“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker
In Nigeria’s noisy political space, where too many leaders promise transformation but deliver little, this timeless wisdom is worth repeating. The future does not fall from the sky; it is built brick by brick, policy by policy, project by project. In Oyo State, Governor ‘Seyi Makinde has spent the past three months showing that the future can indeed be created, with vision, discipline, and delivery.
Roads as Foundations of Prosperity
For decades, the Ibadan Circular Road has been an unfinished dream, a symbol of abandoned governance. Today, under Makinde, the 32-kilometre East-End wing is nearing completion. This is not just another road, it is a bold economic artery, designed to decongest Ibadan, accelerate trade, and unlock Oyo’s potential as a regional logistics hub.
And Makinde isn’t stopping there.
At his administration’s Mid-Term Leadership Retreat in August, he imposed 18–24-month deadlines on all projects across the 33 local governments. In a country where “ongoing” often means “forgotten,” this insistence on timelines is nothing short of revolutionary.
Powering Growth with Energy Independence
The 11MW Independent Power Project has already lit up the Secretariat and is extending supply to surrounding communities. Civil servants can now work without the hum of diesel generators, while health centres and schools benefit from uninterrupted energy. In a nation where blackouts cripple both productivity and hope, this achievement signals that Oyo is refusing to accept darkness as destiny.
Healthcare as Human Capital Investment
July’s unanimous approval of a €55 million concessional loan to upgrade healthcare infrastructure demonstrates Makinde’s seriousness about human capital. But beyond brick and mortar, there is compassion: Oyo State Health Insurance Agency has extended coverage to prison inmates, breaking new ground in equity. Here, healthcare is not just policy, it is principle.
Agriculture & Industrialization: From Farms to Processing Zones
Agriculture remains Oyo’s comparative advantage, and Makinde is turning it into competitive advantage. On July 21, 2025, Oyo was praised nationally for its leading role in Nigeria’s Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme. This recognition affirms that the state’s agribusiness drive is not just local policy, it aligns with federal and global development priorities.
Earlier, by May 2025, the administration reported fresh uptake in its 50% tractorization subsidy, a deliberate effort to cut land-preparation costs and encourage mechanization. The strategy is simple but effective: lower costs for farmers, increase yields, and feed into clusters where output is processed into value-added products.
Why it matters: SAPZ-style clustering transforms subsistence farming into agribusiness, creates jobs across the value chain, and lays the foundation for exports. Input support accelerates farmer adoption, while better roads like the Ibadan Circular Road ensure that outputs actually reach processing zones and markets.
Development Beyond the Headlines
At the grassroots, governance is also alive. Sixty micro-projects, from boreholes to classrooms, from erosion control to primary health posts, were funded in 30 communities this July. These are the quiet victories that prove government is not an abstraction but a partner in people’s daily lives.
*Rebranding Oyo as a Global Destination*
Oyo’s International Tourism Summit in July reframed tourism from cultural pride into economic opportunity. With an investor-facing deal book and site tours for potential partners, the state is preparing projects like Agodi Gardens for private participation. This signals that Oyo understands that heritage, properly packaged, can become capital.
What To Expect Next
The last three months are not just a record of progress, they are a springboard for the future. The data tell a clear story:
• Roads & Logistics: With the 32 km Ibadan Circular Road first phase nearing delivery and 18–24-month timelines now standard, expect progressive openings that cut travel times and spark peri-urban real estate and agribusiness logistics hubs.
• Energy for Growth: Expansion of the IPP to public services and nearby communities will reduce service disruptions and make PPP concessions, hospitals, courts, and markets, more bankable.
• Tourism as an IGR Pillar: Post-summit follow-through, MoUs, special purpose vehicles, and site-specific concessions, should surface in the next 6–12 months, especially around Agodi Gardens and curated heritage corridors identified in the #ITSOyoState deal book.
• Healthcare Capacity: With the €55m financing approved in July, 2026–2027 should deliver new or upgraded secondary health facilities and improved equipment pipelines, strengthening OYSHIA’s expanding coverage.
• Air Connectivity: The Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport upgrade (Phase 1), announced for October 2025, will improve passenger and cargo throughput, complementing the Circular Road’s logistics role.
Political Implications: Makinde’s Growing National Profile
The implications stretch beyond Oyo.
• Technocratic credibility: The mix of power sector delivery, ring-road progress, healthcare financing, and investment-grade tourism projects has positioned Makinde as a policy-first leader. His governance aligns squarely with Nigeria’s macro priorities: infrastructure, foreign-exchange earning sectors like agribusiness and tourism, and social protection.
• Coalition-friendly governance: His investor-facing posture and deadline culture deepen his reputation as a doer who can work across sectors and with development partners—useful capital for future roles in national economic councils or even higher office.
The Bigger Picture
What makes these achievements compelling is not just their scale but their style: a governance philosophy rooted in delivery, deadlines, and dignity. Roads and power plants are being built, but so is trust. Health facilities and insurance schemes are expanding, but so is the definition of inclusion. Tourism and agriculture are being transformed, but so is Oyo’s reputation as a state that works.
Looking Ahead
The best way to predict Oyo’s tomorrow is to look at its today: projects with deadlines, farms mechanizing into processing hubs, communities with water and schools, hospitals preparing for modern upgrades, an economy diversifying into agribusiness and tourism. This is how the future is created.
And for Makinde, the implications are clear. If he continues on this path, he will not only leave Oyo State stronger, richer, and fairer, but also place himself firmly in Nigeria’s broader story, a leader who understood that the future belongs to those bold enough to build it.
Oladayo Ogunbowale is Special Assistant (Communication) to Governor ‘Seyi Makinde of Oyo State
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