AAC Candidate Plans to Boost Osun's Economy with N5bn from Mining

In this interview, Olajide Esan, the African Action Congress governorship candidate in Osun State, talks with AYOOLA BABALOLA about his plans to reduce reliance on federal funds, create jobs through agriculture, mining, and technology, promote transparency, tackle insecurity, and show voters that the AAC is a real alternative to the big political parties in the state.

I am grateful for this chance to share our Covenant with the People of Osun. This is not just talk; it is a plan based on five key areas to bring power back to the people, support the masses, and create a self-sufficient Osun. Osun has relied too much on federal allocations while our own resources remain untapped. In our plan, we will create a self-sustaining economy by using the potential within our state. We will set up the Osun State Investment Bank to manage revenue smartly, invest in important sectors, and provide support for promising startups. A key part of this vision is our Osun Agro-Trade Economic Plan, which will turn Osun into a major agricultural center in the Southwest. We will create special clusters for farmers growing crops like cocoa, cassava, and maize, allowing them to thrive and trade freely. This will improve value chains, increase food security, and grow our internal revenue through higher agricultural output and active trade. By mining our gold in Ilesha responsibly, we aim to generate N5 billion each year through the Osun Mining Development Corporation and a 13% share, with the profits reinvested locally for our people. We will also build a tri-hub ecosystem: an Automobile Village, Electronics Hub, and IT/Tech Hub to encourage real economic growth and connect with our agro-trade plans. This is how we will reduce our reliance on Abuja: by making Osun productive in agriculture, trade, responsible resource management, and innovation, creating shared wealth for every family without overburdening our hardworking citizens.

Agriculture is key for our rural people, but it has been neglected. My government will change this and make it a major driver of jobs and industrial growth. We will create specialized clusters for farmers growing crops like cocoa, cassava, and maize, allowing free trade within our borders and improving value chains for food security. We will connect farming directly to our industrial hubs for processing and adding value. Farmers and cooperatives will get low-cost loans through Credit Union Banks, empowerment grants, and the Youth Innovation Fund. We will reinvest mining money into rural roads, schools, and health centers. Our farmers will not just feed Osun but also earn better incomes, while our youths will see agriculture as a respected career. Osun will once again be the agricultural center of the Southwest.

Our young people are talented but lack jobs, and many move to Lagos seeking opportunities. That will change under my leadership. My practical plan focuses on Economic Growth. We will build the Osun IT/Tech Hub at Fakunle in Osogbo, a state-supported center with free training in coding, software development, AI, robotics, UI/UX, data analytics, cybersecurity, and digital entrepreneurship. Partnering with OAU, UNIOSUN, and other institutions, it will have modern labs, incubators, and mentors, creating 8,000 to 12,000 direct jobs in just three years. We will also set up the Osun Automobile Village with training for mechanics and spare parts, and an Electronics Hub for gadgets and renewable energy, training over 5,000 youths in responsible mining. To address our infrastructure needs while creating lasting jobs, we will launch the Youth Infrastructure Corps. This program will focus on youths aged 18 to 35, especially civil engineers and skilled artisans. Through structured training and collaboration with local and foreign experts, participants will receive hands-on training in modern building techniques, project management, and infrastructure upkeep. They will work throughout the state to build and maintain roads, rural facilities, water systems, industrial hubs, and other important projects, earning stipends during training and good wages after. Our Subcontractors Program will prioritize local Osun youths and small businesses (especially those led by young civil engineers and artisans aged 18-35) as subcontractors for all major state projects. This will ensure contracts for roads, facilities, and developments go directly to our people, creating thousands of decent jobs and keeping wealth within Osun rather than letting it leave.

Education is essential for freeing minds. We will tackle teacher shortages and poor facilities by linking quality education to our economic hubs. The IT/Tech Hub will provide free, impactful skills training in partnership with universities and polytechnics. Mining and hub-generated funds will go back into schools and learning facilities through community agreements. Every child born in Osun will receive N10,000 in the Osun Child Trust Fund, invested until age 18 to help with education, vocational training, or entrepreneurship. We will use the Comprehensive Citizens’ Database for better planning and resource use. Our graduates will be competitive globally because they will have strong foundations along with practical digital, technical, and entrepreneurial skills.

Healthcare access, especially in rural areas, must improve, and our government will focus on welfare. We will provide healthcare that respects African traditions and expand rural facilities by reinvesting money from mining, tech, and agriculture. The Ministry of Citizens’ Rights will protect vulnerable groups, ensure fair access to services, and address health-related issues. The Child Trust Fund and Credit Union Banks will support healthcare needs sustainably. My promise is clear: I will give my entire salary as governor to ensure our senior citizens are well-fed and cared for. This model will work because it relies on increased productivity and responsible spending, reaching the most vulnerable without waste.

Infrastructure is central to our fifth area: Standard Infrastructure and Manufacturing Development. My top three priorities are first, roads connecting agricultural clusters, industrial hubs, mining areas in Ilesha, and rural communities; second, world-class facilities for the tri-hub ecosystem, including high-speed internet and labs at the IT/Tech Hub; third, rural water supply, schools, and health centers. We will fund these through boosted internal revenue, especially the N5bn target from responsible mining, the Osun State Investment Bank, and smart investments, without adding new debt. We will ensure maintenance through transparent public dashboards and community oversight, so the infrastructure lasts for generations, not just for one administration.

