RENOWNED economist, Professor Pat Utomi speaks with WALE AKINSELURE, on main political happenings, different developments within the polity in 2023 and the way the nation can navigate in direction of a greater future, starting from this 12 months.
What’s your examination of politics in 2023, particularly trying on the main political occasion, which is the final election, and there was a change of presidency on the federal stage?
The issue of Nigeria is the triumph of politics. Every little thing appears to be decreased to politics, little or no, to engineering progress. So, individuals don’t suppose how we’re going to transfer the nation ahead. They suppose, how are we going to get our share and that’s what informs our politics. 2023 was a tragedy for Nigeria in some ways. There was considerably a rallying; individuals had been fed up; they wished one thing completely different. The Peter Obi phenomenon got here not due to Peter Obi, it was as a result of someway the truth that individuals had been fed up got here throughout sure issues that match into that quest for one thing completely different. Then, there was the groundswell, maybe saying allow us to use this car to have a brand new starting however the system introduced despair to many who had left the nation or many who had been leaving. The economic system tanked in some ways and we see how the multinationals are leaving. Virtually precisely pre-1993, the issues I mentioned at a NECA governing council assembly warning enterprise leaders about the place the nation was going and the way they wanted to step as much as avert the results for his or her companies, the identical issues have occurred this 12 months. There’s a legitimacy crises and Nigeria political class has by no means understood the problem of legitimacy. They suppose when you seize energy, it’s okay. As a result of there’s a legitimacy disaster, Nigeria just isn’t being taken severely world wide. I’m now spending extra time in a foreign country and I am going to critical locations and there’s this contempt of Nigeria that’s so painful to the guts. Amid all of those, how a lot progress can we make? I really feel unhappy that an imaginative and pondering elite has not emerged that’s devoted and patriotic to get this nation proper. If solely a pondering and imaginative elite is able to chrystalise. There are a variety of basic issues about how human progress takes place. The final over 40 years of my life has actually been devoted to the wrestle to know how human progress takes place, I’ve tried to review nations the place progress has taken place and people the place failure has occurred to see if I can someway discover sediments of what makes one progress and others to fail. I believe I’ve a good sense of a lot of them. The one which I converse typically of is the significance of establishments in human progress and that is an space of consensus from historians, economists, political scientists, political sociologists and so forth. Barack Obama mentioned in Accra, Ghana, in his first speech on the African soil that Africa wants robust establishments, not robust males. What we see nevertheless is a political class that consciously strikes to destroy Nigeria establishments due to private want for energy. What they appear to not notice or realise and don’t care is that if establishments are destroyed, the whole lot they appear to have come to nothing. In the end, the one consequence of this type of state of affairs is anarchy.
Weak establishments result in the type of huge, mindless corruption that we now have in Nigeria; the worry that Nigeria will go anytime quickly, so seize as a lot as you may. I’ve simply completed writing a e-book that may come out in just a few weeks. The title is, ‘Energy, Politics, the Public Coverage Course of and Efficiency.’ One of many interviews I had with a former Head of Service, Professor Oladapo Afolabi, the factor is there isn’t actually a civil service anymore as a result of political events don’t have any agenda. Ordinarily, when a political social gathering involves energy, it ought to have an agenda that you’ve got damaged down so clearly that everyone from the Everlasting Secretary to Degree 8 officer is aware of what their function is in attaining the agenda. However the political events actually include no such issues so that you get this adhoc strikes. For instance, there’s a assembly in Paris so all people simply jumps on a aircraft; there’s COOP and folks go, so that you simply see individuals travelling up and down, civil servants come to work not understanding why they got here to work, hoping that at some point, anyone from their tribe will make them everlasting secretary they usually dedicate their time to seeing how a lot of the pure sources they will get for his or her individuals. It was such a outstanding assertion. Do you suppose that type of nation goes wherever? Completely nowhere.
What have to be executed for the nation to progress remarkably?
