[size=14pt]Nigeria is drifting towards anarchy[/size]
By MUDIAGA AFFE, Published: Tuesday, 5 Jan 2010
Prof. Pat Utomi

Presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress in the 2007 election, Prof. Pat Utomi, speaks on the need to address critical areas as the review of the 1999 Constitution continues. In this interview with MUDIAGA AFFE, he also talked about the drift resulting from President Umaru Yar‘Adua‘s absence. Excerpts:

The review of the 1999 Constitution continues in new year. How well do you think it will go?

The point I will like to make on constitution review is that since there had been debate over it, it is important to get it right this time. But more important than the words we chose to speak together, is the ability of the people to agree to come together in one spirit. I do know that there are fundamental questions about the Nigerian constitution and you will recall that a lot of people have gone to court challenging the legitimacy of the constitution. But I think what is more important is the consensus on how the country can make progress. I do not believe that the elite class have given enough thought to the country‘s historical mission or their generation‘s historical mission to the country. Because they have not given enough thought to it, and because they have always been scrambling for power or want to be around power, we now have a culture of those who would always want to take advantage of the system. Many of them scramble for power because of pecuniary or financial benefit, but there are others who do not belong to this class. It is not just the money, because you may not even get so much money, but they will just be satisfied with the title on their names, like governor, minister, senators, honourable, and others. That gives me a preponderance frame of the political elite, and that system cannot help to have that transforming role that generations play. In Nigeria, we have to bear in mind that the spirit is much more important than the physical form of crafted words. There should be the extra constitutional means for solving problems. It will help address some of the critical issues that drive engagements in Nigeria.

What are those critical issues?

There are real issues; one of it is the issue of residence. For instance, I was born in Lagos, but have to keep saying I am from Delta. I spent all my life in Lagos, pay taxes there, but when one fills a form, one will identify Delta as the state. Those are issues we should address. There are issues around state rights, resource control and the rest. One thing about this derivation that should also be addressed is that it is not just all about percentage allocation, but the structure. There should be the connection between what is collected, and what is on ground. We have moved to a pretender culture of sharing the cake that nobody is making efforts to really bake. Again if you follow the history of creation of local governments in the country, you will see the sadness of it all. At the time of the creation of 12 states in Nigeria, there were only twice as many local governments in what was in southern Nigeria, than they were in what was northern Nigeria. But by the time the military came in, with officers from the north creating local government from their towns, what we have today is nearly 800 local government areas, with about 500 from the North. It showed that it was such fundamentally problematic on how the process was unfolded, how did we come out with the kind of ratio we had in 1967 compared to what we have today? All these things about increasing the sharing ability, to me, I have contempt for them. Because the more you collect from sharing, the less progress you are likely to make.

Why is that so?

In economics, there is what we refer to as a lottery effect. If you win a lottery, there is the attitude for you to say ‘let me just squander this thing.’ Many people who have won lottery ended up being poor again. What I am saying is that the area that is getting more and more allocations, through the creation of local governments, can become the poorest areas in the country, people do not realise that. From my point of view, I do not care about that perception that they have denied some people; what they ought to have got and giving others more because I know, from my understanding of how the world runs on economic condition, that those kind of people who get more from this kind of manipulation, end up being poorer.

Do you think they can situate all these structures, processes and come out with the amended constitution by the end of this year?

Yes, they can. But, I do not think that they are in the mood to work. They did not do any work in the last three years, so, is it 2010 they will do work? However, if something comes out at all, we are going to have a wishy-washy stuff.

If we are likely to expect this situation, then what do you think will happen to the reform in the electoral system which Nigerians believe should be in place before the 2011 general election?

I think the matter is that many of the people who Nigerians are waiting on to make these reforms, seriously, they do not believe in it. They were not elected in the first place and they know that if there is an election, many of them will not be in those positions. So, why do you think they would be wonderful and charitable and want to correct these flaws? They may do it because they do not have the choice, but not a labour of law, and when it is not a labour of law we are going to have this kind of tentativeness.

So, you are optimistic that pressure from Nigerians will do the magic?

Yes, pressure from Nigerians will do it. I have already argued several times that the only thing that will save the country is the peoples‘ revolution. And when I say peoples‘ revolution, I do not want it misinterpreted. What I mean is that Nigerians should come out in the millions, say one million for instance, gather at the secretariat in Alausa, for instance, same population in front of the National Assembly, everyday for two weeks, like they did in Ukraine, Philippines and see if this country will not change for the better.

