One last task for Governor Abiodun: the transition that must not fail

I recently stood in the Oke-Mosan area of ​​Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, in front of the Kings’ Court Estate, watching workers laying the final blocks. A young man, probably in his thirties, passed me and stopped to stare at the buildings. He wasn’t dressed like anyone who would ever live there. His shirt was torn at the sleeves and his slippers were held together by what looked like fishing line. But he stood there for a long time, simply watching. When I asked him what he was doing, he said, “I want to see what my children will inherit.”

I couldn’t forget that young man. It reminded me of something I’ve known for a long time but often choose to ignore. The people of Ogun State do not care who sits in the governor’s office. They are not interested in party affiliations or campaign promises. What they care about is whether the roads they travel on will be there tomorrow. If the hospitals will still be standing when they need them. If the homes being built today will be maintained long after the current governor returns to private life.

Governor Dapo Abiodun is now at the end of his eight-year journey. He accomplished what many before him had failed to accomplish, often completing what others had abandoned. The PMB Estate in Abeokuta, a project initiated by the previous administration, has been left in a state of disrepair. Today it represents a comprehensive development of over 100 4 and 5 bedroom duplexes, featuring en-suite bathrooms and modern amenities. PMB Estate is truly a transition from a coma to a seething life. Kudos to the incumbent administration, who through the Ministry of Housing and the Ogun State Property and Investment Corporation (OPIC) has transformed the once abandoned housing project into an architectural masterpiece!

The Gateway Medical Center of Excellence (formerly a 250-bed specialty hospital) was another legacy project with significant structural and engineering gaps. Governor Abiodun has seen to this and is now ready to be commissioned as a world class medical facility.

Not far from the hospital, the Kings’ Court Estate in Oke-Mosan is completed; and the regenerated GRA Ibara housing estate is visible to anyone who cares to see. Over 4,000 residential units have been built and handed over to season ticket holders in Ilaro, Ijebu Ode, Sagamu, Gateway Aviation Village, Iperu and Kobape. Adding to this growing list is Prince Court Estate, Kemta, Idi Aba, which opened in 2021 as the first phase of 300 residential units. The new four-storey Housing Corporation complex with a resource centre, banking hall and more is under construction, while the ISEYA Court in Oke-Mosan adds to the structures bearing the imprint of Governor Abiodun.

These are not imaginary results, they are concrete, visible and verifiable. And they deserve to be recognized. But a governor is not judged only by what he achieves. He is judged by what survives him. This is where the challenge of transition becomes crucial.

Since 1999, no governor of Ogun State has succeeded in passing power without hostility. The model is well documented. A governor leaves office and the successor, whether from the same party or an opposing one, arrives with the determination to erase the legacy of the previous one. Projects are abandoned, contracts are revised and results end up downplayed. The cycle of waste continues and people – the same people who watched the buildings rise – are left to watch them decay.

Governor Abiodun has the opportunity to break this pattern. He could become the first governor in Ogun’s democratic history to deliver not just a list of projects, but a well-functioning state for the next administration to build on. This is not about partisan loyalty, but about governance and the simple recognition that public infrastructure belongs to the people, not the politicians who commission it.

To achieve this goal, the governor would do well to turn his attention to some outstanding issues that could otherwise undermine his legacy. The demolition and reconstruction of the State House of Assembly Quarters and the construction of the judges’ quarters are projects that deserve priority attention before May 29, 2027. Doing them now would spare the incoming administration the burden of starting from scratch and allow them to focus on governance from day one.

These are not minor details. Judges and members of the Assembly are not dignitaries in need of luxury. They are public servants whose ability to function effectively depends on the quality of the environment in which they work. If these quarters remain unfinished, the next governor will inherit a problem. And we all know what happens to the problems left to successors in this state.

Then there is Block E of the Secretariat of State. I visited the secretariat three weeks ago and was struck by the contrast. The buildings on both sides of Block E at the Oke-Mosan State Secretariat are functional. Workers come and go. The files are moved. Decisions are made. But E Block is abandoned, a ghost in the middle of a crowded government complex. One wonders what the design of this building is. Will it be completed or will it be left as a monument to what could have been?

Beyond these physical structures, there are policy issues that deserve attention before the governor leaves office. The state of schools in local government settings requires improvement. Health centres, especially in rural areas, need renovation and an injection of health workers. Worker welfare, a topic discussed incessantly in government circles, remains an unresolved issue. Internal roads in different parts of the State also need to be completed in record time. The governor has proven he can deliver in infrastructure – finishing strong in these areas would solidify his legacy.

I am not one to overlook the good that has been done. Governor Abiodun has done more in the field of housing under the leadership of Jagunmolu Akande Omoniyi, the energetic, ever versatile, bold and undisputed best Commissioner for Housing since the creation of Ogun State. The Gateway Agro-Cargo Airport is a vision that, if managed properly, will transform the state’s economy. The Kajola and Mojoda dry ports are strategic investments that will position Ogun as a logistics hub. The road network connecting previously inaccessible communities is a significant achievement: over 1,500 kilometers of roads have been completed or rehabilitated under his supervision. These are contributions that deserve to be recorded in the history of Ogun.
But the question of transition is not about the list of achievements. It’s about ensuring that the next man doesn’t come along just to start from scratch. New governors are often tempted to demolish what their predecessors have built, not because the buildings are defective, but because they want to stamp their own identity on the landscape. This is the reality of Nigerian politics and Governor Abiodun knows this better than most.

What it may do, however, is make it harder for his successor to justify leaving. If the judges’ quarters are completed, the next governor will not be able to declare them unlivable. If Block E is terminated, the next governor won’t be able to say it was a waste of resources. If the housing developments are properly documented and delivered, the next governor will not be able to claim ignorance of their existence. This is the essence of a smooth transition. This is not about friendship or political alliances. It’s about creating a situation where the successor has no reason to start over.

Governor Abiodun has also performed well in less visible but equally important areas. The land administration policy has brought some order to a chaotic sector. Investment in agriculture has started to show results with agro-based company Presco PLC, Nigeria’s leading oil palm company, finalizing plans to launch operations in Ogun State with an initial investment of $100 million that will significantly boost the state’s agricultural transformation agenda, stimulate economic growth, increase state revenue and improve food security. More importantly, it will also generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs for unemployed youth.

The focus on security, while not perfect, has avoided the kind of collapse that has hit neighboring states. These are achievements that can be built on if the transition is managed correctly.

I think back to the young man I met on King Court Estate, who simply wanted to know what his children would inherit. It is a thoughtful and fair question, which I believe deserves consideration as we reflect on Governor Abiodun’s time in office. Over the course of these eight years, what legacy will be passed on to the children of Ogun State? Will this be infrastructure that may not have been maintained or that future administrations have not prioritized? Or will it be a functional, sustainable state well positioned for future opportunities? These are the kinds of questions I hope we can examine carefully, not to belittle the Governor’s efforts, but to ensure that the future we leave behind is truly worthy of the next generation.

The answer depends on the choices the governor will make in the remaining months of his mandate. He has a choice. He can walk away like those before him, watching his work slowly decay under a successor who owes his loyalty to the people of the State, or he can do what no Ogun governor has done since 1999: deliver a State that is not only functional but also with a list of projects that will never be forgotten.

This is his final task. And it must not fail.

Dr Arabambi Abayomi (FBAU), Coordinator, Sustainability of Ogun Legacy and Dapo Abiodun Beyond 2027 writes from Abeokuta.