Renowned political economist, Prof Pat Utomi, has urged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to support Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 presidential election, insisting that Nigeria can no longer afford to be governed by leaders in their 70s. In this interview on Channels TV’ Politics Today’ monitored by David Lawani, the erudite scholar also shared his perspectives on Nigeria’s political realignments, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), zoning, leadership renewal, and the state of the economy
You were in Enugu, where Peter Obi announced that the ADC is now his political choice. This decision has generated widespread reactions. Are you a member of the ADC, and what do you make of his defection?
To the best of my knowledge, the processes that led to this ADC renaissance began quite some time ago. If you listened to Chief Ralph Oke Nwosu, the former chairman of the ADC, you would have heard him explain how he and I have worked together for years to make this happen. He talked about how I was the first presidential candidate of the ADC in 2007 and how, since then, we have worked strategically to bring about this moment. Mr Peter Obi has been part of this conversation from the very beginning. He did not defect just yesterday. We have been working through what would ensure that Nigerians are brought together under one tent. If you listened to him, he spoke about inclusion, about everybody coming together and identifying exactly where we can make progress. Forget politicians who think all they need to do is grab power and everything will be fine because they are okay for the moment. The country is not in a position to work together seriously. When you have the kind of divisiveness and exclusion that Nigeria is currently experiencing, economic progress does not take place. Forget about the so-called four per cent GDP growth because oil prices moved one way or the other. Real growth does not happen without peace and a clear, shared direction that brings everyone together. Over the years, real people began to meet. I was at the very first meeting. We met both within and outside Nigeria, and the conversation continued—particularly about how the South East and the South-South could get their acts together as part of what was conveyed in Enugu. That process will continue until we arrive at a genuinely inclusive, all-Nigerians initiative to rescue the country using the ADC platform. If you recall, in 2022, before the 2023 general election, much of the work some of us did was aimed at bringing the labour movement into this process. Those meetings took place in the office of the then-President of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba, and I chaired all of those conversations. The idea was that ADC and three other political parties, including the SDP, would form a coalition. However, during one of those meetings, my friend, Femi Falana, SAN, argued that labour could not sit back and watch as renegades in their parties did. He insisted it was essential to retrieve the Labour Party and make it the base. It was as a result of court judgments obtained by Falana, SAN, that what eventually happened took place. Unfortunately, some of the parties did not keep to the terms of the judgment, and things began to slide. The idea of creating a fresh platform resurfaced, leading to the meetings that eventually produced what we are now witnessing with the ADC.
Members of the ruling party argue that they have learnt their lessons and now control 28 governors, 78 senators, and about 260 members of the House of Representatives. As we speak, the ADC has not recorded any major electoral victories. Politically, how is this going to work?
You made a point about 1993. Thankfully, I was an actor in all of these events. In 1993, the party with the so-called structure was in Bashir Tofa’s favour. Tofa was someone very dear to me, and I was his running mate. However, Nigerians assessed the situation and concluded that the best interests of ordinary people lay with Chief MKO Abiola. There was a televised debate between Bashir Tofa and MKO Abiola. Most people who watched it decided that Abiola was a done deal. They felt Bashir Tofa could not run Nigeria, and that was the defining moment. There was nothing like “you don’t have structure.” What mattered was the Nigerian people’s belief. In 2023, the same thing happened. All the structures suddenly collapsed in the face of popular sentiment. People said they had had enough of a particular political class, characters who had been setting the country back. Nigerians wanted to take back their country. Unfortunately, the will of the people was prevented from prevailing. They did everything possible to block it, and the evidence is everywhere. When specific figures are mentioned, I laugh, because every semi-intelligent person knows who won Rivers State, for example. When you hear figures like six-point-something that is pure gibberish. We have an institutional capture of the Nigerian state that has altered the will of the Nigerian people. God, in His wisdom, tried to move these people into one party so they could sweep out of existence the current political class that has humiliated the country and degraded the quality of life of the average Nigerian. The level of divisiveness is such that Nigerians are now fighting one another—something I never imagined would happen. Personally, I would like them all to defect into one party. The same wind that blew in 1993, and again in 2023, will blow this political class out of relevance for the rest of their lives. Nigerians need something new. They need a new beginning. We cannot continue like this when humanity itself has advanced far beyond where we currently stand.
What is your view on Festus Keyamo’s statement questioning why the ADC is silent on zoning? He also suggested that Atiku Abubakar may run, with Peter Obi as his vice. What do you make of this, and why is the ADC silent on zoning?
He does not have a point. Peter Obi will contest for the presidency. The day he becomes anyone’s vice president, I will walk away from his corner, this I can tell you as a fact. It is essential to bear in mind that the presidency has effectively become a retirement home where people go to pay their medical bills. This is unacceptable. It is not suitable for someone who is sick to run this country. The last administration and the current one have essentially been governments in absentia. I, Pat Utomi, will canvass that nobody over the age of 70 should run for an executive position in Nigeria, whether as governor or President. Yes, a few people may remain in the legislature until 75 or even 80. Still, Nigerians must not continue to tolerate a presidency characterised by medical tourism at great expense to citizens who are denied quality governance.
Are you saying Atiku Abubakar should not have any business contesting in the party’s primaries because he is over 70?
Yes, indeed. That is precisely what I am saying. I have always acted on principle. My principled position is that no one over 70 should contest an executive office. I will be 70 in one month, which means I cannot run for an executive position again in my lifetime. If I am appointed to one, I will not accept it. This position aligns with the Sherman Declaration in American history. General Sherman, an influential figure during the US Civil War, was urged to run for President but publicly declared that he would not accept the nomination nor serve if elected. He understood the danger of ego in politics. In researching the Sherman Declaration, I came across profound work on why many nations fail politically, the ego of individuals. There is a book titled “Ego Is the Enemy.” Nigerian political actors must rise above ego and consider the common good. At 70, I am returning to the hospital for medical checks because I know my energy is declining. Every true patriot who reaches 70 should look in the mirror and say it is time to help the country in other ways—through counsel and support. This applies to all actors pushing themselves forward now, whether the incumbent or my dear friend, the Waziri of Adamawa. In 2007, I wanted him to win the presidency, but history has taken a different course. Biology is real. At some point, one must yield and support younger leaders who can carry the burden.
What do you make of the President’s management of the economy so far? Are you comfortable with the growth figures being cited? What do you think the government is doing poorly?
One terrible thing about economic development, as the Americans say, is that there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. You can make statistics say anything you want, and they can sound convincing. I have been working on a book, though I have not completed it yet. My goal was to finish it this month, but various developments have delayed it. Perhaps in the next six months, I will conclude it. The book examines why poverty persists in Africa despite the illusion of growth strategies. I was a participant during the era of structural adjustment programmes. I was one of those who rationalised it, believing it would save us from IMF damage. That experience was later analysed in Globalisation and Its Discontents. At the time, many of us saw no alternative. We spoke the same way today’s policymakers do, citing apparent growth driven by exchange rate adjustments. Yet, people remained poor. We explained it away using theories like performance lag, insisting that prosperity would come later. Thirty years later, corruption has clearly set us back. The pillars of development—especially education—were destroyed by those policies. Rebuilding what existed when some of us were undergraduates will take a very long time. This is the danger of the statistics being thrown around today, just as they were between 1986 and 1995. Claims that increased oil revenue or new taxes will solve our problems ignore the core issue: production. What are we producing? We lack a clear industrial policy that can drive real growth. Instead, we are actively preventing capital formation in our economy. Until that changes, no amount of impressive statistics will translate into real development.
