Every Nigerian in distress except those stealing money – Utomi

A political economist and former presidential candidate, Prof Pat Utomi, has lamented the current Nigeria’s economic situation.

In an interview with The Punch, Utomi, also debunked a merger of opposition parties being credited to him in the media space.

“Did I say anything like they commenced a merger? People are creating their narratives. I said we are trying to build a real political party. In the process of the building, I have had the opportunity to talk with each of these candidates and the process of building a party is ongoing and not a merger. One thing that I know is wrong is that I have seen the merger before that brought about the APC and look at where it has brought Nigeria.

“The problem is that Nigerian politics has been left in the domain of interest of individuals who are politicians, and they couple together a convenient arrangement that will make them win elections and they forget what political parties are supposed to reel out and how political parties build ideas that solve society’s problems. So, my idea is that we will begin from the get-go to build the party and then talk with everybody; all Nigerians, including these leaders if they feel that they fit into the ideology, the values, and the operational national strategy for development that this our platform will offer, they can join and become part of it. As I said, I have had conversations with these particular people, and they are open to the idea.”

The political economist and former presidential candidate said it was unfortunate that only the political class were not feeling the hardship in the country.

“What I know is that most people I run into are in distress. I have to struggle to buy fuel and shout at the driver when the fuel is empty from the tank. I say, ‘Come, my friend, when did we enter the filling station last? Why is the tank empty?’ Everybody is facing this situation except those who are stealing money.

“You can’t stay on the right path; to where and what? They (APC government) have to be specific and show us how they are on the right path. You don’t generalise. For instance, the exchange rate, how are we managing it? Our debt profile, how are we managing it? The poverty rate in our society, how are we managing it? How are we managing the diversification and production of the economy? Let’s look at how we are managing education in our country. What about healthcare? How are we managing it? How many Nigerians are dying every day from curable diseases? These are the issues we should bring to the front burner of discussions and address, and not stating emotional issues. We have gone past those stages; we should be looking forward to how we will save the country,” Utomi added.