The Ogun State Governor, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun has expressed his desire to turn the state into an economic powerhouse.

The governor made this declaration at this year’s edition of the state’s Investment Forum, which is the 3rd in the series and tagged, ‘Emerging Economic Powerhouse’ with three areas of focus: Agriculture, Environment and Transportation.

According to Amosun, “Today, most parts of sub-Saharan Africa is urbanising faster than anticipated. The continent’s population of roughly 1.1 billion is expected to double by 2050. While the global urban population growth rate is 1.84% a year, the growth rate in Africa is 3.9% a year. Much attention is paid to Africa’s three megacities of Cairo, Lagos and Kinshasa, yet it is the smaller and medium-sized cities that are growing most quickly.

“A new report identifies over 528 African cities with a population of over 250,000 people.

“Ogun State is in the forefront of this rapid urbanization.”

Amosun revealed that “The state has (9) nine cities with a population above 250,000, five of which have populations that are above 500,000. At 3.9%, Africa’s urban growth rate is already more than twice that of the global average. Yet, the interesting scenario is that the growth rate of the cities in Ogun State range between 5.7% and 7.2% annually.”

“Through this Forum,” Amosun further explained “our administration seeks to engage you – our stakeholders, particularly the private sector, – on how the opportunities inherent in our rapid urbanization may be harnessed. We hope to outline innovations in governance, together with medium and long term strategic planning that our administration is putting in place, which we hope will address some of the challenges that you, the private sector, are facing in taking full advantage of the opportunities that abound. We will as always welcome your feedback. It is our hope that working together over the next few years, we will achieve high inclusive growth across the state and further entrench a new system-driven development model for our state and people.

“With this Forum, our administration is nailing our colours to the mast in the belief that innovations in the Agriculture, Environment, and Transportation sectors can unlock the doors to sustainable wealth creation.”

The governor, also, disclosed that “In the five years, we have sought and secured the technical cooperation of several of the world’s leading international development agencies. The German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), in particular, was integral in assisting to streamline our administrative procedures. Truly, GIZ has indeed been a partner in progress. They worked with all levels of the government and engaged all levels of the society to ensure that reforms that foster business growth were adopted and implemented by the government, and understood and utilised by the public. The French Development Agency (AFD), DFID, The World Bank, IFC, AFC, ADB and several other development agencies at different times have supported and assisted us.”

The occasion was graced by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and President Cesar Gaviria Trujillo of Colombia, among other dignitaries.

•Photo shows Governor Amosun.

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