Nigeria’s ’s Professor of political Economy, Pat Utomi has declared that the country was going through the most challenging times at the moment.
Professor Utomi stated this in Abuja on Thursday in his Keynote address at the presentation and launch of a book authored by Elder Ejodame Emmanuel.
He noted that the book titled, “A Handbook for Changing the unpleasant narratives of our National Life” reminded him of the popular track in one of the Late Sunny Okosun’s Music, “which way Nigeria”.
Professor Utomi who is the Chairman of the Thirdforce, the group that is solidly collaborating with the Labour Party to ensure the success of Peter Obi Presidential Campaign, stressed that it was baffling to observe the lamentations in the music released about forty years ago manifesting in the country today.
He said that the forthcoming Presidential election of 2023 would provide apple opportunity for a national rebirth, adding that if Nigerians failed to choose the right leaders this time around, the country might not survive as a country.
He regretted that despite adequate pre- warnings about the prevailing security challenges the leaderships did not do anything to checkmate the signals.
Professor Utomi, ” asked how did we get here, how did we take this Path?”. He said “in sixties there was much prosperity in northern Nigeria with rich agricultural produce especially the ground pyramid”.
. He described religious, tribal and ethnic cleavages as the cardinal roots of the nation’s problems stressing that those were weapons being used by the elites to perpetuate their selfish agenda.
He canvassed for a new set of leaderships that would promote strong institutions that would reshape the country.
The gathering was attended by quite a number of personalities like, Dr Yunusa Tanko, the spokesman of the Thirdforce and Peter Obi Campaign Organisation Sarah Jubrin, one time Presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) and Barrister Godswill lyohs Iyoke, the book reviewer among others.