A group of foreign investors in Nigeria started in the table water business over a decade ago and have grown into the country's largest manufacturers and suppliers of refillable water dispenser bottles. Their recent expansion into dairy farming and milk production demonstrates the power of strategic diversification, long-term planning, and disciplined capital allocation. This success story offers important lessons for policymakers and development practitioners.
Historical Precedents in Edo State
Edo State has historical precedents for large-scale agricultural initiatives. The late General Samuel Ogbemudia established the Agbede and Igarra cattle ranches in Edo North decades ago. Professor Ambrose Alli also established a ranch between Ubiaja and Ilushi in Esan South East over forty years ago. These examples show that Edo State has both the historical precedent and resources necessary to drive large-scale economic transformation.
The RAIISE Development Philosophy
According to the RAIISE development philosophy — Rural Revitalisation, Agriculture, Industrialisation, Infrastructure, Security and Excellence — a visionary Edo State Government must deliberately use public capital to guide and attract private capital. Government should not merely regulate economic activity but act as a catalyst for economic transformation. Such a government would support investment at scale in carefully selected industries where Edo State possesses clear comparative advantages, including agriculture and agro-processing for export, apparel manufacturing, building and construction materials, farm implements and machinery, drip irrigation systems, furniture manufacturing, cashew processing, rubber tyre manufacturing, and other emerging sectors capable of generating substantial employment, foreign exchange, and broad-based wealth.
Challenges of Financing Industrial Projects
Many transformative industrial projects have long development cycles and require long-term financing to succeed. However, commercial banks in Nigeria today largely rely on highly liquid short-term investments and funding sources, creating a maturity mismatch that discourages the financing of industrial projects. Government can establish commercially viable enterprises, nurture them through their formative years, and subsequently divest majority ownership through the capital market once they attain maturity and commercial viability. This approach allows government to recover its investment, deepen private sector participation, strengthen local ownership, and redeploy capital into new sectors.
The Role of Government in Seeding Industrialisation
Government can deploy its capital strategically to seed industrialisation, prove commercial concepts, reduce investor uncertainty, and demonstrate confidence in the state's economic future. When government is prepared to invest in its own state, private investors are far more likely to follow. This philosophy should extend beyond Edo State. Nigeria must gradually move from a politics centred on the monthly sharing of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) revenues to a politics of investing public revenues in productive, wealth-creating activities. Federal allocations should serve as seed capital for economic expansion, helping states and local governments grow their productive capacity, create jobs, and sustainably increase their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
Local Government Revenue Realities
According to the Edo State Local Government Councils Audited Financial Statements for Year 2024, published by the Office of the Auditor-General on 30th June 2025, Orhionmwon Local Government Area recorded an average monthly IGR of just ₦2,137,789.60 in 2024, while Etsako Central Local Government Area generated an average of only ₦1,539,394.78 per month. Orhionmwon LGA is one of the largest local government areas in Edo State, with an estimated population of between 295,000 and 320,000 people and a landmass of approximately 2,382 square kilometres, about one-third the size of the Federal Capital Territory and over two-thirds the size of Lagos State. Such a vast local government cannot realistically develop on an IGR of about ₦2.1 million per month.
Rethinking Subnational Wealth Creation
If Nigeria is serious about sustainable development, it must fundamentally rethink how to build the wealth-creation capacities of subnational entities. States and local governments must become centres of production, investment, and enterprise, rather than mere recipients and distributors of monthly allocations. Through strategic partnerships and eventual listing on the Nigerian capital market, government can become a catalyst, rather than a permanent operator of businesses. Government must become the bridge that carries investment across the river of uncertainty. Once the crossing has been proven safe and profitable, private capital will naturally flow in greater volumes and with greater confidence.
Leadership and the Path Forward
The ultimate challenge is not a lack of resources, opportunities, or human talent. It begins and ends with leadership: leadership with vision, conviction, competence, determination, and patriotism; leadership that is prepared to think beyond the next election and act consistently in the common good. The ultimate objective is simple: jobs, jobs, and more jobs. When productive employment opportunities are available, economic hardship declines, families become more secure, communities become more stable, crime and social tensions reduce over time, and prosperity becomes widely shared.
Too much political energy is often consumed by calculations about the next election cycle, the next political alignment, the next inter-party defections, or how many votes can be secured for political patrons in Abuja. The focus should instead be on how to create sustainable wealth, expand the productive capacity of the economy, and improve the living standards of ordinary Edo people. If a government succeeds in creating massive employment opportunities and widespread prosperity, the people will naturally recognise and support such leadership. Genuine development creates its own political legitimacy.
Policymakers and political leaders are urged to embrace long-term economic planning, innovative governance models, and strategic investment frameworks capable of transforming Edo State into a leading centre of agricultural production, industrial development, and export-led growth in Nigeria. The future we seek will not be built through slogans or short-term politics, but through vision, strategic planning, disciplined execution, and the courage to invest today in the prosperity of tomorrow.
Osarenren Derek Izedonmwen is an engineer and development-minded professional.
