By Saifullah Abiola Imam
By May 29, 2027 when Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq would have ended his second term as governor of Kwara state, thousands of people would have been gainfully employed in no fewer than ten industries he established to return the state of harmony to it’s old glorious days.
The companies namely: Visual Arts Centre, Garment Factory, Innovation Hubb, Sheabutter Processing Factory, Suga Film Factory,Gbugbu International market among others according to governor’s Special Adviser on Media Alh Bashir Adigun while speaking in an interview would have commenced operations at maximum capacity by then.
Other key projects along this divide, aside the ongoing massive infrastructure development in the state include the revamped Flower Garden Recreation center,at GRA ilorin, Table Tennis Arena , Industrial Park (Phase 1)The Intensive Care Unit,Eye Care Unit at General Hospital ilorin, Gbugbu International market (Phase 1)and new Wards also at the General Hospital in ilorin.
Also included are: Dental Clinic at General Hospital, ilorin,New Jebba Waterworks,Nootra FM 88.9 (First ever Radio Station in Kwara North) and the New Kakakin FM on 91.7 Kwara state, in North-central Nigeria, was in its heyday known as one of the most industrialised states in Nigeria, given the high concentration of many factories there, many of them at their heights boasting of thousands of workers in their employment.
But today, virtually all those companies,owned by the state government, federal and even private individuals have crashed like packs of cards because of wrong federal government policies that predated Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration era and even the growing harsh economic conditions.
Kwara state of harmony as at today is practically,a civil service state,a direct opposite of what it was in the 70s.
But today,those good old times are back here again according to the vision of Governor AbdulRazaq when he assumed office in 2019.
“Some of these projects are tactically to rescucitate the dead infrastructures we have in the state ,it’s a deliberate attempt to revamp them .”said Adigun.
Speaking on the essence of the projects Adigun also said:”Kwara is known as a Civil service state,all you have here is people working in government ministries, if you’re not doing that maybe you’re into private businesses buying and selling, trading .
“That’s what we have,most of the factories that we have in kwara state in the 60s and 70s are all gone They are either sold or gone into comatose.
“But when this governor came he saw that this is not how to govern a state,you should leave something for your people instead of these rural migration when people leave Kwara and go to Lagos and Abuja to look for jobs, he believed that such people can stay back with their families and live happily in Kwara that was why he decided to establish some of these factories .”
He added that:’Like the Garment factory,it’s the only Garment factory we now have in the north,the ones we used to have in Kaduna and others are all dead.”
Speaking on stages of completion of the projects,he said:”Most of these projects are completed ,the ones that are not completed are nearing completion, they’re just putting finishing touches .”
He added that:”The Governor is not given to showing off,we believe that commissioning the projects would be a distraction , though i’m not saying that the Governor would not commission them.
“He has done it for the people and the people are giving testimonies .We know the kind of funds that is out into commissioning projects alone and he’s not interested in that.”
The governor’s Media aide particularly said that:” All the governor is interested in is to put these projects in place for this generation and the generations to come to benefit from them.”
Adigun on the massive employments, Garment Factory alone would generate said:”Some countries rely on garment to make money, Bangladesh has the biggest garment factory in the whole world, followed by China,then Vietnam and India.
“They produce garments and make huge money because of cheap labour and most of these brands you see in Europe and America are from these garment countries,so the governor has taken a cue from there and decided to set up one in Kwara state and that alone can take about 3000 people.”
Continuing, he said:”There’s also Sheabutter factory ,we have abundant of Sheabutter in Kwara and he has decided to set up one in Kwara North.So,these two alone would generate employments for our people .Then we also have Innovation Hubb, Visual Arts Centre .”
He also explained that:”Entertainment and IT are two of the major investments that now bring money to governments around the world,so it’s a deliberate attempt to establish some of these projects.
” People are already coming around to partner with the state government.A renowned technology company,IHS has signed an agreement with the state government on the Innovation Hubb ,same goes for Visual Arts where we will be demonstrating the works of Arts.Its also ready,the Studio is there.”he said.
He further explained that:”Nollywood is also being ranked as one of the best in the world raking money for the government,,some of the films cannot make international films festivals because of the standards .
“When Nollywood started, nobody gave them a chance , Nollywood became what it is without government support .It was when it got to a stage that the government noticed the progress they were making that the government started giving them loans .But as it is now,it’s not regulated by the government .
“So what we have in kwara is a world class Studio that can be compared with any of its kind in United state of America,or France or United Kingdom.That one too is also ready to go,the MD has been appointed.
“So anytime from now it would be opened to the public.These projects would make many people to come to Kwara,and make the state a tourist attractions.
“I can tell you for free that all these projects would fully come on stream before the end of this administration.”he said.
He advised the investors that :”Kwara is open for business we have the best environment for business,so they should all come and invest in kwara.And for the people of Kwara to believe in this administration, especially our governor who means well for the people.”
He said that:”The Governor is setting a strong footing for Kwara,not only for my generation but for generations to come .
“He believes that Kwara can be more than what it is if given the right incentive to work and the right leadership too .”
Speaking on the volume of jobs to be created,he said:”I won’t be able to tell you the specific figures in terms of employment these projects would generate,but they would be in thousands,don’t forget that these projects we are talking about are value chains.”
On what structures the government has put in place to ensure sustainability and continuity of these projects, he said:”Let me tell you that the governor has set a pace by putting the young people Infront in places of leadership and I’m sure that young Kwarans, young Nigerians would not let things that are meant for their future to be destroyed by anybody .He has set up a strong structure and he’s going to hand it over to the next generation to hold,that much I can assure you.”
Former President of National Council of Women Society (NCWS)in the state Alhaja Barakat Atunse in an interview with Saturday Vanguard in the projects, commended the government for giving women and youths due attention in his administration describing it as unprecedented in the annals of history of the state.
She also believed that the projects when fully operational would solve problems of idleness in the state particularly among the youths and by implication reduce criminalities .
“I have no doubt in my mind that history would be kind to Governor AbdulRazaq and it would be a lesson for others to learn from.”she said.
Also the Vice President of Federation of Informal Workers of Nigeria in Kwara state Comrade Dada Kolawole though commended Governor AbdulRazaq for the arrays of projects he believed would be beneficial to Kwarans but observed that only Fashion Designers are being integrated by the government among others.
Kolawole who said that his members have also benefitted sponsorship of their wards to study in IVTEC owns by the government added that they have also enjoyed monthly payment of N10,000 money for the aged by the current administration .
He also want the state government to patronise and involve them in the projects that would soon take off .
Kolawole however urged the current administration to establish Electronics Village in ilorin where all Radio Engineers in ilorin would be doing their businesses in one place, stressing that it would boost the economy of Kwara state.
“We once sold the proposal to last administrations but they jettisoned it.There must be a place where all Radionic Engineers would be in one place like it’s happening in Lagos.It would boost the economy of the state in terms of Tax and other revenue collections ,it would also stimulate the economy of Kwara state.”he said.
