By GBOYEGA ISIAKA
When Ogun State was created on February 3, 1976, I witnessed that moment as a 14-year-old student on the assembly ground of Nazareth High School, Imeko. We stood under the watchful eyes of our Principal, Reverend Akosile, and cheered with the innocence of boys and girls who sensed significance without fully grasping its weight. History arrived quietly that day. Its meaning unfolded over time.
That same year, my father, Prince Tijani Adebowale Isiaka, passed on. He was a transporter, a philanthropist, and a man devoted to community service. His life revolved around the people. His death left a deep silence. In that fragile season, the newly created Ogun State awarded me a scholarship that enabled my transition from a day student to a boarding student at Nazareth High School. The State became a steady presence when certainty disappeared.
Life at Nazareth broadened my understanding of Ogun beyond geography. I studied alongside children of farmers, traders, artisans and civil servants from across the State. We shared classrooms, meals, struggles and aspirations. Those bonds endure. Many of my classmates chose paths outside politics and became teachers, entrepreneurs and leaders in other fields. They became the quiet backbone of Ogun. When I meet them today, I am reminded that leadership finds its true meaning in how policy shapes everyday lives, often far from public attention.
Secondary school formed my habits and values. Those habits later became the core of my ambitions. Discipline, fairness, teamwork, respect and honesty defined daily life. Effort carried consequences. Responsibility demanded consistency. Through those years, Ogun was quietly forming my character, long before public service entered my thinking.
After a brief stint in the Mass Communication Department of the then Ogun State Polytechnic, like many sons and daughters of this State, I stepped beyond its borders to prepare for professional life and higher responsibilities. University life at Ife expanded my intellectual horizon. I encountered new ideas and perspectives. I observed how institutions thrive under discipline and falter when values weaken. Education sharpened my capacity while my identity remained firm. I carried Imeko with me. I served first as Director of Organisation, and then as President of the then Egbado Students Association. That role clarified the meaning of representation. You speak for people who trust you to carry their voice. You listen carefully, balance interests, and act responsibly.
Ogun stayed present in my thinking, defining my sense of duty and restraint. Each step outward was taken to build capacity, and each time I returned to Ogun, I did so with deeper understanding.
When I entered the corporate world, the lessons Ogun had planted in me proved essential. Corporate leadership demands discipline, accountability, and clarity of purpose. Targets must be met. Resource management requires prudence. I learned that leadership rests on systems, structure and trust. The values instilled early prepared me for corporate responsibilities and equipped me to shoulder responsibility when opportunity arose.
My formal entry into public service came through Gateway Holdings, the investment company of the Ogun State Government, as the pioneer Group Managing Director. The mandate centred on professional asset management, protection, and value creation. I approached the role with a clear sense of duty, serving Ogun as a son of the soil, conscious that every decision reflected on the communities that raised me. Gateway Holdings was a public trust, demanding transparency, method, and respect for resources. Through this work, trust grew steadily, anchored in accountability and fidelity to process.
I subsequently entered into the journey of partisan politics and electioneering, taking me into the nooks and crannies of Ogun State. Those journeys deepened my understanding of the culture, diversity and the peculiarities of our people. I saw their resilience, their aspirations, and the ways each community preserves its identity while contributing to the broader fabric of Ogun State. Every encounter reinforced my sense of duty and the weight of responsibility that comes with serving this State.
Ogun has taught me that trust grows quietly. It is built through consistency, through sustained presence, and through genuine attention to people’s concerns. The confidence I enjoy today rests on years of engagement, patience, and respect for institutions.
I have remained present beyond election cycles. I have listened more than I have spoken and consulted more than I have announced. I have learned that trust is gradual. It is earned through action, through reliability and through a lifetime of shared experience.
I have lived Ogun as a child. I have learned and impacted Ogun through growth and through the communities that nurtured me. Ogun has molded who I am. It has instilled in me values, discipline, and a sense of responsibility that guide every decision I make. The State is in me. Its lessons continue to inform my character, my purpose, and my commitment to service.
My Ogun story did not begin with politics. It began in Imeko. It grew through experiences. It matured through service and has been sustained by impact. Ogun formed my character before public service shaped my path. It prepared me for leadership long before ambition took shape. It remains the foundation of who I am.
As Ogun State celebrates its Golden Jubilee, I acknowledge the dedication of our leaders, past and present, whose vision and service have guided our growth and stability. Their efforts, sustained by the enduring belief of the people, continue to inspire our responsibility toward a brighter and more prosperous future.
May this anniversary renew our resolve. May it deepen our belief in service that places people first, in institutions that endure, and in a future worthy of the trust invested in us. Ogun has given me its values. I continue to believe in its promise.
Congratulations and happy Golden Jubilee, my dear Ogun State.
•Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, GNI, MHR, Yewa North/Imeko-Afon Federal ConstituencChairman, House Committee on National Planning and Economic Development
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