The Oyo State Government, Southwest Nigeria, has commissioned the 34.85km Oyo-Iseyin Road project, in order to create good road network for the benefit of farmers, develop the economy and boost food security in the state.
While speaking as the Special Guest of Honour at the commissioning of the road project, held in Oyo Town, a former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, encouraged Nigerians to embrace farming as a way of increasing food production to ensure food security.
Obasanjo, who disclosed that Oyo State is first in cassava production in the country, encouraged the state to invest more in farming in order to also become first in the production of other crops and livestock, so that citizens would enjoy dividends of democracy, declaring that democracy is a worthwhile system of government that should be embraced by all.
He said: “Democracy that nurtures poverty is abortion, democracy that nurtures unemployment is failure, democracy that nurtures lack of peace and security must be thrown overboard.
“Democracy dividends must involve peace, security, stability, prosperity, wealth creation, employment and wholesomeness of the society. That’s when democracy will continue to survive and people will feel that, yes, democracy is a worthwhile system of government that must be embraced,” Obasanjo posited.
The former president commended Governor Seyi Makinde for the road construction and rehabilitation he had embarked on in the state, noting that construction of roads and the availability of good road network aids development of the economy.
In his speech, the host, Governor Seyi Makinde, asserted that his administration had clear plans for accelerated development of the state and had invested in road construction so the state could compete favourably with other states in Nigeria, saying his government had been fixing roads for economic relevance and to boost businesses in the corridors where the roads are being fixed.
Makinde noted: “This 38.5km Oyo-Iseyin road has high economic significance, not just to the people of Oyo and Iseyin, but to the entire state and region. The fact that it is a federal road highlights its importance but as we’ll find out as we move on to inspect the former Fashola livestock farm, this road holds one of our biggest assets in Oyo State. Our vision of creating an industrial hub in this zone is becoming a reality.”
The governor urged the state Ministry of Culture and Tourism to synergise with the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency, (OYSADA) to turn the Fasola Agribusiness Hub to an Agric tourist attraction, while reiterating the assurance that his government would soon embark on rehabilitation of inner roads in Ibadan, the state capital, and other major cities of the state.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Public Works and Transport, Prof. Daoud Sangodoyin, while giving an overview of the road project, stated that the road was constructed to make farming and other businesses along the road easy and profitable.
After the road commissioning, Governor Makinde led former president Obasanjo on an inspection tour of the Fasola Agribusiness Hub, located along the Oyo-Iseyin road.
Thereafter, the governor and the former president proceeded to Iseyin for the official opening of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Renewable Natural Resources of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Iseyin Campus.
