In the developmental history of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic (1999), Lagos State has long stood out as the benchmark for sustained growth, driven by cohesive political leadership and vision consistency. Since 1999, Lagos has remained under one ideological family, evolving from the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
This stability has allowed for the uninterrupted execution of long-term plans, attracting investment, raising Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), and transforming Lagos into West Africa’s economic capital. But now, a silent revolution is unfolding further inland in Oyo State.
Under the leadership of Governor Seyi Makinde, Oyo State is demonstrating what visionary, inclusive, and data-driven governance can achieve in a short time. From infrastructure and agribusiness to healthcare and land administration to security and other critical sectors, the state is rapidly becoming a national model for sustainable development.
The question is no longer whether Oyo has potential—it is: Will the people of Oyo commit to continuity and secure a transformational legacy beyond 2027? If they do, Oyo could rival, or even surpass Lagos in critical sectors in near years to come.
Lagos: A Legacy of Political Consistency and Strategic Succession: Lagos’ developmental success is not accidental. It is deeply rooted in unbroken leadership ideology since 1999, strategic governance succession, from Bola Tinubu to Sanwo-Olu, and implementation of long-term policies across administrations.
These conditions enabled a rise in monthly IGR from ₦600 million in 1999 to over ₦60 billion in 2024, infrastructure expansion like Lekki Port, Blue Rail Line, and Eko Atlantic, the consolidation of Lagos as a hub for tech startups, logistics, real estate, and finance.
In contrast, Oyo State had been plagued by inconsistent political leadership until 2019.
Understanding the Makinde’s Transformation in Oyo as a blueprint for Sustainable Prosperity. Let’s take a few one after the other;
1. Agribusiness as a Growth Engine: ₦46.6 Billion and Counting
According to Dr. Debo Akande, Director-General of OYSADA and Governor Makinde’s Executive Adviser on Agribusiness, Oyo has attracted over ₦46.6 billion in agribusiness investment, reshaping the economic landscape without pushing any tax burden on the masses.
Let’s analyse some of the key Achievements under the Agribusiness Revolution in Oyo under Makinde in just 6 years of his administration:
Over $170 million in development funding accessed, including AfDB-supported projects, 14 large processing companies now operate in Oyo, many within the Fasola Agribusiness Hub, which has drawn ₦17 billion in investment across 950 hectares, ongoing construction of Livestock Transformation Centres, with Fasola leading in greenhouse tomato production, upcoming mega Ijaiye Agribusiness Hub, already oversubscribed by 7 firms, will host over 40 industries, 5,020 youths trained in agribusiness, with 1,000 receiving ₦1.5 billion in startup support via FCMB collaboration, and support for 46,000 smallholder farmers, improvement of feeder roads, and enhanced access to markets.
According to Dr Akande: “We are building the agribusiness capital of Nigeria, not just in name but in operational capacity, Oyo is no longer seasonal in agriculture, we are producing all year-round, sustainably.”
The administration is also balancing export-driven agribusiness with food price stability and security through a landmark agreement with Rungis-Semmaris of France for a modern produce market in Ijaiye.
2. Health sector reform and its resilience amid brain drain;
As the rest of Nigeria contends with the medical brain drain crisis, Oyo is mitigating the impact through proactive reforms, according to Health Commissioner Dr. Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, 3,933 new healthcare workers have been recruited, with at least one medical officer per LGA.
Also, 212 PHCs have been renovated, 87 nearing completion, while 106 upgraded to BEmONC Level 2 or 3 facilities, deployment of solar inverters, EMR tablets, oxygen tanks, nebulizers, and other modern tools all available at these facilities, resuscitation of oxygen plants and upgrades to A&E units at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, 121,000+ residents enrolled in the Oyo State Health Insurance Scheme, including pensioners, pupils, and PWDs, as well as use of retired consultants as part-time mentors to plug workforce gaps and enhance continuity.
Speaking at an interministerial press briefing during the week, the Health Commissioner said: “We are not just surviving the Japa syndrome, we’re building a health system that is resilient, inclusive, and digital.”
She explained that with a €55 million grant from the French Government, Oyo is set to renovate secondary facilities and expand digital health architecture.
3. Land, Housing Digitization and unlocking revenue and trust: In the words of Commissioner for Lands and Urban Development, Mr. Williams Akin-Funmilayo, the adoption of digital tools under Makinde has revolutionized land administration, (first of its kind in the history of Oyo state).
