic development.  There is no doubt that peaceful political atmosphere; under good governance is a contributory factor to making Lagos State a safe haven for profitable investment.

It is however observed that in spite of the numerous economic advantages of the South-West zone, there are less visible signs of economic integration.  Each capital city of each State: Lagos, Ibadan, Abeokuta, Oshogbo, Akure, Ado-Ekiti – constitutes a large market for consumable goods and has already developed a good distributive network.  What is, therefore, necessary is injection of heavy capital to extend commercial activities into the interior parts of the zone.

The area which commands priority is road and rail transport.  There should be a well developed road system (apart from Lagos-s Ibadan road, “with its appetite for blood sacrifices”).  A road linking Lagos to Ibadan through Ikorodu, Sagamu and Ijebu Ode should be widened and made more durable.  Also, Ibadan should be conveniently linked to Oshogbo, Ilesha, Akure, and Ondo through wider and sturdy roads to facilitate free movement of goods and people within the zone; these will require massive investments by private enterprises and various governments of the zone.

The old government of Western State (which comprises the present South-West zone) had established industrial estates in Ikeja and Apapa (Lagos State) to encourage the establishment of industries which would concentrate on manufacturing some commodities which were hitherto imported.  The appearance of some manufacturing plants like Guinness (alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks); Dunlop and Michelin (for tyres); Cadbury (for Confectioneries) and others became apparent.

However, the vision of those great leaders of the 1950s had been consistently diminished by unfriendly economic policies of many decades which had destroyed many industries and retarded the growth of some.  The time is now ripe for the revival of those industries which are necessary for the growth of the economy of the country.

Those governments of the South-West zone which do benefit from free flow of oil money should use it wisely (rather than consume it wastefully) to revive the tyre manufacturing industry, the battery manufacturing plant, and also, consider the building of a motor spare-parts plant.  Considering the heavy population of vehicles in Nigeria, domestic manufacturing of tyres, batteries and spare-parts could be a viable and desirable investment for both private and public sectors.

Perhaps the Ladipo market for spare-parts could do better with new and genuine spare parts rather than the sale of scraps from other parts of the world, nick-named ‘Tokunbo’.

It is not beyond the capacity of the governments of the South-West zone and its array of private investors to jointly build a refinery to refine different products from the country‘s oil resources rather than rely on when the Federal Government, under its present slow policy.

The clarion call is for the present oil money should be used to fuel the growth of the economy through infrastructural developments at the time when oil still flows