Notable Natural Resources In Okitpupa, Ondo state

Okitipupa Local Government was created after Ikale Local Government was split into Irele and Okitipupa Local Government in 1991.

The population of the people is 223,565 inhabitants as at 2006 census. Okitipupa covers a land area of about 63Ssq km.

To the east of Okitipupa is Irele and Ese-Odo Local government and to the west lie Odigbo Local Government and some parts of Ogun State.

Read Also: 2 Notable Natural Resources in Ogbomoso, Oyo State

The northern part of Okitipupa is surrounded by Odigbo Local Government while the southern part is bounded by Ilaje Local Government.

The people of Okitipupa Local Government are mostly Yorubas from the Ikale ethnic group as a result of this, Yoruba is widely spoken there and English is the official language of the people.

The people are predominantly farmers growing both food crops and cash crops of economic importance to the state. There is a high literacy level in this region.

Natural Resources in Okitipupa

Okitipupa is blessed with a lot of natural resources that can be found in different locations within the region. The natural resources found there include the following:

Read Also: Top 10 Popular Natural Resources in Abia State and their Economic Values

Bitumen

It was first discovered in Nigeria in 1900, subsequent geological survey has shown large deposits of Bitumen across other places like Edo, Ogun and Lagos apart from Ondo State.

The survey carried out indicated that the bitumen deposits found in Okitipupa is in commercial quantity. As a result of this, a private bitumen mining company has commenced exploitation of its allocated block which falls within the Local Government area.

Several products can be got from bitumen deposit and these products include the following:

Asphalt – This is used in building roads and construction

Synthetic Crude – this is used in the production of Petrol, Diesel and Kerosene.

Sulphur – sulphuric acid is produced from sulphur and it is used in the manufacture of rayon, cellulose, fungicides and insecticides in pharmaceutical companies.

Nickel – this can be used in the manufacture of stainless steel and pherous alloys.

Read Also: 10 Natural Resources Found in Yakurr Region of Cross River State

There is great marketing potential for the products and the by-products of bitumen in the local market. An example of this can be seen in the local consumption of asphalt which is above 300,000 tonnes yearly.

This shows that there is a high demand for this natural resource in the local market and the same demand extends to the West Africa sub-region.

Though the history of Nigeria gives the account that petroleum was first discovered in Oloibiri oilfield on Sunday, January 25 by Shell Darcy, there is an opposing view now by an indigene of Ondo state, Olusola Ebiseni, who said that it was first discovered in Ondo State in 1908 by the German Bitumen Corporation.

He further went on to say that further exploration process was truncated for a very long time as a result of the combination of the world wars that took place and the economic recession that occurred during the first half of the 20^th century. These deposits are yet to be mined on a large scale.

Kaolin (Clay)

The Local Government of Okitipupa has an abundance of Kaolin deposits in Abusoro and other parts of the local government. Kaolin is a useful natural resource in chemical industries and pharmaceutical insulators. This deposit presents an opportunity for investors to come in and take advantage of its abundance in the region.

Gemstones

Gemstones are present in some regions but mining is not really concentrated on in Nigeria because of the vast oil resources present in the country. As a result of this the domestic mining industry is underdeveloped.

Other natural resources that can be found in the region include gypsium, feldspar, glass-sand, Demesion stones, limestone and coal deposits.

Read Also: Top 10 Natural Resources In Kogi State Nigeria And Their Economic Values

Economic Importance of the Natural Resource found in Okitipupa

The availability of these natural resources has a lot of economic importance and benefits to the people of okitipupa community, to the state and to the nation as a whole.

1. Job creation opportunities: The presence of natural resources in the region results to the creation of industries and this in turn leads to the creation of jobs for the people. Job creation in terms of skilled labor and unskilled labor are provided for the youths of the community

2. Natural Resources create a source of revenue to the government with the coming of investors and the process of setting up of industries in Okitipupa , there would be revenue generated from their activities to the state government.

This revenue will come in form of tax, levies and other duties that would be charged to the investors businesses which will go a long way in developing the state as well as the Nation.

3. The natural resources discovered have led to subsequent industrialization of the region. As more investors come into the town, more development is seen in the region in terms of more urban structures, better road network in addition to the existing ones to further improve on the road transportation network available in this region.

As a result of this, movement of raw materials and finished good can be done with ease within the community and outside the community.

There is also improvement in the electricity supply to this region since a lot of investor companies depend on electricity for power supply.

Other social amenities like schools, pipe borne water and a host of other numerous developments are also realized as a result of the industrialization of Okitipupa.

The discovery of the natural resources has helped in the reduction of indigenes going off to areas termed as urban areas.

4. This is because there is hope of getting good job opportunities in your own state. The indigenes will also be able to contribute to the building and development of their region when they stay back to work there.

Read Also: List of Mineral Resources in Nigeria

Apart from going to the big cities in search of greener pasture, on a national level, the migrating of Nigerians to foreign lands to search for greener pasture will also be curbed to an extent since the indigenes of this region are citizens of Nigeria.

With the industries that are created, people in the region now have the choice of opting for white collar jobs or doing their own business.

📢 We are hiring writers!