Victor EzejaProfessor of Entrepreneurship and Political Economy, Pat Utomi has urged Nigerians in the Diaspora to see as patriotic duty the need to champion a massive intervention to rescue Nigeria.
Prof Utomi said this on Sunday during a hybrid meeting with Nigerians in Dallas, Texas, in the United States, while expressing his concern over the level of instability under the current political leadership in Nigeria, which has left insecurity, poverty and unemployment as its landmarks.
Utomi who is leading a shadow government of a coalition of national redemption movements, noted that the citizens in diaspora remit more money home than Nigeria earns from crude oil sales, and therefore, were key stakeholders with a moral obligation to help halt the drift of governance in the country.
Pointing to the example of India where a huge coalition of the diaspora and change agents swept off the old order, which brought Prime Minister, Narendra Modi to power and fundamentally altered the structure of India’s politics, Utomi said the diaspora which has higher competences and a global network, deserves a better place at the table.
He pointed out that the Nigerians in diaspora were being blocked from playing their natural role in nation building by politicians in Nigeria who thrive on exclusion to achieve state capture.
The former presidential adviser, who is also the founder of Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL), lamented that the current political class continues to exclude women, youth and intellectuals, while also working hard to deny diaspora voting rights which many of our African neighbors allow and encourage.
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He assured his audience that within three weeks the NCFront Movement, several of the political parties and civil society organisations will announce a political party platform that will enable Nigeria to begin again and claim the promise of the founding fathers that peace and prosperity will define the future, in brotherhood, though tribe and tongue may differ.
Utomi also told his diaspora audience that the shadow government which he leads has offered an economic revival blue print that has a critical role assigned to the diaspora.
He further indicated that the national economic strategy which is built on clusters of manufacturing hubs and technology parks in the six geo-political zones of Nigeria driving global value chains will be anchored on the latent comparative advantage of each zone’s factor endowments. This he said, will produce dramatic turn around in Nigeria’s economic fortunes.
He promised that as soon as the current government is replaced there would be a diaspora global road show to showcase opportunities for diaspora joint ventures on the select endowments around which the value chains will be rolled out, assuring that this would quickly engender a full employment economy and make Nigeria the true powerhouse of African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
Announcing that the alternative government’s strategy involves a Marshal-plan type- saturation investment in Education, healthcare and the stimulation of markets that would further yield a prosperity paradox in infrastructure, Utomi urged the diaspora to key into the policy agenda of the Shadow Government and contribute to the development of the policy planks of the Shadow Cabinet teams.
Referring to the PDP and APC as the same, and as “bankrupt nabobs of retrograde opportunism”, Utomi said Nigeria must move away from the politics of big men to those of big ideas.
He said it was such politics of big men that deluded many, including himself to think Buhari would help eliminate corruption only for corruption to get worse on his watch.
He regretted that governing had reached its lowest ebb in memory with Nigeria’s import bills having at its top two items Nigeria should be exporting, which are premium motor spirit and food.
These kinds of failures, Prof Utomi told the group of mainly professional Nigerian men and women during the three and half hour session, was the tradition of anti people government of corrupt big men that APC and PDP represent.
“A government that cares for and loves its people will not have politicians obsessed with self love when just a little thoughtfulness can reduce the sufferings of the people and accelerate the pace of progress.
To achieve a purposeful, people -centered government required leaders of integrity, character, and a heart for the people,” the Professor of Political Economics stated.
He explained that to save Nigeria, the line in the sand for 2023 will have to separate leaders with these attributes from the current professional politicians who have practically run Nigeria aground.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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