creativity in the young mind will always surpass that of the older ones.
until these old men retires to their various villages and allow the younger one to do the job, nigeria will still be walking like an epileptic patient !
OBY was a crook even before he was incarcerated ! he had his plans all along; baiting everybody on board.
now he's fronting yar a'dua ! for pete's sake, why would i want yar a'dua in replacement for OBY
and older version ? what the hell has he done for his state?
a lot of people didn't vote (me inclusive) cause we had already given up expectations on our polling system.
we all thought 2003 was the height, now this? the most appalling set of elections ever experienced in this country so far.
i guess it's a trend now, we should expect worse in the next 4 years .

the only polling system that will work in this country still remains option A4; asides that, it's all a hoax !
anything hidden is false.
Ngige not allowed to contest what else is there to say?
oshiomole arrested ? who would win against him in edo state in a fair election ?
andy uba now governor; after all he and his brother did in that state, who would vote for anyone with uba as a surname in that state ?

Pat Utomi was on track, his withdrawal was probably the best thing to do.
the campaign for the presidential elections has been horrific !
i guess this is no longer the time where contenders has to tell the masses what they intend doing for the country. no of them said jack !
now that atiku is running again, i'm really interested in who has more money to splash on INEC for the seat.

2003, i knew some folks who sat awake all night, thumb printing ballot paper for the polls the following day ! all votes casted in ENUGU state in 2003 went straight to the bin ! ALL of them !
i guess we are seeing a more sophisticated approach now. the vote count tends to be working really well with the recent census figures . smart innit.
only God can judge us.
OBY, yar a'dua is goin to stab you in the face ! wanna bet ?

@debugi,

i do not blame him for stepping aside, it is obvious even to blind,deaf and dumb individual that there is nothing free and fair about the elections. the basic problem with most political parties is the absence of ideology, many parties assemble to fight an injustice or a ruling party.

what pat utomi and others like him should do is to plan ahead. build your party with solid idoelogies, do not wait till election time to affect the society, start putting up programmes, projects, seminars that will target the populace and disabuse their minds from the opinions of nigeria as a failed state. project that within eight or more years your party should have a solid structure, with credible leaders who can take up positions in government, this way you will be better prepared.

what is happening in this country cannot go on forever, people are begining to wake up to their responsibilties and with time nigeria must and will change.

Nice posts. I think this is what Okotie has been doing for the past few years now.

boycott boycootttt and boycoootttt

At least He can now focus on his business school after collecting the INEC allocation for campaigning

Those who feel so bad that Pat Utomi quit might be waisting there time or be novice in naija politics, but the fact remains that naija will not get anywhere like this. We need to turn the page in our politics.
I have always been sympathetic to PDP cos I thought they offer Nigerians a chance to move on better than the opposition, but the landslide victory recorded by the PDP last saturday is simply ludicrous and unacceptable. They should learn to allow the wish of the people prevail, there was no way the PDP would have won a free and fair election in Anambra and Oyo and thus should learn to accept their failures.

Personally I think we are trying too hard to maintain stability and status quo in this country, and that is why the ruling party will not take Nigerians seriously.
Making mockery of politicians for not playing politics like it is played in Nigeria shows our individual reluctance for change and enhancing the tennets of democracy. We should not be questing for politicians who will maintain the status quo but rather those who will offer us a different kind of politics because our politics for now is nothing to be desired.

McKren:

Making mockery of politicians for not playing politics like it is played in Nigeria shows our individual reluctance for change and enhancing the tennets of democracy. We should not be questing for politicians who will maintain the status quo but rather those who will offer us a different kind of politics because our politics for now is nothing to be desired.

Can you explain what you mean here? Who is making maockery of our politicians? I think some Nigerians are mocking themselves all in the name of being politicians.

Maybe you guys can now understand why I want Atiku in the race. At the moment, Nigeria is way too corrupt to conduct any semblance of an election in the next couple of decades. The bottom line is to maintain this whacked version of democracy, which is way better than military junta, until the country evolves out of its collective ignorance. The problem with Utomi's withdrawal and disqualifying other influential but corrupt politicians like Atiku is the emergence of a civilian dictatorship, a la Obasanjo.

Afam:

Can you explain what you mean here? Who is making maockery of our politicians? I think some Nigerians are mocking themselves all in the name of being politicians.

