The Wealth of the Soil: VP Shettima’s Economic Challenge and the Untapped Goldmine of Òkè-Ògùn

On Wednesday in Abuja, the Federal Government sent a very clear, unavoidable message to all 36 State Governors. During the launch of the ‘National Compendium on the Economic and Tourism Profiles of the 36 States and the FCT’, Vice President Kashim Shettima boldly declared that Nigeria’s next phase of economic expansion will no longer come from the center. It will depend strictly on the ability of state governments to document their local assets, grow tourism, and convert sub-national potential into shared prosperity.

The Vice President’s challenge was simple but heavy:
“Tourism assets do not market themselves. They must be mapped, protected, developed, secured and linked to private investment.”

As this new national policy shift takes center stage, it places a massive spotlight on the economic blueprint of Oyo State. If the government at Agodi is to genuinely answer the Vice President’s call to transform local potential into bankable projects, then the economic compass of Oyo State must permanently point to Òkè-Ògùn.

The Industrial and Agricultural Engine
For decades, Òkè-Ògùn has been romantically referred to as the “food basket” of Oyo State. But in 2026, romantic titles are no longer enough; we need industrial capitalization.

When VP Shettima spoke about states leveraging solid minerals and agriculture to attract global capital, he was inadvertently describing the Òkè-Ògùn region. From the sprawling, fertile agricultural belts of Saki, Kishi, and Igboho to the massive, under-exploited marble deposits in Igbeti and the rich solid minerals scattered across Olorunsogo and Orelope, our region possesses the exact raw materials required to make Oyo State the wealthiest sub-national entity in Nigeria.

Yet, these assets remain grossly under-documented and heavily disconnected from modern technological investment.

The Tourism Paradox: History Held Hostage
The most critical pillar of the Vice President’s address was the expansion of the tourism sector. Here lies the greatest paradox of our region.

Òkè-Ògùn is arguably the most historically rich corridor in the entire Southwest. From the ancient, sacred relics of Igboho—which served as the formidable headquarters of the Old Oyo Empire during the Nupe wars—to the magnificent Asabari Hill in Saki, and the breathtaking 2,500 square kilometres of the Old Oyo National Park. We possess a cultural and natural heritage that should naturally attract millions of dollars in global eco-tourism and historical research.

However, as the Vice President rightly noted, assets must be ‘secured’ before they are marketed. How does Oyo State intend to market the Old Oyo National Park to international tourists when the very forests have been surrendered to heavily armed bandits? You cannot invite foreign investors to build eco-lodges and resorts in a region where local farmers are being kidnapped for ransom on the Kishi-Igbeti roads.

The launch of the ‘National Economic and Tourism Compendium’ is a wake-up call to the Oyo State Government.

The economic marginalization of Òkè-Ògùn must end, not just for the sake of political fairness, but for the economic survival of Oyo State itself. The state cannot boast of a robust economic profile while its most resourceful region remains starved of standard infrastructural access and crippled by rural insecurity.

To document the wealth of Oyo State is to document the wealth of Òkè-Ògùn. We urge the State Ministry of Trade, Industry, Investment and Cooperatives, as well as the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, to aggressively pivot their attention toward the region.

It is time to clear the bandits from our forests, document our solid minerals, digitize our agricultural outputs, and package Òkè-Ògùn for the global market. The wealth of the state lies in our soil; it is time to dig it up.

David Alani Ige
Institutional Archivist and public commentator
Phunshor01@gmail.com
07039641096
Igboho, Oyo State.