We desperately want robust establishments however what we see is a political class that has broken crucial establishment, the judiciary, the rule of legislation. Few individuals imagine there’s rule of legislation in Nigeria; few individuals imagine this judiciary can ship justice. You should purchase justice in Nigeria. Invariably, when individuals discover that they will’t get justice, they do it themselves and violence turns into the norm. Second, values and tradition, these form human progress. Any society that wishes to be one thing will get very jealous of the character of its management. Character issues. There’s a well-known saying that when wealth is misplaced, nothing is misplaced; when well being is misplaced, one thing is misplaced; when character is misplaced, all is misplaced. Any society that may say the character of its political chief doesn’t matter, is a misplaced society. Sadly, when you have a look at in all places round Nigeria, all method of character have taken over, and you may see it within the behaviour of governors. They appear to journey with the cheque e-book of the state after they journey. You surprise, is that this authorities or a type of Banana republic? We focus an excessive amount of on the centre. We neglect that in most of the states, Nigeria doesn’t exist as a purposeful democratic order. We’ve got collapsed. So, values, establishments are in disaster in Nigeria.How do you expect what’s going to occur? You want determined transfer by critical patriots to institute these two. It is just when these two are in place that you would be able to have entrepreneurship that may create worth, jobs, peace and safety. Many individuals are hungry so it’s a fable to imagine you may have peace and safety when persons are determined, are simply surviving, may kill their neighbour to outlive. Each massive man runs round with policemen all over.
There may be a number of discuss restructuring being the reply. Furthermore, the APC authorities arrange the El-Rufai committee on restructuring, which submitted its report. Why is it trying tough to implement restructuring?
It’s as a result of politicians are taking a look at their slender, brief time period curiosity; somebody canvassing for restructuring will get into energy tomorrow and stops speaking about it as a result of he desires to abuse just like the one earlier than him. Ultimately, all of us might be abused.
Is all of it despair, no hope within the Tinubu authorities giving Nigerians the specified change?
There’s a downside of values, legitimacy, establishments. You’ll be able to draw your conclusions.
The federal government has confirmed renewed want to make our refineries working. Doesn’t that supply a glimmer of hope about what the administration has in retailer?
We’re a really humorous nation the place one thing small nations take with no consideration is what we make a nationwide problem. Refineries working! Isn’t {that a} joke? There may be a lot celebration that Port Harcourt refinery could begin work. Are you kidding me? Refineries had been working in Nigeria seamlessly, run by Shell within the Nineteen Sixties. My father labored within the business. There was a tank farm in Gusau the place I lived and privately refined petroleum in Shell refinery in Port Harcourt got here by practice to Gusau after which it was transported to Sokoto even Niger Republic. And we’re making a number of noise about refineries working. We should always all bury our heads in disgrace. We constructed a non purposeful state. All of us failed.
Is all of it gloom within the new 12 months, 2024?
If individuals get decided to vary it, it’s changeable. However I don’t see that occuring. I’m beginning a few initiatives like elevating a brand new tribe of Nigerians who’re passionately dedicated to good conduct, dignity of the human particular person, being patriots, placing the nation first. If we are able to elevate such a tribe, they’ll make impression that’s significant, they will reconstruct our political events. We have to rebuild and reconstruct the civil service. If we don’t try this, we could have a tough time going wherever. Who’re these to commit to those issues? They are often discovered. Politics has been used to spoil the nation. Younger individuals can’t even suppose anymore. All they do is to abuse individuals. As a result of this man doesn’t like my individuals, you abuse him for the whole lot he says. We will’t construct a rustic like that. We want elders who will actually say, is that this how we need to die? We actually must do one thing to assist the society.
To have elders and patriots intervene, do we’d like one other nationwide convention?
We certain do, if we have now to. When it comes to what’s on floor, it’s true that you simply take the 2014 confab report, the Muhammed Uwais report, you’ve got what you in all probability want. However individuals want to speak about it in order that we all know what’s in it. We have to publicise nationwide public conversations. Lately, Reverend Father Anthony Akinwale mentioned, Nigeria is a state held collectively at gunpoint. We want individuals to sit down down and agree whether or not we need to be collectively. There may be a lot that’s useful in our being collectively but when individuals say they don’t, it’s positive and we are saying let’s go quietly. Let’s cease deceiving ourselves. Whether or not you name it a convention or no matter, individuals want to speak about how they will dwell decently collectively.