As a political observer, media stakeholder, and resident of Oyo state, it’s commendable to note that Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration has done well enough to lay out the Roadmap to Accelerated Development (2019–2023), followed by a Roadmap for Sustainable Development (2023–2027), culminating in Agenda 2040; a long‐range blueprint stretching from 2019 to 2040 anchored on four pillars: Education, Health, Security, and Economy.
The aspiration is to design sustainable institutional systems and infrastructure that can outlive one administration and serve as a launchpad for successors.
Comparatively, Lagos State under Bola Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola, and Akinwunmi Ambode developed and adhered to successive economic blueprints such as LASEEDS, SEEDS, the Ehingbeti‑driven Lagos State Development Plan 2052 thereby setting a durable template for policy continuity and progressive scaling.
The Editor’s Diary examines the structural strengths and challenges of Makinde’s development path, and draws lessons from Lagos’s blueprint process to illuminate how the next Governor starting from 2027 can leverage and sustain the current developmental momentum toward the actualization of Agenda 2040.
Considering the close proximity and endless possibilities that abound, it would require intentionality, purpose leadership, sustaining the long term development agenda regardless of political affiliation and driving governance through inclusiveness.
Many have argued that Nigeria requires restructuring especially before 2014 when it officially clocked 100 years as a corporate entity And for many years that Nigeria required restructuring, regardless of political party, religion, or ethnicity, all Nigerians or at least, majority of Nigerians including the political elites agreed to that assertion hence, the convocation of the 2014 CONFAB.
The Nigerian Constitutional Conference was a national dialogue aimed at reviewing and reforming the country’s constitution, bringing together various stakeholders, including politicians, civil society representatives, and citizens, to discuss and deliberate on constitutional reforms.
At the end of the national exercise, key issues discussed include Restructuring and federalism, Electoral reforms, Security and policing, and Economic development. Recommendations that hold the keys to unlocking Nigeria’s full potential, transform the foundational structure and set the nation on the path of sustainable growth, healthy constitution, and economic development were proffered but for unethical political practice reasons, the documents are still lying fallow ‘under the carpet’.
Let’s come back to Oyo and take a cursory look at the Ambition and Structure: Oyo’s Agenda 2040 vs Lagos’s Planning Continuity
Agenda 2040 (unveiled Sept 2024) projects Oyo’s vision beyond 2027: improving infrastructure, agribusiness, health, human capital, security, revenue, and investor climate across a 20‑plus year horizon.
Lagos’s LASEEDS and SEEDS documents, introduced under Tinubu circa 2002, formed the basis of a 20‑year public–private consultative blueprint refined by Fashola and Ambode, embedded into successive Economic Summit outputs and planning ministry continuity.
The lessons here are clearly Institutionalizing a planning ministry (as Lagos did in 1999) ensures that blueprints endure beyond individual administrations regardless of political party in government.
In Lagos, the Ministry of Economic Planning & Budget, created in 1999, anchored the transition from programmatic budgets to strategic, consultative development over decades.
Another lesson here is embedding an empowered planning ministry that manages policy continuity, data, and stakeholder feedback helps successors stay aligned.
Oyo State under Makinde has delivered massive road infrastructure such as the Moniya–Iseyin (65 km), Oyo–Iseyin (34.85 km), Iseyin–Ogbomoso (76.7 km), Challenge–Apata dual carriage, Ibadan Airport dualisation, etc., totalling well over 150 km in first term and more ongoing in second term.
Makinde has also pivoted agriculture institutions such as retiring OYSADEP, creating OYSADA, establishing agribusiness hubs (Fasola, Awe Incubation Park), attracting over $120 m in development financing and ₦50 bn private investment, and digitizing farmers’ data for precision planning.
In Lagos, successive governors implemented long‑term transport plans: LAMATA for BRT and rail (Blue Line, Red Line), continuing planned routes even as administrations changed. Tinubu founded LAMATA; Fashola executed mass transit and rail; Ambode and Sanwo‑Olu kept it moving through linking inner‑city and rail expansions .
Another lesson here is delivering infrastructure that links zones and supports economic corridors promotes systemic growth where successors should sustain completion as exemplified by Makinde over initiation as obtainable before 2019.
Oyo state under Makinde has revitalized moribund facilities: rehabilitated Fasola Farm Settlement into an industrial agribusiness hub; revived Ijaiye Quarry and Asphalt Plant; restored Lekan Salami Sports Stadium; rebuilt Akesan Market after 2020 fire.
Lagos under Tinubu and Fashola rehabilitated Oshodi, established BRT lanes, modernized markets (e.g. Oshodi to Isopakodowo), and built housing estates under a public‑private model consistent across administrations.
Embedded lessons for Makinde’s Successors should be to re‑use existing infrastructure and continue institutional reforms, not scrap prior efforts to gain any self seeking personal glory as against the collective good of the people of Oyo state.
Makinde prioritized establishing Amotekun State Security Network, outfitting it with vehicles and communications; recruiting thousands of personnel; and building institutional frameworks for public safety to support investment.
Lagos maintained public order via estates Rapid Response Squad (RRS), neighborhood safety corps, trust funds, and digitized traffic management (LASTMA), as part of successive security pillars in its blueprint.
This made prioritize security as a foundational pillar of development; integration across administrations maintains investor confidence the core lesson for Makinde’s successor here.
Oyo has raised internally generated revenue from ₦1.7 bn/month in 2019 to ₦3.3 bn/month by 2022 through reforms, diversified sources, and digital enablement .
Lagos prioritized revenue generation from early; Tinubu’s LASEEDS and Blue‑Chip initiatives boosted land‑use charges, transit revenues, housing schemes; Fashola and Ambode continued revenue streams through PPP-managed projects and levy reforms.
The lesson here is sustaining growth in IGR as very critical; successors must maintain digital revenue systems, public‑private partnerships, and policy stability.
Makinde’s Agenda 2040 includes elevating educational standards across all levels, digitizing farmer data, embedding agribusiness into youth secondary education (STEP, YEAP), and rehabilitating college to university status such as the Emmanuel Alayande University of Education EAUED.
Lagos introduced Millennium Schools, E‑libraries, Code Lagos, and Ready Set Work youth entrepreneurship programs under successive governors, embedding learning and employment across administration lines.
This means that youth and government education programs need institutional footing such as statutes, boards, so that successors continue them seamlessly regardless of party affiliation.
Conclusively, Makinde’s Agenda 2040 has set a strong long term strategic foundation in Oyo State. If embraced institutional continuity through planning law, inter‑administration buy‑in, and institutional frameworks, the path to 2040 can be and should be sustained.
Lagos’s development blueprint, maintained by Tinubu, Fashola, and Ambode, has clearly exemplifies how a shared vision over decades can transform a state. Makinde’s successors can similarly reap cumulative prosperity by adhering rather than resetting the blueprint.