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Professor of political economy, Pat Utomi, has ruled out ever contesting for public office or accepting any government appointment in Nigeria, citing a desire to remain untainted by the corruption often associated with politics in the country.
Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Utomi said he is focused solely on future generations’ well-being and has no interest in contracts, appointments, or political ambitions.
“Let me state clearly, I will not run for public office, I will not accept an appointment, contract by any government in Nigeria. My only concern is the well-being of the next generation.
“I have lived my life decently without government money or stealing anybody’s thing. I want to take that away from people who talk nonsense like, ‘Oh, he is looking for contract,” he stated.
Utomi also spoke on the relevance of a shadow government structure, saying it provides a democratic platform for citizens to demand accountability from those in power.
“Nothing can be more democratic than a group of citizens coming together to find a structured way of asking the government to be more accountable. What could be more democratic than that?” he asked.
He urged Nigerians to engage with the findings of Afrobarometer, a long-running public opinion survey that has tracked sentiments about democracy across African countries since 1999.
“I usually pre-phase this conversation with what we’ve done to the African. There are Afrobarometer readings, an annual survey that has been going on since 1999, of how Nigerians, Africans generally, in every country, with all kinds of details. I mean all kinds of details,” he said.
“I want all Nigerians and who really want to understand what has happened to our country to go and study the Afrobarometer readings.
Citing the data, Utomi noted that while many Africans still value democracy, they are becoming increasingly frustrated by its failures across the continent.
“It states that Africans still love democracy, cling to it but they are tired because their democracies are not working.
“Any serious democrat has to read this data, longitudinal data showing that people are fed up with what we call democracy,” he said.
[Vanguard]