By Olaniyi Ajibola

The latest ranking of Ogun State alongside Lagos State as the topmost states in Nigeria with mobile Internet subscriptions in the year 2023 by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBC, has, undoubtedly, confirmed the speedy trajectory of digital economy by the administration of Governor Dapo Abiodun, since his assumption of office in May 2019.

NBC, on Thursday, on its official website, in a report titled, ‘Telecoms Data: Active Voice and Internet per State, Porting and Tariff Information (Q2 2023), announced Lagos and Ogun as the top states, followed by Kano, Bayelsa and Zamfara in third, fourth and fifth positions respectively.

According to the NBC’s report, on state profile analysis, Lagos State had the highest number of active voice subscribers in Q2 2023 with 26,423,757, followed by Ogun with 12,976,190 and Kano with 12,129,536.

In addition, Lagos State had the highest number of active internet subscribers in Q2 2023 with 18,868,376, followed by Ogun with 9,471,170 and Kano with 8,768,199. It would be recalled that in 2022, Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Oyo, and the Federal Capital Territory were the top five states with mobile Internet subscriptions in Nigeria.

Without mincing words, Ogun State has maintained this top position in digital communications as a result of the enabling environment and necessary infrastructure provided by the government in the State as part of its ISEYA pillars of action, aimed at developing every strata of the State’s economy through advanced technologies.

The political will and commitment by the administration of Prince Dapo Abiodun, to resuscitate the economy of the State and make it functional through digitalisation is top notch, liberating the Gateway State from the previous analogue style of governance.

Working assiduously and tirelessly to meet up with the global trajectory on Digital Economy; and to achieve his vision of total broadband coverage, Governor Dapo Abiodun launched the Digital Economy Infrastructure Project.

This initiative was aimed to provide 5000 kilometers of optic fiber cables across the State, to the greatest interest of a lot of business owners as well as the teeming youths; as thousands of youths across the State, including girls, have already been trained at the Ogun State Tech Hub, Abeokuta, to prepare them for the emerging digital economy not only in the State but also in areas of national and international interests.

The Governor did not stop at that, he exhibited his conviction and readiness to digitalize the State’s economy through bottom -up approach, which remains the best strategy of instilling digital consciousness in the psyches of all the citizens of the State irrespective of age and status.

Against this backdrop, ICT was introduced into the management of academic activities and administration of schools across the 20 local governments, such that each learner/pupil now has a unique identity number called LIN – Learner Identity Number. Parents can now access their wards’ report sheets online.

Interestingly, these efforts are presently reflecting in the performances of students at various competitions, including public examinations. At various times, students from the State have emerged overall best at STEM competitions and global mathematics competitions, among others.

In addition to that, Governor Abiodun, in his understanding and irrevocable resolve to transform the Ogun economy through ICT, in line with global best practices and in the bid of sustaining the status of the State as the best economic environment in Nigeria for the Ease of Doing Business, changed the old fraudulent way of land allocation system.

He introduced advanced automation and anti-fraud technology in the process of CofO, first of its kind in Nigeria, with a new 1-page double-sided CofO certificate and capacity to issue 5,000 CofOs , in which over 5,000 CofOs that were otherwise backlogged at the Bureau of Lands, were recently handed over to their owners.

To this end, CofO issuance in Ogun State will now be issued electronically for the much-needed efficiency. It is against this backdrop that a recent report by BudgIT ranked Ogun State in the 7th position in the 2023 overall Fiscal Performance Ranking and 1st in most improved in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) among the 36 States and the FCT.

Obviously, all these wouldn’t have been possible without the deliberate policies of Dapo Abiodun’s administration to strengthen the State’s economy and overhaul the machinery of government and governance through ICT, which has contributed immensely to the State’s present status as the investment destination of choice, as well as the second financially most resilient state in Nigeria, after Lagos.

We salute the effforts of the Governor as he continues in his drive towards attracting investors by providing the most business-friendly environment through well-thought-out policies assisted and driven by technology.

– Ajibola writes from Abeokuta