By joshua 
Kogi Airport: Preparing Our State for the Future
Many people have asked a sincere question: why does Kogi need an airport?
It’s a fair question and it deserves a clear answer. I won’t dismiss that with the convenience of tagging such a political plaything.
Kogi is Nigeria’s meeting point. We border ten states and the FCT. Naturally, businesses moving goods across the country already pass through our state. Now, things are changing even faster.
An International Market is coming up. That project is moving fast and well.
A Free Trade Zone has been approved in Ajaokuta.
Industries, including Africa’s largest cement plant operate here.
We have 32 solid mineral resources waiting for processing. People just mine and cart them away to other places for processing while we get peanuts.
We are also a major food supply hub for many states across the country. We need to begin to accept the fact that modern investment follows accessibility.
Serious investors don’t plan projects where executives must travel for hours by road after landing in another state. Convenience reduces risk. And reduced risk attracts capital.
An airport therefore is not about prestige.
It is about readiness. We must prove that we are ready. For many years, even when we were in the primary school, we were told about the potential our state holds. It is high time we crossed from our potential to a true giant.
Having an airport allows agro-products to move faster to markets, supports mining operations, improves tourism access, strengthens emergency and security response, and creates jobs in logistics, hospitality and transport services.
It also helps decongest Abuja and positions Kogi as the natural aviation gateway to North-Central, South East and South South Nigeria. Our geographical location already gives us the advantage.
States grow when they prepare before demand fully arrives. Waiting until industries struggle to operate efficiently would cost far more than planning ahead.
So the airport is not a luxury project.
It is part of preparing Kogi for trade, investment, mobility and national relevance in the years ahead.
In his characteristic manner, the Governor has already put in place a financial architecture to ensure financing the Airport project doesn’t affect his various projects and programs in the state. Infrastructure, education, healthcare, agriculture, tourism, transportation and other critical services will continue to receive the attention of the government.
Governor Ododo is thinking fast ahead, to make Kogi not just central on the map, but central in the economy. Let us have a bigger picture of our state. Let us look ahead and position our state well to take advantage of its location and economic resources.
Kingsley Femi Fanwo
Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications