By Olaniyi Ajibola
A celebrated American scholar, author and leading expert in leadership studies, Warren Bennis, in his deep analysis of the integral tenets of good leadership in the context of development and sustainable transformation, posited rather authoritatively”, leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality”.
In the thinking of Bennis, the most significant attributes of a leader in any capacity and form is the requisite capability to painstakingly study the aspirations and vision of the people and proactively devise mechanisms that would transform those aspirations into reality for the good of all.
Of course, a leader is indeed a mere dealer if only what he could do is to identify the needs of his people, pronounce it as a matter of information and subsequently stop at that pronouncement without action and steps that could make the dream a significant reality.
The above analogy absolutely capsures sequence of infrastructural development in Ogun State, especially with regards to the Gateway International Agro-cargo Airport that is near completion with world class facilities of rare quality around the country and the West African sub-region.
It may interest Nigerians to know that the project was conceived and announced by the administration in power in Ogun State around 2006, surprisingly, it stopped at that prouncement and attendant paper tiger and embarrassing photoshop until the present administration of Abiodun came into the saddle and hit the ground with utmost alacrity to run the marraton race.
In one of the many narratives of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), on the project, Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Tunde Oladunjoye, once described the proposed airport between 2006 and 2019 as nothing but announcement of thick forest as Agro-Cargo Airport, saying the announcement without political will and seriousness to take action was an usual gimmicks and deception that characterised government of those days.
He said: “Setting the record straight, like many other failed governors of Daniel type, who merely made political statements about projects to manipulate people’s emotions and deceive them for political gains, the Agro-Cargo Airport situated at Ilisan-Iperu axis of the State was just one of the many areas where Otunba Gbenga Daniel failed the people of Ogun State very woefully.
“Daniel, after announcing construction of an airport in the year 2006, the area earmarked for the project remained a thick forest till 2019 when Prince Abiodun came into the saddle. Daniel’s successor, Ibikunle Amosun, did not even open the file of the proposed airport throughout his eight years in office, the same way Daniel abandoned all the projects left behind by his predecessor, Aremo Olusegun Osoba.
“The recent interview of having the grand or master plan for what Governor Abiodun has been accomplishing is not only self-ridiculing, it is simply a sheer hallucination of a serial failure and shameful acceptance of failure on the part of Mr. Gbenga Daniel. His interview and comment on Governor Abiodun reek of deep envy and insensitive lack of modesty.”
Meanwhile, considering the creative and genuine mind of Abiodun to change the face of the State and make it an investor destination of choice through intentional and deliberate policies, the documents for the proposed airport was taken off the shelf, dusted and deliberated upon to ascertain the best way possible of transforming the dream into reality.
By his nature, the Prince of Iperu would never take any issue of development with levity, with a speed of light and in the greatest astonishment of many pessimists and traducers, Abiodun moved contractors to site and start the construction of Gateway International Agro-cargo Airport in earnest after extensive and comprehensive feasibility studies.
Interestingly, the project reached almost 98 per cent of completion within 24 months, with the longest Runway and Apron in the entire West Africa, together with the most sophisticated Control Tower. What an incredible and indelible feat to behold!
In his recent assessment of the airport, Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila said the Gateway International Agro Cargo and Passenger Airport would soon be the transportation hub for other states in the Southwest.
Gbajabiamila also applauded Governor Abiodun for forging ahead with the airport project even when other governors failed in their quest to build a world class airport in their states.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives also gave kudos to Governor Abiodun for believing in the airport project, which he said would help improve the economy of Ogun State.
He added that the airport would help drive the economy of the state, neighbouring states, and the country as a whole, saying that the ease of doing business in the state would also be improved.
“For Ogun State, this airport has the potential of being a hub for every other state around the Southwest and improving the ease of doing business. You can travel from here. The potential is enormous. You can’t begin to count; it has its ripple effect on the economy.
“When I was in the National Assembly over the years, I know of several states in the Southwest that tried and struggled to build airports that were nowhere of this size and they were not able to do it. Without taking anything away from them, its commendations all the way for Governor Dapo Abiodun.
“I was surprised at what it looks inside. The outside belies the inside and I think the governor has done a good job. He deserves to be commended.
“I believe this airport was built in two years and some months and that is a short period within which to complete an airport such as this.
“Supposedly, it has the longest runway, and you know what that means. So, all in all, we have to give kudos to the governor.
“Coming here today, this is my first time at the airport. I have heard so much about it; he is so proud of it. You know it is one thing to put your money somewhere to do something and do it for the sake of doing it. But, when you do something and you believe in it and you have a passion for what you are doing, the output, the product is different because you put your all in it and that is what I see here in this airport.
“I can only describe his administration in one word, transformative, very transformative. We’ve come, we’ve seen, what you see is what you get and each time I come here, I see what his administration is doing, especially in terms of infrastructural development and I give kudos to his Excellency, the governor.”
Speaking in the same pattern and manner some days ago, regulatory agencies in the aviation industry, while visiting the airport for on-the-spot assessment, commended Prince Dapo Abiodun, for the quality of facilities put in place at the airport and the degree of completion within a short period of time.
The agencies which comprised the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), and Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), unanimously adjudged the airport as world-standard and a source of pride for Ogun State.
According to the agencies, the critical infrastructure at the airport, which includes the Control Tower, Weather Monitoring Areas, Runway, Fire Service Stations, and the Apron, can rival any of its type around the world and remain one of the best in the West African corridor.
The Senior Project Manager of Craneburg, the construction company handling the project, Nicolas Mfarrej, informed the officials that the airport was about 98% ready to take off fully and begin to serve the interests of the state.
In the same vein, the consultant on regulatory matters to the Ogun State Governor, Oluwole Adeyileka, explained that the key players in the regulation and monitoring of facilities for full airport operations had come to assess the level of readiness of the state, adding that it was noteworthy that they had been impressed by what the state had put in place at the airport.
Also speaking, the Manager of Gateway International Airport, Captain Dapo Olumide, and the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Ade Akinsanya, said the ongoing assessment is the last hurdle to be crossed before the airport could go on full commercial operations, adding that the assessment given had shown that the state is set to take the lead in air traffic services in the country, describing it as a good outcome of great commitment and dedication to the realization of the dream of an airport that can meet world standards.
In truth and indeed, the boardroom guru, thought leader and cerebral public administrator par excellence, Prince Dapo Abiodun, is truly the ‘Arole Awolowo ‘ of our time; his achievements in all facets of the state economy is unprecedented and legendary.
• Ajibola is Senior Special Assistant to Ogun State Governor on Strategic Communications.