This article was originally written on September 26, 2026.
I’ve not been to Akure for a while. There was a time I used to visit Akure at least once a month when I had supervisory oversight at work across the South West at some point. Ditto for Ekiti. I remember the journeys starting from Ibadan to Akure where I often proceeded to Ado-Ekiti. Sometimes, I travelled from Ilorin via Osun State to Ekiti.
On one occasion, I almost ran into an armed robbery ambush not far from Ilara-Mokin. It was another vehicle coming from the other side that alerted us. My driver took a U-turn on that busy highway, parked and abandoned our car while we fled on foot into the bush. I remember I took off my tie and jacket as I ran into the bush that day. I put a call through to a colleague who put a call through to the Police. From our hideout, we heard rapid exchange of gun fire for about 15 minutes. Later on, we came out of our hideout when we heard the Police announce that the robbers had been dislodged. It was around this period that a Special Assistant to a former Vice-President was killed along that same route.
The road was terrible then- all the way to Ado-Ekiti. It was therefore a big relief when Air Peace started flying the Lagos to Akure route. I was one of their earliest passengers. The State Government had to subsidize the flights then if I recall correctly. The airport then was small and not too comfortable but who wouldn’t be thankful for small mercies? A big kudos to Air Peace for the pacesetting work.
Good roads do more than make journeys easier. They save time, improve productivity, encourage travel and create room for economic opportunities to grow. Share on XFrom Akure, I would then proceed to Ado-Ekiti by road and it used to be very uninspiring because of the bad road network. A journey that shouldn’t take more than 40 minutes could span for about an hour and a half and two hours sometimes because of the poor state of the road.
My first surprise when I wanted to book my recent flight was when I was informed that there was a direct flight to Ekiti State from Lagos. I could actually choose between flying to Ado-Ekiti or Akure. My event was in Ise-Ekiti and flying to Ado-Ekiti would have been preferred but the flight schedule wasn’t favourable. Moreover, all the hotels in Ado-Ekiti were fully booked.
So I decided to fly to Akure with Green Africa. I was pleasantly surprised when we touched down and I saw the new Akure airport. It was so beautiful and very befitting. The ambience was a delight and it was neatly kept. I had always maintained that Akure is the neatest city in South West and if I had to choose a place to retire, it would be Akure- except for the love and nostalgia I have for Ibadan.
The journey from Akure to Ado-Ekiti was very smooth. The road had been reconstructed. I still saw ongoing construction going from Ado-Ekiti to Ise-Ekiti. I didn’t even know when we got to the venue of my event because the journey was so smooth. I noticed security along that corridor and this will encourage road travellers. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the Ekiti airport. I do hope to see it soon
When transportation improves, development does not stop at the road. It can unlock agriculture, hospitality, investment, jobs and new opportunities for communities along the way. Share on XThere might be opportunities opening up in both States. For instance, I couldn’t get any room in any hotel in Ado-Ekiti as they were all fully booked. I had to scramble for a room in Akure also. The hospitality industry should be one to consider. I also looked at the massive land around that corridor. With better roads and easier transportation, there can be more focus on agriculture.
There is no gainsaying the fact that all of these will impact the local economy, improve productivity by reducing the man-hours spent on the road, bring rapid development, lower urban to rural migration and improve the welfare of the people. We are a nation in haste and rightly so- but there is no denying the progress made.