Obaseki: The Man Who Saw, Leveraged Future Boom of Oil Palm
By The9jaTREND
Kayode Tokede narrates how the immediate past governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki took deliberate, bold, and strategic steps to leverage the hidden potential that laid in the oil palm sector, years before its current boom started to unravel in Nigeria.
Rising demand for oil palm in Nigeria is quietly driving a boom in the production of the commodity, with Edo State emerging as major hub.
The production of the industrial crop has taken a centerstage and has become a veritable source of economic growth in a largely gloomy Nigerian economy, where several sectors are underperforming.
Crude oil production and output is declining, subsistence farming is also taking a hit because of worsening insecurity across the country, while the manufacturing sector continues to reel under the pressure of inflation and escalating production costs, amid other facets of the economy in dire straits.
But one man, Godwin Obaseki, had the foresight and saw through the fog, taking deliberate, bold, and strategic steps to leverage the hidden potential that laid in the oil palm sector, years before its current boom started to unravel in Nigeria.
As governor of Edo State between 2016 and 2024, Obaseki set out to create a thriving sector that will not only boost economic activities but also generate revenue and provide employment opportunities, having envisioned its potential as a driver of sustainable economic growth and development.
He therefore started a quiet revolution in the sector, engaged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for a N69 billion funding facility and established the Edo State Oil Palm Programme (ESOPP), aimed at de-risking the oil palm value chain by providing contiguous land to investors for sustainable production.
Under the scheme, over 120,000 hectares of land were allocated for oil palm development, with over $500 million in investment attracted, the largest of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa.
Having achieved significant success in Edo State, Obaseki initiated conversations to export the state’s revolutionary oil palm estate development model to neighboring States, in a bid to promote food self-sufficiency and diversify Nigeria’s economy.
The result of this novel approach is that several months after his exit from office, Edo State and indeed Nigeria is still reaping the rewards of bold, visionary leadership in the oil palm sector. (ThisDay)