Land Reform Achievements include launch of Oyo State Property Reference System (OYPRS) for property ID and taxation, introduction of electronic allocation letters and online plot selection, development of 15 new GRAs via PPP, including in Akobo, Ogbomoso, Mokola, and Aerodrome, ₦4.8 billion revenue in 2023, growing to ₦6.1 billion in 2024, with ₦3.2 billion earned by May 2025, and also digitization of Deeds Registry, use of Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) surveying, and integrated house numbering systems underway.
In the words of Akin-Funmilayo: “We’ve combined digital accuracy with transparency. Oyo is now among Nigeria’s most investor-ready states for land and housing.”
This system has enhanced revenue, improved investor confidence, and fostered affordable housing pathways for low- and middle-income earners.
Now the bigger picture: Why 2027 is a defining fork in the road;
Like Lagos in its early days, Oyo now stands at a crucial crossroads. With Governor Makinde’s administration repositioning the state on every developmental index, what comes next will determine whether this vision thrives or collapses on account of “dirty” politics and penchant for personal political glory. Either ways, let’s be clear about the only sacrosanct fact, only the Oyo people will be at the receiving end of the choice they make, certainly not the politicians because they know how to relate and connect behind the cameras.
If an ideologically misaligned or politically motivated administration takes over in 2027, it risks dismantling digital systems and land reforms, disrupting health insurance and agribusiness investment flows, halting infrastructural momentum and PPP confidence, and re-politicizing governance and returning to prebendalism.
But with a committed, Makinde-aligned successor, Oyo can achieve ₦25–₦30 billion monthly IGR, emerge as Nigeria’s agro-industrial hub, host Africa’s largest integrated produce market, deliver universal healthcare access, and lead in digital governance, housing reform, and education.
Hate him or like him, Governor Seyi Makinde has built more than policies, he has laid a comprehensive, institutional foundation for prosperity. He has united governance with data, compassion with competence, and growth with inclusion.
But the true test of legacy lies in succession. As Lagos has shown, progress endures only when the people choose continuity over sentiment, vision over vendetta, and governance over partisanship.
The people of Oyo must ask themselves in 2027: Do we want a legacy or a lottery?
If the people of Oyo choose wisely and avoid the temptation of changing course for partisan or very sentimental reasons, the next 10 years can triple the state’s IGR and reduce dependency on federal allocation, position Oyo as the agro-industrial hub of West Africa, establish smart cities, logistics corridors, and innovation districts, drive youth employment through industrial clusters and the creative economy, and elevate Oyo’s capital, Ibadan, into a global investment destination.
Governor Seyi Makinde has proven that development is not tied to political slogans but to strategic thinking, inclusion, and disciplined execution. He has shown that governance can be visionary and inclusive at once. The question before the people of Oyo State is simple: Do you want to protect and build upon this momentum or abandon it for party politics?
To become like Lagos, Oyo must think beyond 2027 and institutionalize good governance through continuity. A successor who embraces Makinde’s roadmap not just in word but in action, is the only assurance of this trajectory.
The future of Oyo depends not on rhetoric, but on wisdom, unity, and strategic choices. With sustained governance rooted in vision and continuity, Oyo can truly become Nigeria’s next economic powerhouse of Nigeria and 2nd in the south western sub national region.
With the right choice by the people, Oyo will not just follow Lagos, it will forge its own greatness as the true ‘ajisebi oyo laari, Oyo o se bi baba enikan’.
It’s no longer news to an average Nigerian about how Nigeria has continued to grapple with uneven development across its federating units, but let’s take two South-Western states; Lagos and Oyo as illuminating case studies on the impact of political continuity and visionary leadership.
While Lagos has grown into the undisputed commercial nerve centre of Nigeria through consistent governance under a single political ideology since 1999, Oyo State is just beginning to experience a similar governance revolution under the current administration of Governor Seyi Makinde.
Today, the people of Oyo are presented with a rare opportunity: to rise as the next economic giant of the South-West, and indeed Nigeria, if they choose to consolidate on the foundation already laid. With the right successor—one who shares and is committed to advancing Makinde’s development blueprint—Oyo can rival Lagos in industrial output, infrastructure, investment, and innovation.
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Lagos: A Template of Political Continuity and Sustainable Growth
Since 1999, Lagos has maintained a consistent political leadership, transitioning from Alliance for Democracy (AD) to Action Congress (AC), then ACN, and now All Progressives Congress (APC). This ideological consistency, not just in party name but in developmental priorities, has allowed successive governors to build upon existing projects without the usual disruption that plagues many Nigerian states.
