Ogun State will host the National Sports Festival between 16th and 30th May 2025 and preparations are in top gear for the sporting spectacle. In recent times, the National Sports Commission and the Ogun State Ministry of Sports & Youth Development have visited locations around the state to assess the facilities to be used for the competition. The Governor of the state, Mr. Dapo Abiodun is leaving no stone unturned as he prepares to be a great host to the rest of the nation; rehabilitating stadiums, sport complexes, fixing access roads, buying equipment and putting in good form, public utilities needed for the games.

A careful study of these activities, commendable as they are, reveals a disturbing and pathetic trend, now synonymous with the Ogun state body polity. As at the time of putting this opinion together, nothing suggests that any of the activities of the upcoming sports festival will hold in any geographical location in Ogun West senatorial district. Listening to the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Mr. Bukola Olopade, speak few days ago, he informed his audience that the stadia at Ijebu-Ode, the one in Ikenne and Alake Sports centre in Abeokuta, among others – are set for the games. Of course, these are aside other adjunct infrastructure that will be put in place to support athletes, officials, observers and the media.

It is inconceivable that the Ogun State government designed a tournament of this nature and completely excluded a third of the state from the experience. With the benefit of hindsight and also taking up external references, the Dapo Abiodun administration blundered in a brazen manner. Sporting events by any host – be it at national or subnational levels – are meant to achieve a number of things; one will be to improve sporting facilities and general infrastructure in the environment. Another will be to encourage young ones to embrace sports for its recreational value and financial value – if taken up professionally. Additionally, there is the trickle-down economic benefit to the environment in terms of flurry of activities when SMEs make smart money. Inclusively, the tourism, cultural and business potentials of the environment is exposed to visitors thereby creating a recall that can be explored afterwards.

The action of the state government thus suggest that it does not want the Yewa-Awori people to take any of these highlighted benefit from a tourney where billions of Ogun taxpayers monies will be spent on – when indeed, the Ogun West district generates substantial part of these monies. As at today, government has spent monies to either construct or renovate facilities in Ogun Central and East, neglecting facilities in Ogun West to continue decaying. It is unfortunate that the Dapo Abiodun administration that has performed terribly in sports since 2019 is missing the opportunity to redeem itself, revamp facilities across the state and create a renaissance in sports development.

In the lead up to the 2006 national sports festival also hosted by Ogun State, the then administration under Otunba Gbenga Daniel built sporting infrastructure across the state and indeed the events were spread across all locations within the three senatorial district. The sporting value and economic buzz to the local economy reverberated for many years until succeeding administrations displayed pathetic attitude towards sports. Ogun State for a while, won laurels at other festivals, tertiary institution games were pastimes then and schools found locations to do inter-house sports while many youths who were enthusiastic about sports found veritable platforms to horn their skills. But these progresses have been lost in the intervening years.
With this atrocious neglect of Ogun West in the scheme of things, Dapo Abiodun has again reinforced the perennial and disdainful marginalization of the district. It is an assault to the sensibilities of the people that government found it fit to localize the games in two senatorial districts for no justifiable cause. The Ilaro stadium is now in shambles, adjoining facilities are now relics while access roads to the facilities are decrepit. Also, facilities in Ota, Owode and Aiyetoro are moribund but none of these is of concern to the Governor who chose to embark on lavish expenditure on facilities in Ijebu-Ode, Sagamu and Ikenne majorly and then Abeokuta to an extent.

What is the sin of Ogun West? It is already a bad situation that the district has been denied political power in almost 50 years where only Ogun Central and East rotate governorship between themselves. In the area of economic development, there is an ongoing plot to decimate it of its potentials and shift the focus to Ogun East alone. To this effect, the Ota-Agbara industrial cluster has suffered terrible infrastructural neglect such that manufacturing concerns are daily exiting the environment while new investors are made to look in the direction of the emerging hub in Remo and Ijebu axis. As at today, Ogun West has the least number of projects by the state government and the marginalization is also reflected in recruitments to public service and allocation of social services. The effects of these deprivations are that the people are weak, pauperized, subdued and treated like an annexed territory or better put – as pitiable fourth-class citizens of Ogun State. As of this day, the oil-rich Tongeji Island located in Ipokia Local Government of the district may be lost to Republic of Benin; just like Nigeria lost Bakassi pennisula to Cameroon.
Governor Dapo Abiodun’s audacious decision to exclude Ogun West from the games is unforgivable and clearly shows that his claim of affection for the people is fake and mere lip service.

Unfortunately, the current Commissioner for Sport and Youth Development, Mr. Wasiu Isiaka, is an indigene of Ogun West from Imeko precisely. How do we reconcile this misnomer? This has always been the trajectory of the oppressors of Ogun West whereby they always find one of their own to carry the can of the oppressive policies of the administration. Could it be that Wasiu Isiaka never observed this perfidy or he is so incapacitated to muster a challenge to his employer? How will a Yewa-Awori man be so proud to supervise a festival where billions was spent to run a tournament located just in Remo, Ijebu and Egba? This is complete ridicule and scornful slap on the face of Ogun West.

For the governor, this latest action is betrayal for the good that Ogun West has done to him. Since the inception of his administration in 2019, he has received 100% support from the people. When the battle for the APC ticket raged between him and the preferred successor of former governor Ibikunle Amosun, it took the support of major backers from Ogun West who served as boots-on-ground to implement the action plan from Abuja. These same people from Ogun West turned down the chance to support either of their own, Gboyega Isiaka of ADC and Abulkabir Akinlade of APM; but chose to support a Remo man, Dapo Abiodun of APC. In 2023 also, the Governor was outright defeated in his senatorial district of Ogun East by Ladi Adebutu of the PDP. It took the bulk votes from Ogun West followed by the marginal votes from Ogun Central to save his face and eventually won by a controversial 13,000 margin.

Unfortunately, the Governor has forgotten history and perpetuated the marginalization of Ogun West. One would have thought that Dapo Abiodun will be the man to give Ogun West the emancipation that is so much needed, but regrettably, he has flattered to deceive; and on the strength of this shut-out of the people from the impending Gateway Games, he may have unwittingly made himself a ‘Persona Non Grata’ to Ogun West people. Yes, he may not need their votes for a third term, but he may need them to support his choice for 2027 and by then, Ogun West people will ask what he did for them in eight years? Where are the infrastructure? Where are the economic development projects? Where are the empowerments? How did you improve human capital development in the area and how did you enhance the dignity of the Yewa-Awori people? For now, the marginalization of Ogun West continues and Governor Dapo Abiodun has become a part of that undesirable history.
Kayode Akinyemi writes from Aiyetoro, Ogun State via [email protected].