Oyo Educated Them. Lagos Employed Them
In February 1976, Nigeria undertook one of the most consequential administrative reforms in its post-independence history. Under the military leadership of General Murtala Mohammed, the country was restructured from 12 states into 19, with the creation of new states designed to deepen federalism, bring governance closer to the people, reduce regional dominance, and—most importantly—accelerate development.
Among the states created at that historic moment were Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Imo, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, and Oyo.
Fifty years later, the promise that justified their creation demands a brutally honest assessment. Have these states translated autonomy into prosperity? Have they built competitive economies, reduced poverty, and delivered sustainable growth?
For most of them, the answer is uncomfortable—and deeply disappointing.
1. Bauchi State (Created 1976): Abundant Resources, Absent Results
Located in Nigeria’s North-East, Bauchi State is home to an estimated 8 million people and is endowed with agriculture, solid minerals, and tourism assets such as the globally recognized Yankari Game Reserve. Yet despite these advantages, Bauchi remains one of Nigeria’s poorest states.
According to Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Multidimensional Poverty Index, between 56 and 60 percent of residents live in poverty. Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) remains below ₦25 billion annually, leaving the state heavily dependent on federal allocations.
Half a century after its creation, Bauchi has failed to establish a major industrial hub. Manufacturing contributes minimally to its GDP, youth unemployment remains widespread, and even the state capital lacks modern urban infrastructure.
The verdict is clear: Bauchi’s development outcomes are far below what its age and potential should have produced.
2. Benue State (1976): The Food Basket That Never Fed Itself
Benue State proudly carries the nickname “Food Basket of the Nation.” It produces large volumes of yams, rice, soybeans, maize, and cassava. Yet paradoxically, Benue is one of Nigeria’s poorest agrarian states.
With a poverty rate estimated between 50 and 55 percent and an IGR of ₦20–25 billion, Benue ranks among the lowest in per-capita income in North-Central Nigeria.
The historic irony is glaring. For decades, Benue exported raw agricultural produce while failing to build agro-processing industries that could add value, create jobs, and retain wealth locally. Fifty years on, there is still no major agro-industrial cluster. Salary arrears are common, farmers remain poor, and rural communities see little benefit from the abundance they produce.
Benue feeds Nigeria—but starves economically.
3. Borno State (1976): A Trade Hub Reduced to Humanitarian Dependence
Borno State’s tragedy is both historic and political. Situated in the North-East, it was once a vital Sahelian trade hub linking Nigeria with Chad, Niger, and Cameroon. Today, it records one of the highest poverty rates in the country—over 70 percent—with an IGR of under ₦15 billion.
The Boko Haram insurgency devastated infrastructure, displaced millions, destroyed private investment, and reversed decades of development. Entire communities were wiped out, while the economy became dependent on humanitarian aid.
Security failure did not happen in a vacuum. Years of governance neglect, elite irresponsibility, and leadership obsessed with power rather than progress created fertile ground for insurgency. Fifty years after state creation, Borno is still rebuilding what should never have been lost.
4. Imo State (1976): Human Capital Without a Home Economy
Imo State, in Nigeria’s South-East, presents a different contradiction. With high literacy levels, strong entrepreneurial culture, and significant diaspora remittances, Imo should have been an industrial and commercial powerhouse.
Instead, poverty—now estimated at 30–35 percent—is rising. Despite being a commercially minded Igbo state, its IGR hovers around ₦35–45 billion, far below its potential.
Weak state planning, absence of a coherent industrial policy, rising insecurity, and poor infrastructure have driven businesses to Lagos and other regions. Imo exports talent, traders, and professionals—but fails to retain productive enterprises.
What should have been an advantage became wasted human capital due to governance failure.
5. Niger State (1976): Power Without Prosperity
Niger State is Nigeria’s largest by landmass and hosts critical national assets: Kainji, Shiroro, and Jebba dams, which generate electricity for the country.
Yet the state itself remains energy-poor.
With a poverty rate of about 62 percent and IGR around ₦20 billion or less, Niger State has failed to convert power generation into industrial development. There is no energy-driven manufacturing ecosystem, urban centers remain weak, and rural poverty is widespread.
It is a textbook case of resource presence without value capture—electricity produced, prosperity absent.
6. Ogun State (1976): The Spillover Success Story
Ogun State stands out as the best-performing of the eight. Located in the South-West, it leveraged its proximity to Lagos to attract manufacturing, logistics, and industrial investments. With an IGR exceeding ₦80–100 billion and a poverty rate of 20–25 percent, Ogun has clearly outpaced its peers.
Industrial parks, factories, and logistics hubs dot the state. However, even this relative success has a caveat. Much of Ogun’s growth is a spillover effect from Lagos, not the result of bold, long-term industrial planning.
Despite its advantages, Ogun still struggles with poor road networks and infrastructure gaps. Given its location and potential, it should be growing exponentially like Lagos. Instead, years of visionless governance have kept it operating below capacity.
7. Ondo State (1976): Oil Without Industrialization
Ondo State is oil-producing and agriculturally rich, yet remains poorly diversified. Poverty stands at 30–35 percent, while IGR ranges between ₦30–40 billion.
The historic mistake was clear: oil revenues were not converted into lasting industrial or technological assets. Fifty years later, the private sector remains weak, youth migration is rampant, and the coastal economy is underdeveloped.
Ondo is resource-rich but cash-poor—a familiar Nigerian paradox.
8. OYO STATE (Created 1976): The Giant That Stumbled — Then Slowly Rose Again
Region: South-West
Capital: Ibadan
Poverty rate: ~28–32% (NBS Multidimensional Poverty Index)
IGR: ₦45–60bn annually (still below potential but improving)
Youth unemployment & underemployment: Historically high, now moderating
Oyo State’s story is not one of absolute failure, but of historic advantage undermined by decades of poor governance, followed by measured recovery in recent years.
Ibadan was once:
The largest city in West Africa in the 1950s–60s
Home to the University of Ibadan (1948), Nigeria’s first university
Headquarters of the old Western Region, widely regarded as the most progressive region in pre-1970 Nigeria
A major hub for publishing, research, agriculture, and light manufacturing
Few states inherited as much intellectual, institutional, and infrastructural capital as Oyo at creation.
However, from the late 1970s through the early 2000s, successive governments failed to modernize Ibadan’s economy, protect its industrial base, or deliberately integrate the state into Nigeria’s evolving commercial structure. Industrial estates declined, factories shut down or relocated, and urban planning stagnated.
During this period, Lagos consistently absorbed Oyo’s most valuable assets:
Skilled graduates
Entrepreneurs
Professionals
Manufacturing firms
Creative and academic talent
This was not accidental. Lagos invested aggressively in infrastructure, ports, finance, and policy certainty, while Oyo relied on legacy advantages without upgrading them. The result was a slow but steady economic hollowing-out of Ibadan, turning the city into a major exporter of human capital rather than finished goods.
The Turning Point: The Last 8 Years
Importantly, Oyo State’s trajectory began to shift in the last eight years. Improved fiscal discipline, relative political stability, infrastructure upgrades, urban renewal projects, and better engagement with investors have contributed to visible progress, especially in:
Road networks
Security coordination
Ease of doing business
Revenue administration
While Oyo has not yet reclaimed its historical economic dominance, the state is no longer stagnant. The problem today is not absence of progress, but the scale and speed of transformation relative to its enormous potential.
Oyo is not poor because it lacked history.
It struggled because it failed for decades to convert history into modern productivity — and is only recently attempting to correct that mistake.
CONCLUSION
The lesson from these eight states is not that progress is impossible — but that time alone does not deliver development.
Out of the states created nearly 50 years ago:
Ogun leveraged Lagos spillover most effectively, though still below potential
Oyo lost decades to mismanagement but is now recovering
Others remain trapped in structural dependency, insecurity, or policy inertia
State creation did not create development.
Natural resources did not create prosperity.
History did not guarantee progress.
Leadership, planning, institutional continuity, and accountability did — or failed to.
If Nigeria refuses to internalize this lesson honestly, the next 50 years will simply produce new anniversaries… and the same excuses.
The lesson is unavoidable:
State creation does not create development.
Leadership, planning, and accountability do.
If Nigeria refuses to confront this truth honestly, the next 50 years will simply mark another anniversary—without progress.
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