Ogun State

Ogun is Nigeria's remora—the "Gateway State" that exists because Lagos exists. When Africa's largest city ran out of room to expand, manufacturers, logistics operators, and airport planners looked 50 kilometers northeast and found cheaper land, lower congestion, and access to the same port. Ogun's GDP jumped from roughly 5 trillion naira to 16 trillion naira by September 2025, driven not by indigenous innovation but by Lagos overflow. The state doesn't compete with its neighbor; it completes it.

Abeokuta, the capital, has older roots. Founded in 1830 by Sodeke, an Egba hunter leading refugees from the collapsing Oyo Empire, the town's name means "refuge among rocks"—referring to the granite outcrops that provided defensive positions. The Egba, Ijebu, Yewa, and Awori subgroups of the Yoruba settled along the Ogun River, which flows south through the state to Lagos Lagoon. The region became a breadbasket: cocoa, kola nuts, palm oil, rubber. Ofada rice, grown here for centuries, remains a premium product. When the British carved up Yorubaland in the colonial era, the area fell under Western Region administration. It didn't become an independent state until February 3, 1976.

The transformation began when the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway opened. What was once farmland became an industrial corridor. Companies that couldn't afford Lagos rents—or couldn't stomach Lagos traffic—set up factories along the highway. Proforce, 25 kilometers from Lagos in Ode-Remo, manufactures armored vehicles for Nigerian security forces and European buyers. The wagon assembly plant in Kajola is the only facility in West Africa that builds, maintains, and repairs railway rolling stock. Cement, tires, plastics, aluminum products, paints—Ogun produces them all. The state became "Nigeria's industrial capital" without building a city. It built a highway exit.

By 2025, the infrastructure followed the money. Governor Dapo Abiodun inaugurated Gateway International Airport in Ilishan-Remo on October 7, 2025, positioning Ogun as an alternative to Lagos's congested Murtala Muhammed. Foreign investment poured in: $1.8 to $2.5 billion in pledges, much from China. The state budget for 2025 hit 1.054 trillion naira, emphasizing youth employment and manufacturing expansion. Agriculture persists—cassava, maize, cocoa—but the economy's center of gravity has shifted to factories and freight.

By 2026, Ogun's advantage depends on Lagos's continued growth. As long as Lagos stays expensive and congested, companies will keep relocating here. But if Lagos solves its infrastructure problems—or if another state offers better incentives—Ogun's satellite strategy becomes vulnerable. The remora thrives only as long as the shark keeps swimming.