What has been its major sources of revenue and sustainable employment opportunities beyond civil service
By OLADELE ABIODUN GBENGA
On October 1st, 1996, the news broke on radio. General Sani Abacha had created six new states, and Ekiti was one of them. There was jubilation from Otun-Ekiti to Ikere-Ekiti. Finally, the Fountain of Knowledge had its own identity, carved out of old Ondo State.That was 30 years ago. This October, Ekiti will be 30. The question we must honestly ask ourselves is simple: Apart from sharing civil service salaries at the end of the month, what has been our major revenue and where is the reliable employment?
When Ekiti was created, we had big dreams. We were the most educated homogeneous state in Nigeria. We had cocoa forests that made old Ondo State rich. We had fertile land, granite mountains in Ijero and Ado, and hardworking people.But 30 years after, the data is not smiling.
The major revenue of Ekiti State is still Federal Allocation from Abuja. Over 75% of our budget comes from FAAC. Our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) is still one of the lowest in the South-West. While Lagos does over N800 billion IGR yearly, Ekiti struggles between N17 to N25 billion. We are still essentially running to Abuja to survive.Agriculture, which should be our oil, is still at subsistence level. In the 70s, Ekiti cocoa was king.
Today, many cocoa farms are old, youth are not interested, and we export raw cocoa instead of processing it here. We have cassava in every farm, but we still buy garri from outside. We have granite and kaolin in almost all 16 LGAs, but most quarries are owned by non-Ekiti people, with little benefit to the host community.Education, our pride, has also not been turned to economy. We have many private schools and now several universities, but they mostly provide small IGR through taxes.
WHERE ARE THE JOBS OUTSIDE GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT?
Walk into any family in Ado-Ekiti, Ikole or Ikere today, you will find one thing in common: someone is waiting for a teaching job, local government job, or state civil service job.
Ekiti is proudly called a civil service state. But how long can one state employ everybody?The truth is, reliable employment outside government is still very scarce. Our graduates finish from EKSU, FUOYE, BOUESTI, and the next plan is to leave Ekiti for Lagos, Ibadan or abroad.
Those who stay survive on okada riding, POS business, teaching in private schools for N25,000, or small farming with no support.Yes, there have been attempts. The most effective so far is the Ikun Dairy Farm in Moba Local Government. After being dead for over 40 years, it was revived in 2019 in partnership with Promasidor Nigeria, makers of Cowbell Milk.
Today it is the biggest dairy farm in Nigeria, with over 500 hectares, more than 750 cows, and over 200 direct jobs for Ekiti sons and daughters, plus over 1,000 indirect jobs for maize farmers, transporters and traders. It is proof that Ekiti agriculture can work if we have sincere investors.Other projects like , the Ekiti Knowledge Zone, and the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone at Ikole are still at early stages. They have promise, but they have not yet put food on the table of the average Ekiti youth.
WHAT MUST CHANGE IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS
If we want to celebrate Ekiti at 40 differently, we must be honest.First, we must turn our education from certificate to skill. Being the Fountain of Knowledge should mean we produce tech experts, not just job seekers. The Ekiti Knowledge Zone should be made to work for young programmers and digital workers.
Second, we must copy the Ikun Dairy model for cassava, cocoa and palm oil. Government should farm. It should provide land, security, and invite serious companies to process what we grow here.Third, we must make Ekiti easy to do business. No investor wants to come where land is difficult ,no road network and politics disturbs business.
BUT WE ARE SITTING ON GOLD – TOURISM
For tourism, it is interesting to note that we have Ikogosi Warm Spring which has been refurbished but that alone cannot serve us.
Ekiti is a land of hills and wonders, but we have abandoned them. We have *Okuta Agba, Okuta Olosunta at Ikere, Olosunta hills, Erio hills, Fajuyi Park, Erinta Waterfalls at Ipole-Iloro* and many more. These can be turned to world-class tourist sites.If developed, tourists from different states can come for vacation. We can build lodges, recreational centres, hiking trails, and cultural villages there. Aside being a revenue generator, it will serve as direct employment for guides, hotel workers, drivers, food sellers, and security. Ikogosi alone should not be our only story.
OTHER REVENUE IDEAS WE NEED TO LEVERAGE ON
1. Toll Gate for Heavy Trucks: Every day, big tipper trucks carrying our granite and kaolin, and trailers passing through Ekiti, damage our roads and leave. We can have computerized toll gates at our borders in Itawure, Iju-Ita Ogbolu axis, and Otun. Those trucks will pay a token tax. This will be computerized to block leakage, and it will also create employment for Ekiti youths as collectors and IT monitors.
2. Revitalize Textile Industry: Ekiti used to have textile and weaving culture. In collective effort with other South-West governors, we can have a share in a regional textile industry. With our cotton and our traditional Aso-Oke weaving in places like Ijero, this will be another avenue for revenue and reliable employment, especially for our women.Ekiti at 30 is no longer a child.
These and more in Ekiti environ that we can turn to revenue and also as employment beyond civil service
A 30-year-old man cannot still be collecting pocket money from his father every month. That is what FAAC is to us.The time has come for Ekiti to look beyond the State Secretariat. Our land is fertile, our people are educated. What we lack is not potential, but the will to turn that potential into factories and sustainable jobs.Long live Ekiti State.
