Why Ogun State is Finally Ready to ‘Believe’ in GNI

Yusuf Babalola

For 15 years, Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, widely known as GNI, has carried one word through every season of growth, every lesson learned, every step forward on an extraordinary journey. That word is Believe.

Before the political contests, before the campaigns that would define his public profile, there was preparation of a different kind. GNI spent years navigating the complexities of Nigeria’s capital market, building expertise in investment strategy, economic transformation and wealth creation. He understood how markets moved, how capital flowed, how development frameworks could translate into measurable outcomes. These were the postgraduate years in economic management, where he learned the machinery of growth and the science of turning vision into results. It was from this foundation of proven achievement that he stepped into his role as Special Assistant on Investments and Group Managing Director of Gateway Holdings Limited in 2004. In this capacity, he restructured Ogun State assets and demonstrated how government holdings could serve public prosperity.

When he entered the gubernatorial race in 2011, Ogun State met a vision and a voice that would endure through the years ahead. That first campaign introduced new possibilities, sparked new conversations, raised new expectations. In 2015, he ran his strongest race, coming closest to victory in what many still consider his best political outing. What remained constant beyond the electoral outcomes was the deepening of relationships in every ward across the state, the strengthening of trust across communities, the patient building of political infrastructure designed to outlast any single election cycle.

In 2019, he maintained principle and gave another strong account of himself, cementing bonds that hold firm today. Each campaign became education. Each became progress. Each became the foundation for everything that would follow.

Political realities in 2023 directed his service towards the House of Representatives, and he embraced legislative duty with the same intensity he had brought to every previous assignment. As a first-term member representing Yewa North/Imeko-Afon Federal Constituency, he quickly took on significant responsibility, chairing three critical committees including Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education, Student Loans and Higher Education Financing, and National Planning and Economic Development. He helped shape the transformative Student Loan Act of 2024, legislation that will change the trajectory of millions of Nigerian students. He sponsored a bill establishing an Agro Processing Export Free Trade Zone in his constituency.

Beyond Abuja, his constituents have felt his presence directly through tangible interventions. He facilitated road construction, ICT centres, health facilities, solar street lights, boreholes, school renovations and new projects across the constituency. He supported medical outreach programmes, helped facilitate job opportunities, and ensured that interventions reached communities that needed them. The work has been diligent, delivered with urgency and a clear sense of purpose.

He has also brought strategic planning into focus in ways that reveal how his mind works. His 15-year development plan for the constituency outlined priorities, sequenced growth and provided direction that extends beyond electoral seasons. The plan offers insight into his approach to leadership: he thinks long-term, weighs consequences carefully, and refuses to be confined by short-term political calculations. Strategy and foresight guide his decisions.

As the APC primary approaches, GNI arrives with credentials that answer every reasonable question about readiness. A first-class graduate of 40 years standing from the Great Ife. Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers. 

An accomplished economic and investment expert with senior experience from the Nigerian capital market. He entered public service with proven expertise, strong strategic management capacity, and demonstrated leadership depth. His commitment has remained clear and consistent: building a better-managed, resourceful, economically strong Ogun State anchored on sound planning and world-class human capital. Add to this fresh legislative achievements from the National Assembly. Add relationships cultivated across every senatorial district through 15 years of consistent presence and engagement. Add a development mindset that refuses to think small or settle for incremental progress.

The excitement building across Ogun State reflects something tangible and earned. Delegates recognize authentic readiness when they see it. The business community celebrates the investment credentials he built during his Gateway Holdings years. Traditional institutions value the respectful engagement he has sustained across decades. Young people connect with his education advocacy and clear focus on human capital development. Communities point with pride to infrastructure he has already delivered.

GNI represents ambition that has been refined by service, vision that has been sharpened by experience, character that has been proven through consistency. He approaches leadership as opportunity to serve, as responsibility to transform lives, as a chance to build something lasting.

Every chapter of his journey has been building towards this moment. Gateway Holdings provided the economic mastery and understanding of wealth creation. Three gubernatorial campaigns built the grassroots relationships and political resilience that now form his foundation across the state. The House of Representatives added legislative excellence and concrete proof of delivery capacity. Every experience has been purposeful. Every season has been preparation.

Fifteen years ago, when GNI first asked Ogun State to Believe, he planted a seed with that simple word. Now, as the state approaches the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries, many see the harvest of that faith, that work, that remarkable consistency across so many years of service.

One party delegate captured the sentiment during a recent gathering when he said “Ogun State is ready to welcome the governor it has been preparing for, a governor who has been preparing for Ogun State with every step of his remarkable journey. That person, beyond any doubt is GNI.”

For GNI and the growing number of his supporters across Ogun State, Believe was never empty hope or political slogan. It carried the promise of this exact moment, when preparation meets opportunity, when dedication meets destiny, when a state makes its choice for the future it wants.

The journey has been extraordinary. The destination, his supporters insist with growing confidence, will be glorious.

BELIEVE.

* Mr. Babalola writes from Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital