In 2018, when former Governor Yahaya Bello, CON, conceived the idea of establishing the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara, critics hastily wrote off the initiative. Some dismissed it as mere political propaganda, insisting that the university would never see the light of day. Others questioned the funding of the institution’s infrastructural requirements, advancing several regressive arguments as to why it should not be established. Yet, within his eight-year administration, he established two universities, both of which are now thriving institutions of learning. These two institutions established by Bello’s administration and consolidating by governor Ahmed Usman Ododo’s administration are not only expanding access to education for our people but also creating jobs for our teeming population and increasing the literacy rate of the state. Had he listened to armchair critics blinded by political interests and steeped in profound cynicism, such ambitious projects would have eluded us as a people.
During the 2025 Nigerian Bar Association Annual Conference in Enugu, Enugu State, I was unable to secure a flight from Enugu to Abuja. Consequently, a friend made arrangements and obtained a ticket for me from the Chinua Achebe Airport in Awka. The distance between Enugu and Awka is estimated at about 60–70 kilometres, with road travel time of approximately one and a half hours. Without delay, we departed Enugu and arrived in Awka within one hour, after which I boarded my flight to Abuja. The distance between Asaba and Awka is about 90–100 kilometres, with a travel time of roughly one to two hours. The distance between Lafia and Abuja is around 160–180 kilometres, requiring three to three and a half hours by road. The distance between Minna and Abuja is approximately 145–155 kilometres, with a travel time of about two to three hours. All these cities mentioned above have functional airports. The distance between Lokoja and Abuja is between 190–200 kilometres, with travel time of three to four hours under smooth traffic conditions. Despite its strategic location, Kogi remains the only state bordering the nation’s capital without an airport.
Establishing an airport is not merely a transport project but a strategic economic and developmental investment that opens a city to the outside world. Indeed, for national security considerations, all states bordering the seat of power should have functional airports, routinely maintained and operated by the federal government. Beyond its endowment with multiple mineral resources, fertile agricultural land, and industrial potential, Kogi is a major transit state connecting the North and the South.
An airport in Lokoja would make the state more investor-friendly and a preferred business destination, offering faster access to markets and partners while improving global supply chains. It would stimulate foreign and domestic investment, encourage the creation of industrial parks and logistics hubs due to its central location, and significantly boost the hospitality industry.
For instance, the 2025 Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference held in Enugu in August 2025 generated an estimated ₦7 billion in economic activity for the state within a seven-day period. The state’s economy bubbled with activity, impacting sectors such as hospitality, transportation, and commerce. With over 20,000 lawyers in attendance, the conference triggered a surge in local business activity, leaving many hotels fully booked. I personally could not secure a hotel reservation two months to the conference and would have missed it entirely but for the intervention of a well-connected friend. The 67th NBA Annual General Conference, held from August 22 to August 29, 2025, at the Enugu International Conference Centre, was made possible largely because the state was accessible by air.
Across the world and within Nigeria, many cities only emerged as economic hubs after gaining air connectivity. One may sit in Umomi, Ogaminana, or even Oke-Bunu and assume that Kogi lacks trained aeronautical engineers, but such thinking is a fallacy clothed in ignorance. Kogi possesses a significant number of pilots, air traffic controllers, and airport ground staff capable of providing the necessary manpower for the sector.
Establishing an airport in Kogi will create multilayered employment opportunities; hotels, transport services, catering, tourism operations, and small and medium-scale businesses will flourish, strengthening local employment.
With abundant arable land for agriculture, extensive water bodies, and high mineral deposits, an airport would enable the rapid movement of high-value and time-sensitive goods, including medical and industrial supplies. For resource-rich regions like Kogi State, air connectivity links producers to national and international markets.
For centrally located states like KOGI, an airport can serve as a regional transit hub, an alternative or relief airport for congested major airports, and a logistics base for surrounding states, thereby enhancing regional relevance and competitiveness. The availability of an airport in Kogi State will also improve security and emergency response by enabling rapid deployment of security forces, emergency evacuations, and disaster-relief operations. As the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers, Kogi has experienced severe flood disasters. During the 2012 floods, movement between Northern and Southern Nigeria was completely cut off, relief delivery was hampered, and disaster management became extremely difficult due to lack of access. This underscores the critical importance of an airport for crisis management and national preparedness.
An airport is a long-term revenue generator, especially when well managed or concessioned. Government revenue will accrue from passenger charges, cargo handling fees, concessions, leases, and tourism-related taxes, enabling the government to meet other obligations such as healthcare, education, power, water infrastructure, road development, and small-city planning around the airport.
For those cloaked in cynicism, an airport in Kogi is not a luxury but a growth engine, a security asset, and a development catalyst which, when strategically planned and sustainably financed, can transform a region’s economic trajectory.
A viable Kogi airport would reduce traffic pressure on the Abuja airport, absorb charter, cargo, private, and training flights, serve as an alternative landing site for VIP, military, and relief operations, and decentralise security response capacity.
It is strategically sound for states surrounding the Federal Capital Territory to have airports as part of a coordinated regional strategy rather than isolated political projects. When aligned with security planning, economic zoning, and transport integration, the Kogi airport will strengthen national resilience, decongest the capital, and drive balanced development.
How can someone who has never seen an aircraft or visited an airport credibly criticise the government’s effort to bring one closer to the people? Such criticism is often rooted not in economic understanding, business insight, or exposure, but in narrow political prejudice.
Government is not run by mediocrity but by individuals with experience, vision, and commitment to make a difference. Building on the solid foundation laid by his predecessor, Governor Usman Ododo’s administration is advancing Kogi’s development strategy, and all citizens must be encouraged to lend their support.
– Onogwu Muhammed, Esq.