I am very willing and ready and I have spoken with a lot of civil society groups that the only way they can have a historical value, for people to recognise them, is to be able to bring out the Nigerian people, educate them about the Nigerian condition, their rights, and the fact that they are the change that they are craving for. If they come out to say, we can‘t take this nonsense anymore, continuously for a few weeks, the country will change.

It appears the inability of President Umaru Yar‘Adua to properly handover to his vice before proceeding to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment will cause more problems in the governance of the country. What do you think this country will be like if he does not come back on time?

It is a drift to anarchy. Right now Nigeria has escaped the boundaries of constitutional contempt, we are functioning in extra constitutional territory. The truth of the matter is that unless the elders quickly stand up, Nigeria is on its way through the dangerous drive to anarchy. People are being so selfish, so obsessed in their self interest, rather than looking at the country and allowing us to begin to drift to that aisle. I think they have a duty to their children to rethink.

People have said the outcome of the forthcoming Anambra State governorship election will determine the shape of 2011. Do you agree with that?

The Anambra election is already setting itself up. I do not think that any person with conscience and decent background would imagine that the PDP is sincere. The point is that the people of Anambra would not be seen as responsible if they give it to the PDP. How the election will go, with the man whose identity is in doubt as an umpire in the whole system, is another matter.

Two and half years after the last general election was conducted, we still have cases dotting election petition tribunals, what signal are they sending?

The fact that there are some election petitions cases still hanging, shows why the Nigerian people have lost interest in the process. Their apathy is so deep that you keep wondering what the final output will become. People do not want to be registered voters and they do not want to vote because they are not sure what the outcome is. We have celebrated the judiciary a couple of times because of some rulings, but if we are really honest, the whole thing wouldn‘t have got this far. How can you be having another round of elections when you are still having pending cases? Justice delayed, they say, is justice denied, and it is unfortunate that the Nigerian judiciary has denied justice to the Nigerian political actors and the public because they have prevented the people from benefiting from the wealth of experience of those they legitimately voted for.

There was renewed hostility in the Niger Delta recently and Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta blamed the Federal Government for the slow process of implementing certain agreement, do you see it continuing this year?

I hope things don‘t go wrong, but it depends on how those who are managing the system are doing it. The truth of the matter is that the anger in the country today is that we have shown to the people the way the government has managed things. We have shown that what matters is that the armoured force takes care of things, not what your rights are. For a long time, the people of the region kept crying about these injustices and they were ignored, until their young men decided to pick up arms and suddenly they were listened to. What it more or less indicates is that the only way to get justice in this environment is to fight. So, if the agreement suffers some setback, you will see that the natural process is to go back to fighting. This is why those who manage the process need to be very careful.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2010010510595082

I hope things don‘t go wrong, but it depends on how those who are managing the system are doing it. The truth of the matter is that the anger in the country today is that we have shown to the people the way the government has managed things. We have shown that what matters is that the armoured force takes care of things, not what your rights are. For a long time, the people of the region kept crying about these injustices and they were ignored, until their young men decided to pick up arms and suddenly they were listened to. What it more or less indicates is that the only way to get justice in this environment is to fight. So, if the agreement suffers some setback, you will see that the natural process is to go back to fighting. This is why those who manage the process need to be very careful.

Your destiny is in your hands.

Pat Utomi should shut up.
I say that with all due respect.
His mouth should remain shut until he explains to the public he attempts to lecture, his role in PHB.
A bank in which he has been an integral part of its board in various guises for over a decade.
A bank that has been a cesspool of financial rascality, cowboy banking and corporate governance failures.
Until then, i choose not to read or listen to his epistles and i am sure every logical and sensible observer of Nigeria's socioeconomic and political space are doing the same.

drifting?

we passed that point long ago.

I hope things don‘t go wrong, but it depends on how those who are managing the system are doing it. The truth of the matter is that the anger in the country today is that we have shown to the people the way the government has managed things. We have shown that what matters is that the armoured force takes care of things, not what your rights are. For a long time, the people of the region kept crying about these injustices and they were ignored, until their young men decided to pick up arms and suddenly they were listened to. What it more or less indicates is that the only way to get justice in this environment is to fight. So, if the agreement suffers some setback, you will see that the natural process is to go back to fighting. This is why those who manage the process need to be very careful.

For Nigeria to move forward, we the people must fight and in this process some will die.

So, people (good or bad) must DIE for Nigeria to move forward.