The results are evident:
Lagos IGR surged from under ₦1 billion monthly in 1999 to over ₦60 billion per month by 2024.
It is now home to Africa’s largest tech ecosystem, multiple seaports, major expressways, and the only intra-city rail system in Nigeria.
Long-term planning, such as the Lagos State Development Plan, continues across administrations.
This is the power of political coherence and strategic succession.
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Oyo: From Instability to Transformation Under Seyi Makinde
Until 2019, Oyo State was characterized by political oscillation and inconsistent governance. From Lam Adesina to Rashidi Ladoja, Alao-Akala, and Abiola Ajimobi, each administration introduced reforms but often lacked the follow-through needed for systemic transformation.
All of that changed when Governor Seyi Makinde, under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), emerged with a clear vision and a strategic governance model anchored on inclusion, data, and results.
In just over five years, Makinde has redefined governance in Oyo with massive infrastructure projects that have opened up rural-urban connectivity, boosting trade and reducing travel time.
He has doubled the state’s Internally Generated Revenue without increasing taxes, instead leveraging digitization and transparency.
Education and healthcare systems have been overhauled, with better funding, personnel recruitment, and monitoring.
He created an enabling environment for agribusiness, introducing industrial hubs and empowering local farmers.
Most significantly, he has appointed technocrats and even opposition figures regardless of their party affiliations, thereby, prioritizing capacity over party loyalty.
Oyo Can Rival Lagos but only with visionary continuity. Despite these giants strides by the Makinde’s government, earning him several accolades from not just regional and national levels, but at both continental and global levels. Little wonder for the first time, a sitting president of a nation (Sierra Leone) visited Oyo state to have a first hand assessment of the Agribusiness hub at Fashola Farms and other industrial locations in the state just for the purpose of acquiring more knowledge on the agribusiness model that not only works but didn’t push additional burden on the masses.
Oyo State currently stands on the brink of greatness with all of these achievements. With the right leadership beyond 2027, that is a successor who understands the vision, believes in the blueprint, and is committed to continuity not partisan politics and gimmicks, Oyo can take its rightful place as Nigeria’s next economic capital in waiting.
For the benefits of doubts, let us consider some of Oyo’s inherent advantages:
Geographical Advantage: Oyo sits on a strategic corridor linking the North, East, and South-West. It is ideal for logistics, warehousing, and inter-regional trade. Even though some politicians have been singing regional integration as part of their campaign strategies, they soon abandon the song when they realizing the state next door was being ruled by another party.
Land and Agribusiness: Oyo has vast arable land and has begun leveraging this through agribusiness industrial parks like the Fashola Agribusiness Hub. It is believed in the spirit of regional integration and cohesion, government can come together to deepen collaboration regardless of party affinity.
Knowledge Economy: Home to the University of Ibadan and other top institutions, the state can develop a knowledge-based economy in health, research, and ICT and that is why governor Seyi Makinde has continued to take advantage of the expertise that abound in this premier institution in terms of manpower to bolster his administration’s human resource capacity.
Security Infrastructure: Under Makinde, Amotekun has been operationalized effectively, creating a safer environment for investors and citizens alike.
Digitized Land and Property Management: The deployment of OYPRS and GIS systems has already modernized land allocation, enhancing investor confidence.
The only missing link to unlocking this vast potential is political consistency. If Oyo changes course in 2027 and elects a governor with a different or antagonistic vision because of party difference, the progress made so far could be rolled back just as it has happened in other states where new governments abandon or politicize the achievements of their predecessors.
From the foregoing, it is evidently clear that the 2027 elections will not just be a political contest, it will be a referendum on the future of Oyo State.
Makinde has done the hardest work of governance which stabilizing the economy, restoring public trust in governance, building institutional systems that works with proven results, and laying out a long-term plan.
What is needed now is a credible, competent successor who will run with the vision, not tear it down in the name of party affinity and its rhetorics. Someone who is already grounded in the system and understands that Makinde’s achievements are not personal triumphs but institutional foundations meant for collective benefit of the people of the state.
To elect a governor in 2027 who is not ideologically aligned with this developmental vision, or one propelled by bitter opposition politics, would be to jeopardize Oyo’s climb toward economic excellence.
Just as Lagos benefited from nearly three decades of continuity that allowed each administration to perfect and expand upon the previous one’s vision, Oyo State can replicate this. It has taken Lagos 24 years of one-party rule to become what it is today. Oyo’s journey under Makinde is only six years in the making.