Security issues, especially in rural and border areas, need proactive solutions based on intelligence and prevention. As a geographer trained in spatial analysis and Geographic Information Systems, I have a unique advantage in this area. My government will introduce tech-driven security that uses local data to build a strong, modern security system for Osun State. We will use GIS platforms and spatial analysis tools from our Osun IT/Tech Hub to create detailed crime maps, identify hotspots, assess vulnerabilities, and monitor high-risk areas like border communities, mining zones, farmlands, and major transport routes. By using geographical information, we can predict patterns, deploy resources efficiently, strengthen local intelligence networks, and respond quickly to protect lives and property. This will include responsible mining security to reclaim areas from illegal activities, along with community help through empowered traditional leaders and regular meetings. By creating jobs, reducing poverty, and building unity, we will tackle the root causes of insecurity while using data to keep our people, farmers, traders, students, and families, safe.

Radical transparency is essential. Beyond a public finance website with real-time budgets and spending where citizens can check and report issues, we will bring in deeper reforms. We will create a Comprehensive Citizens’ Database for accurate records and fair distribution of benefits. The Ministry of Citizens’ Rights will defend people against power abuse and address judicial problems. Regular community meetings with traditional leaders will prevent misuse of power. In our government, no one will be above the law. Every kobo will be accounted for, and the people will see it.

AAC believes power belongs to the people. We will change governance by strengthening the roles of traditional leaders and holding regular public and community meetings for real input into decisions. The Citizens’ Database and transparent finance tools will give communities real oversight of development needs. Local governments will become active centers of decision-making, ensuring development reflects the needs of our people at the local level, not orders from Osogbo or Abuja.

AAC is a movement fighting against oppression and the misuse of power. My candidacy brings this belief into practical governance by rejecting old politicians and vote-buying. In the first four years of an AAC-led Osun, you will see a working Citizens’ Database, thriving hubs creating thousands of jobs, responsible mining generating real money for families, an active Ministry of Citizens’ Rights, and the Child Trust Fund helping every child. Osun will become a self-reliant state full of cultural pride, with Omoluabi festivals and GreenAcre parks, where power goes back to the people, not a select few.

The major parties have their structures, but they have used them to keep people in poverty and recycle failure. Our strategy is simple but strong: ideas over inducements. We will directly engage with youths, farmers, workers, and elders through community visits, meetings, and voter education. We will show people the clear difference, our detailed, people-centered Covenant versus their same old stories. Change will come from the grassroots.

Vote-buying makes citizens temporary slaves and must stop. Our campaign will run strong voter education to remind people that true development comes from service and competence, not bags of rice or money. We will expose manipulation wherever it happens and insist on voting based on issues. The system may have trained us to expect inducements, but together we can break that cycle and choose leaders who truly serve.

The realignment among the old parties only proves one thing: the same faces and structures recycling power cannot create change. It strengthens our message, voters deserve a real alternative outside the establishment. We will use this moment to show how their alliances still serve elite interests, while our Covenant offers real solutions for jobs, transparency, welfare, and resources. Osun people are wise; they will choose the credible path of revolution over a repeat of failure.

The Ministry of Citizens’ Rights will be the heart of our pro-people governance. It will advocate for fair pay for workers, protect the vulnerable, and coordinate targeted welfare through the Citizens’ Database to eliminate fraud. It will work with Credit Unions, empowerment funds, and the Child Trust Fund to deliver dignity and support. Ordinary citizens, mothers, farmers, artisans, elders, will feel the direct impact through better access to services and justice. This is governance that defends the masses, not one that keeps them at a distance.

I am 39, a representative of the same youth demographic I want to empower. We will not treat young people as just voters but as active participants in governance. Through free training in the IT/Tech Hub, the Youth Innovation Fund, and inclusion in community meetings, youths will gain skills and platforms to influence policy. They will lead as entrepreneurs, innovators, and decision-makers in our hubs, clusters, and mining projects. The energy of our youth will shape Osun’s future.

If elected, Osun will set an example for AAC’s national agenda. By showing that a state can achieve self-reliance, transparency, job creation, and grassroots power without heavy reliance on federal help, we will inspire other states. Success here, in responsible resource use, welfare, and people-centered governance, will prove that real change can happen from the ground up. Osun will light the way for a new Nigeria where power truly belongs to the people.

Osun is rich in traditions and religious diversity. We will respect and include them all. I personally promise to promote unity and reconciliation among Christians, Muslims, and Traditionalists so we can solve problems together. We will strengthen the role of traditional leaders in governance and promote cultural pride through Omoluabi festivals and GreenAcre parks. Our progressive policies will be based on African values and the Omoluabi spirit of integrity and virtue, ensuring harmony while moving forward.

Voters deserve clear results, not just words. In our first four years, citizens should judge us on concrete targets: creation of 8,000, 12,000 direct jobs from the IT/Tech Hub and thousands more from other hubs and mining (with over 5,000 youths trained); N5bn yearly revenue from responsible mining and overall revenue growth; a fully functional Citizens’ Database and transparent finance website; an active Ministry of Citizens’ Rights; a seeded Child Trust Fund for every child; visible rural infrastructure improvements; and reduced dependence on federal allocations through diverse growth. Most importantly, judge us by whether power has shifted to the people, whether governance serves and protects the masses instead of oppressing them. This Covenant is ours together. Let us rise and build the prosperous, just, and self-reliant Osun we all deserve.