The Ogun State Cooperative Federation (OGSCOFED) and its members have been charged to think beyond issuance of loans, expand their horizon and look towards becoming financial organisations capable of building and supporting business enterprise that will last a lifetime.

Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tokunbo Talabi gave the charge in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, during his decoration and award as the Patron of the Cooperative Movement in celebration of the 2025 International Year of Cooperatives, urging them not to relent in their efforts to achieve the goal of a prosperous future for all.

Talabi, who expressed his admiration for cooperative organisations in empowering people to achieve their goals and aspirations, described Cooperatives as a permanent intervention vehicle for adversities, which anyone could look up to at any given time, noting that they are business model driving other interventions and initiatives.

“One thing I have always admired about cooperative movement is the fact that you empower people to achieve their goals. It is like a permanent intervention vehicle for adversities and for anyone to build capacity. These are what people are trying to mimic,” Talabi stated.

The State Scribe noted that the present administration led by Gov. Dapo Abiodun was genuinely committed to the socio-economic wellbeing of residents and investors in the State evident in the various initiatives, such as the “Oko’wo Dapo and Owo Irin’se Dapo” aimed at improving the financial prosperity of traders, artisans and others, saying government looked forward to partnering with the umbrella body of Cooperatives to achieve its aims of enhancing individual prosperity and the state’s economy at large.

"There is a lot that the State is doing, and you have to find a relevant space. I am really impressed about the amount of money circulating within your organisation and there are quite a few programme like OSAMCA, supporting people with funds, as well as other initiatives like Oko’wo Dapo and Owo Irin’se Dapo. I strongly believe that with the kind of awareness you are creating, partnership will come in, which will, in turn, grow everyone involved.”

Talabi also commended OGSCOFED team for putting in place a youth arm, which according to him would encourage active participation of the younger generations, saying that they are the future, who are technology savvy and would technologically improve the running of the cooperative movement in the State and country at large.

Earlier, Commissioner for Ministry of Community Development and Cooperatives, Hon. Ademola Balogun, who led the team intimated that the year 2025 celebration dedicated every day in the year to celebrate and propagate the gospel of cooperative movement all over the world, saying “This year’s celebration is unique because every year we celebrate International Day of Cooperatives every first Saturday in July, but this year, every day of the year is for the celebration, so it was called International year of Cooperatives.”

Also speaking, President of the Federation, Alh. Wasiu Olaleye, who informed that the year 2025 celebration themed “Cooperatives Build a Better World” was jointly declared by the United Nations (UN), and the International Cooperatives Alliance (ICA), said it focused on four thematic areas including Identity, Leadership, Partnership with Government and Youth Involvement, explaining that ” this year’s celebration was jointly declared by the United Nations and the International Cooperatives Alliance, with a focus on four thematic areas including Identity, which showed that we are a Cooperatives business model and not a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO). The second one focuses on leadership, while the third is where we are expected to partner with government to promote policies that will enhance cooperatives movement activities and goals, and lastly, youth involvement to ensure sustainability and continuity.”

Olaleye who commended the State government on its supports towards the progress of Cooperatives movement in the State through the supervising ministry, appealed for the release of revolving loan, revealing that the federation had in the past supported business owners with 60 billion naira in loans, while also assuring that it would be used to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and paid back into the coffers through OGSCOFED.

“We are also soliciting for support. We have discussed with our mother agency for a release of revolving loans to aid Cooperatives movement in the State, which we believe the government is working on. This would be used to support MSMEs. It has happened in both Osun and Lagos States. They supported cooperative movement through their Federation via a revolving loan, which we know would be paid back as long it passes through the Federation. In 2023, the Cooperatives movement supported MSMEs with revolving loans to the tune of 60B. It will surely be recovered because we have done this over and over. We have the audited account as evidence, and we give our assurance that the loan would be recovered. It is to be used to support young entrepreneurs in boosting their businesses. It is not a grant but a loan,” he said.