Gov Ododo And Adogo Airstrip: The Ethnic Slurs & Economic Advantage

On the 2nd of May, 2024, Ismail Isah, the Special Adviser on Media to Governor Usman Ododo, revealed how the consolidation administration of his principal, holding firm to the foundation built by his predecessor,  His Excellency,  Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello, intends to expand the Adogo Airstrip into an International Cargo Airport.

Quoting from his Press Statement; “Governor Ododo disclosed this when he met with the management of the China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) led by the Managing Director, David Wang, at the Government House in Lokoja.

The proposed Kogi State Cargo Airport, which will be executed on a Public-Private Partnership model by the Kogi State Government and the CCECC is to begin with a feasibility study and consultation with stakeholders in a few weeks from now after which a project implementation committee will be constituted to see to the completion of the project”.

The pronouncement of this visionary project has led to many tearing of pants and bra by ethnic war lords. The issues are mixed in the rubicon of ethnic mistrust and the volatility of the current political atmosphere, which has the incumbent in Court, defending his mandate against other opposition candidates he defeated at the polls on November 11th, 2023. The narrative is such that the current Governor, who is from the Kogi Central Senatorial District, has begun concentrating all projects in his enclave without inclusivity from the two other Senatorial Districts. Tribal war lords are usually right on the surface, however, when the materials of their argument are interrogated closely, there is a cocktail of ignorance and miseducation dovetailing their stance.

What are the facts:

The current Administration of Governor Usman Ododo celebrated its 100 days in office on the 5th of May 2024. In the early womb of his days in office, amidst the legal distractions, he signed contracts of totally N29 Billion Naira to be cited at Ankpa, Okene and Kabba.  Quoting the Nigerian Tribune of April 29th (https://tribuneonlineng.com/gov-ododo-signs-over-n29bn-contract-for-erosion-control-projects-in-kogi/) ” Kogi State Governor, Usman Ahmed Ododo, has signed a contract in the total sum of over N29 billion Naira for the commencement of gully reclamation, stabilization and channelization at Etahi, in Okene, Omigbo in Kabba and Olubojo in Ankpa – across the three senatorial districts of the state.

A breakdown of the contract shows that the sum for Etahi Gully Site stands at N10, 664,612,410.46, and that of Omigbo site stands at N9, 866,807,044.00; while the contract sum for the Ankpa gully Sites stands at N9, 397,037,897.69″. The erosion control  project which comes with gully control, some feeder roads, Green Tree planting and landscaping  spreads across the three Senatorial Districts of Kogi State, domesticated under the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL), under the State Project Coordinator,  Barr. Ladi Jatto.

Facts about Adogo Airstrip:

*Adogo Airstrip was constructed during President Shehu Shagari’s regime for the purpose of transporting expatriates from Russia to Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd via Lagos International Airport.

•Adogo Airstrip is a well organized Airstrip that can accommodate over 20 aircraft at a time.

•Adogo Airstrip was used to move equipment meant for the construction of Ajaokuta Steel company via Cargo Airlines from Lagos.

*Adogo Airstrip, Ajaokuta LGA, is located in an occupied flat land totaling over 50 hecters of land.

*Adogo Airstrip has been abandoned by the successive government of Nigeria for the past three decades.

*Today, abandoned airlines can still be found in the parking space of the Airstrip.

*During the Shehu Shagari regime and after, Adogo Airstrip was used by government officials from the then capital of Nigeria, Lagos to the northern part of Nigeria enroute Ajaokuta – Lokoja – Abuja down to the north.

* Even though the Airstrip has been taken over by the bush due to lack of maintenance, structures that served as offices and aircraft runways are still visible.

Economic Benefit of Adogo Airstrip:

1.In 2017, I read the lamentation of a netizen, Kalu Aja, paraphrasing him: “Ajaokuta Steel Company is massive; she has a 68km road network and 24 housing estates on the project. Some estates have over 1,000 homes, a seaport, and a 110mw power generation plant; there are 43 separate plants in Ajaokuta alone. It is estimated that if Ajaokuta becomes operational, it will create 500,000 jobs.

