Kogi State sits on good soil, abundant waterways, and a deep but largely untapped mineral base. Yet, for many residents, these endowments haven’t translated into jobs, incomes, or reliable public services. The state’s own financial reviews show weak revenue growth, constrained fiscal space and rising public debt pressures—factors that limit the government’s ability to invest in roads, processing plants and market infrastructure that would unlock private investment and raise incomes.
Several structural problems explain the gap between potential and reality. First, infrastructure is patchy: poor rural roads raise transport costs and spoilage for farmers, reducing farm-gate prices and farmers’ net incomes. Second, public investment choices have frequently emphasised short-term visibility rather than the long-term productive assets (rural roads, storage, agro-processing) that raise the state’s competitiveness. Third, governance and coordination shortcomings—weak linkages between state planning and local-level delivery—mean many interventions don’t reach the intended beneficiaries on time or at scale. Local reports and state strategy documents repeatedly highlight these problems and call for focused public-private partnerships and better revenue mobilisation.
The human cost is real: households dependent on rain-fed crops and artisanal mining face low, volatile incomes. Without stronger value-chain development, better market linkages, and targeted infrastructure, Kogi risks continuing to export raw outputs while importing higher-value products — a classic low-value trap. It has jeopardise the favourite economy growth in kogi.
Adherence, a lot of mechanisms need to be put into consideration to the perfect these undermined challenges.
– Maji Onuche John
Economic Analyst.
