Ogun at 44

There is no doubt that attaining four decades plus in life by a person or organisation is worth cerebrating, especially if the person has made some significant progress when compared to other persons or organisations who were born or established in the same period

Looking at Ogun State, which was created out of the old Western Region in 1976, it is important to stress that the state, when compared with others created at the same period, has recorded some milestones and is still doing so.

In the area of infrastructure, it is not lagging behind as its major towns and cities have some of the best road networks in the country.

The state capital, Abeokuta, now has flyovers dotting its landscape and traffic lights placed at strategic places as one of the modern ways of managing traffic. A tour round the state shows that it is blessed with some good primary, secondary and tertiary health facilities, while it is on record that the state has the highest number of tertiary institutions and perhaps also secondary schools in the country.

In terms of human capital, Ogun is a force to reckon with as it parades the who is who in all sectors of human endeavours in the country. These include likes of the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo; first civilian governor, Chief Olabisi Onabanjo; the world-acclaimed civil servant, Chief Simeon Adebo; renowned economist, Chief Ernest Shonekan; former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and the veteran journalist and former governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba, the list is endless.

Within more than forty years of its existence, some major towns have been transformed from their rural look to modern cities. The state contingents over the years have performed well in local sporting competitions and also represented Nigeria adequately at international level. In the education sector, students have done the state proud in both internal and external examinations.

With the modest achievements so far recorded, it is imperative to say at this point that there is still more to do.

The people will do themselves a lot of good by working hard and cooperating with the state government to achieve more successes in the coming years.

Elijah Udofia,

Abeokuta.