By: Lawson Ojieabu Aigbokharbholo.
Across Nigeria, conversations about industrialisation often begin with factories and end with power supply. Connectivity is frequently treated as secondary, a convenience rather than a core economic input. Yet, in modern industrial economies, access determines viability. Manufacturing, agro-processing, and export-oriented industries do not scale in isolation. They scale where people, capital, expertise, and markets move efficiently. This is the context in which the proposed Edo Air initiative must be understood.
Edo State’s industrial ambition is not speculative. It rests on land availability, agricultural depth, human capital, and a growing interest in special economic and industrial zones. What has historically constrained this ambition is not potential but friction. Distance between production zones and decision makers. Time lost in travel. Uncertainty discourages investors operating on tight schedules.
Aviation directly addresses this constraint.
Edo is one of Nigeria’s most globally connected states. Available estimates indicate that Edo indigenes contribute roughly *31% of Nigeria’s total diaspora remittances*, a disproportionate share that reflects a large and economically active overseas population This diaspora is not merely a social phenomenon. It is a pool of capital, technical expertise, and entrepreneurial networks with direct relevance to industrial development.
Diaspora-driven industrial investment requires frequent physical engagement. Site visits. Equipment installation. Compliance inspections. Contract negotiations. These activities are time-sensitive. When access is difficult, diaspora capital stays passive, flowing into consumption or real estate rather than factories and processing plants. Reliable air connectivity lowers the cost of engagement and converts remittances into productive investment.
Manufacturing and agro-processing industries, particularly those targeting export markets, operate within narrow margins and strict timelines. Executives, engineers, and quality control specialists must move quickly between production sites, ports, regulators, and markets. States that offer predictable air access gain a competitive advantage over those that do not. Edo Air positions the state as a viable location for industries that can not afford logistical uncertainty.
This logic is especially relevant to agro-processing. Edo’s agricultural output, particularly in central and northern zones, has long been constrained by access. Roads move bulk produce, but aviation supports the high-value functions that enable scale. Product certification, machinery servicing, buyer inspections, and export negotiations often require rapid movement of personnel. Where these functions are delayed, agro-processing remains small and fragmented. Where they are efficient, value chains deepen.
Industrial parks and special economic zones provide another lens. Globally, such zones cluster around transport hubs because connectivity reduces transaction costs and accelerates turnaround. Air access allows investors to manage multiple facilities, attract foreign partners, and integrate into global supply chains. For Edo, positioning industrial parks within a broader aviation-supported logistics framework increases their attractiveness to export-oriented manufacturers.
Critics often raise concerns about the capital-intensive nature of aviation. The concern is valid but incomplete. Modern state-backed aviation initiatives are no longer conceived as unlimited fiscal commitments. They are structured around phased growth, regulatory alignment, and partnerships. In Edo’s case, the explicit support of the Federal Ministry of Aviation reduces regulatory risk and signals institutional seriousness.
It is also misleading to frame Edo Air as a diversion from “basic infrastructure.” Industrialisation does not follow a single track. Roads, power, and aviation perform different but complementary roles. Roads move raw materials. Power drives production. Aviation connects industries to national and international markets. States that wait to perfect one before investing in the other lose momentum.
The economic spillovers of aviation extend beyond transport. Airlines stimulate demand across logistics, hospitality, maintenance, catering, security, and professional services. These sectors support industrial ecosystems and absorb skilled and semi-skilled labour. For a state seeking to reduce youth unemployment through industrial growth, these linkages matter.
There is also a signalling effect. Investors interpret air connectivity as evidence of planning and long-term intent. A state that invests in aviation communicates readiness to operate at scale. For export-oriented industries, perception of access is often as important as access itself.
None of this suggests that Edo’s challenges are solved. Infrastructure remains capital intensive. Maintenance demands discipline. Transparency must keep pace with ambition. Industrialisation is a long project, not a press release.
But sequencing matters, and Edo Air fits logically into a broader strategy that seeks to convert potential into production, remittances into investment, and industrial zones into export platforms.
In an economy where distance still determines destiny, connectivity is not optional. It is strategic. Edo Air is not an end in itself. It is a bridge between Edo’s global people and its local economy. If industrialisation is the goal, access is the means.