There is no industrialised nation on earth that does not have a steel sector. It’s that simple. A Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) report shows that Nigeria currently imports steel, aluminium products, and associated derivatives of approximately 25 metric tonnes per annum, estimated at $4.5 billion. This figure will continue to rise, and the Nigerian economy will continue to expand. Ajaokuta is an integrated steel company; it was designed by the Russians to be self-sufficient, get all its input from Nigeria, and make steel. Ajaokuta’s strength is its weakness; Ajaokuta can only work with all available inputs”.

2.This is a 500,000 direct job opportunities for the almost 5 million population of Kogi State. According to the Kogi State Economic Development Plan from 2024 spanning 2056, the current population of Ajaokuta Local Government Area stands at 196, 758 people, expecting to rise to 513, 572 by 2056. The direct job opportunities and Corporate Social Responsibility in the domiciled community is enough to make Ajaokuta the Victoria Island of Kogi State. The proximity of the Airstrip to the River Niger in the Eastern part of the state also elevates her economic growth when yhe dredging of the Rivers Niger and Benue is completed.

3. Kogi State borders 10 states in Nigeria and connects the North to the South. A cargo airport in Kogi State provides consequential internal depot for variety of imported and exported goods, which could serve the entire Nigeria, due to the vantage position of Kogi State within the geography of the country.  The direct import and export of raw materials and finished products from the strip serves as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for the state, increasing her revenue options, which transforms to even spread of infrastructural development and human capital growth.

4. The absorption of graduates of Mechnical Engineering from the newly established University of Science and Technology,  Osara, Kogi State, along with graduates of Metallurgy from the Federal Polytechnic,  Idah, Kogi State, as well as sound administrators from Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, Kogi State University, Kabba, is a direct internal economics, which provides jobs for our teeming graduates.

Gov Ododo and the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

According to the Minister of Steel Development,  son of Former Kogi political Icon, Prince Shaibu Audu Abubakar,  the Federal Government has removed all legal encumbrances hindering the revitalization of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex. He also mentioned that the sum of $2 Billion dollars was required to completely start the steel, an investment the Renewed Hope Administration of His Excellency,  President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has decided to provide required enablement via several bonds and foreign investments.

On the 15th of January 2024, on a Channels Television Live Program, the Minister reveals how the FG has perfected plans to begin the manufacturing of Military Hardware at the Steel Complex, in collaboration with the Nigerian Ministry of Defence. The Minister says the Federal Government will achieve all of these in her three year revitalization plan for the Steel Complex.

In line with the plans of the Federal Government, the visionary administration of Gov Usman Ododo has keyed into the the plans by positioning the state to benefit massively by moving the chess of conversion of the Airstrip into an International Cargo Airport,  which would transport Steel products out of the plants for foreign income, trickle down local income for the state. The move would also provide ample opportunities for Agricultural Products from Kogi State which is home of Cassava and Cashew in Nigeria along other products to be exported outside the country. The proximity of Kogi State to South Eastern Nigeria,  an economic hub of industrial imports and exports of vehicle parts, puts Kogi as an alternative import destination for wares going to the Northern and Southern parts of Nigeria,  opening the doorway of local support services to be provided by Kogites, which translates to massive job creation and economic prosperity.

In conclusion,  the Adogo Cargo Airport signals the popular phrase “Joy is coming”, a wisdom stretch of hope that is refined by the tapestry of futuristic thinking for a visionary leadership which outclasses arguments of ethnic sophistry as economic development knows no tribe or ethnicity but general prosperity.

– Promise Emmanuel, also known by the pen name (Kogi Rebel), Writes from Lokoja, Kogi State. He was the former Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor of Kogi State. 

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