Tony Ogaga

The journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step,” so goes a popular Chinese saying. 

Ten years ago, former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, had a vision to transform the Gateway State, Ogun State, into a manufacturing hub and he took ‘one step,’ which culminated in the signing of an MoU with a Chinese consortium and gave birth to the Ogun/Gwangdon Free Trade Zone, which recently rolled out the drums to mark its 10th anniversary.

The event featured cultural displays from Nigeria and China, comedy and a celebration of achievements. The roll call of guests at the event included government officials, politicians and captains of industry.

Special guest of honour was Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was represented by Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, Minister of Trade and Investment; Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun; Chu Maoming, consul-general of the Peoples Republic of China; Prof. Zhu Layi, group president, Gwangdong New South Group Limited; Mr. Yusuf Captain Buba, chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee, House of Representatives; Senator Tolu Odeboyi; and Li Yuan, among others.

Former Governor Daniel, royal fathers, Comrade Mustapha Saliu, Prof. Oyebanjo Oyeyinka, Yakub Ibn Mohammed, DG of NTA, and Mr. Ubong, managing director of Shell, and others were also in attendance.

The event kicked off at 9am with prayers and the recitation of the Nigerian and Chinese national anthems, followed by the welcome address by the chairman on the occasion, Yusuf Buba, who congratulated Daniel for coming up with the initiative.

“There is no gainsaying it that China and Nigeria need each other. While we have the African market, population wise, raw materials and comparatively cheap labour to sustain industries, China has brought the technology and finances to deploy in Africa for our mutual benefits. Nigeria and China’s diplomatic relations have birthed many successes and the activities of the zone has opened up economic opportunities in the state by creating employment opportunities and developing infrastructure within its premises such as independent power plant with plans in top gear to bring in more investors to the zone.

“Consequently, the volume of trade between both countries has increased astronomically and this is all geared towards furthering the economic and citizens diplomacy of the Nigerian government and the current Road and Belt Initiative of the Chinese government.

“The Ogun Gwangdong Free Trade zone is, therefore, one of those success stories of our partnership with China as an industrial cluster. Today, numerous companies have signed up to be part of the grand vision to bring home to us what our people travel all the way to China to buy. After 10 years of operations, much value has been offered and profits made. As a nation, we cannot but learn from the highly entrepreneurial spirit of the Chinese to seek ways to re-enact the success story of OGFTZ in order to broaden the horizons of our productive and manufacturing capacities.

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“Finally, we congratulate OGFTZ on its 10th anniversary and hope that when we return here 10 years from now, you would have drawn over 200 Chinese companies and corporations to sign up for this great idea of direct investment into the Nigerian economy.”

Among others, the celebration highlighted the achievements and future prospects of the 100 square kilometre industrial park and witnessed the signing of agreements and memorandum of understanding of new tenant enterprises.

Consul-General Moa Ming said: “It is a great pleasure of mine to celebrate this 10th anniversary. I want to congratulate the remarkable achievements made since the inception of the trade zone. And I would like also to extend my sincere appreciation to those who have been involved in the construction of the zone.”

Abiodun congratulated Daniel for the vision. He said: “Today’s event is another milestone in our administration’s march towards industrialisation and economic development. We are not unaware of the resultant effect of the free trade zones in terms of employment generation, poverty alleviation, job creation, local patronage and capacity building among others. No doubt this has helped develop industrialisation in our state. We are blessed to have three trade zones. With over 62 companies, my administration will make sure that these trade zones would be a priority for our government.”

The governor added that his administration remained unwavering in its commitment to creating a secure and business-friendly environment in Ogun State, with the passage of the Public Private Partnership Law of Ogun State, 2019, with the aim of “attracting more investors to the state and creating standardised template for the private sector to partner with us.”

Adebayo, who represented Professor Osinbajo, said that Nigeria’s investment potential has been increased, courtesy of the free trade zone.

“OGFTZ demonstrates what special economic zones can do to help Nigeria realise its industrial potential. OGFTZ will help Nigeria achieve the goals of manufacturing and development and strengthen bilateral economic and trade cooperation,” Adebayo said, adding that the zone generates an average output value of over $234 million per annum and has exceeded $2 billion in total investment with over 6,000 people from the local community directly employed.

The cutting of the anniversary cake was presided over by Nollywood entrepreneur and master of ceremonies at the event, Ifeanyi Dike.

Located in Igbesa Adodo Local Government Area, OGFTZ attracts foreign investment because of its proximity to Lagos, the economic hub of West Africa. Ten years after, the facility has grown to a community on its own, spanning 20 square kilometres and over 200 hectares. It is one of the fastest growing trade zones in Nigeria. The zone has over 60 firms operating, with some of the enterprises having brands that have become household names in Nigeria and West Africa as a whole.