We Nigerians are in the habit of figuring out who can and who can't win elections even before the polls not because those who we think can win have given us a genuine reason to think that way. But because we think politics of Nigeria is not all about Nigerians but about who has more money and who wields more influnce. That is how small and narrow minded our politics is at the moment and that mentality has to change. We have to turn the page.

Democracy is all about running a people inclusive government, otherwise whats the difference with military. Thus an election in a democratic government should be about those who are able to appeal more to the people.

I know that it will not happen in one day, but at least we have to be moving in the right direction. 2007 Nigeria does not deserve a guber election where Akala will be leading convoy of youths wielding cutlasses and guns instead of seeking the people's vote, 2007 Nigeria does not deserve an election where Andy Uba and his cohorts will have result sheets in their house before the polls while a whole state goes out to vote. Someone, somewhere in Anambra who may have been unable to eat breakfast may have gone to the polls hoping that his vote will help decide his future. But all that becomes a excersize in futlity if a spin master is sitting somewhere with the result sheet waiting to announce his result while the people waiste their time.

Everybody (even utomi)  knows that PDP will rig the election, but that is not enough reason to withdraw. Believe me, his action is just synonymous to cowardice.

From all indications and going by most of the comments i have been seeing on this topic, it appears we have all given up on Nigeria. We all prefer to sit and accept whatever comes to us. However, these same individuals would be the first to cry out when injustices are meted out to them. I do not think quiting can solve the problem. Agreed the game of polit(r)icks is quite different in Nigeria. However quiting will not change the system, you stay and fight it. I agree it is an enormous task for one person to face, but you must fight your battles if we all are to win this war. I particularly hail the boldness of vice president Atiku to challenge all injustices meted out to him. You dont scamper away like a frightened chicken for Gods sake! Regardless of his reason for fighting his battles, the point is that he is making a statement that they PDP can not do as they like without regard of law. Who knows, if he had chickened out, INEC may forever continue to ban whosoevers face they do not like. This victory he won with this supreme court judgement is for all time. Generations shall reap from the benefits of this battle won. It is not so much an issue that Atiku will win the elections or not, but he has made a point. And that point speaks so loud for him, such victories are not attained quitting.
Mr Pat Utomi knew quite well that politics in Nigeria is a dirty game even before he entered into the game. There is no need giving us that as an excuse to quit. WALK THE WALK YOU TALK!

It is the worst mistake for Pat Utomi. We are not expecting him to win, but to learn the terrain of our destroyed democracy for tommorrow.

If we all stay here, talk and make no moves, Nigeria will not change. People like Utomi has to remain in the race to encourage others with integrity and proven records development to stand up and join the stuggle to save Nigeria from her enemies.

It may take time, we will get there by getting involved, no matter how small, loose or win. Rome was not built in a day.

Utomi's withdrwal is sad and a loss to all of us. He may not win today, good, but the battle is for tommorow.

The goon must be laughing all the way to the banks. His hands must have been oiled, courtesy of the powers that be. Shame on him

McKren:

We Nigerians are in the habit of figuring out who can and who can't win elections even before the polls not because those who we think can win have given us a genuine reason to think that way. But because we think politics of Nigeria is not all about Nigerians but about who has more money and who wields more influnce. That is how small and narrow minded our politics is at the moment and that mentality has to change. We have to turn the page.

Democracy is all about running a people inclusive government, otherwise whats the difference with military. Thus an election in a democratic government should be about those who are able to appeal more to the people.

I know that it will not happen in one day, but at least we have to be moving in the right direction. 2007 Nigeria does not deserve a guber election where Akala will be leading convoy of youths wielding cutlasses and guns instead of seeking the people's vote, 2007 Nigeria does not deserve an election where Andy Uba and his cohorts will have result sheets in their house before the polls while a whole state goes out to vote. Someone, somewhere in Anambra who may have been unable to eat breakfast may have gone to the polls hoping that his vote will help decide his future. But all that becomes a excersize in futlity if a spin master is sitting somewhere with the result sheet waiting to announce his result while the people waiste their time.

I now see where you are coming from but do not forget that the type of democracy we practice is an expensive one, just like what obtains in the US today.

Our so called presidential system of government cannot allow people without money (real money to spare) to make any impact in any election.

You use money for adverts, campaigns etc.

Maddox:

The goon must be laughing all the way to the banks. His hands must have been oiled, courtesy of the powers that be. Shame on him

How do you mean?

Utomi has always been a faker. So called academic/business man. I guess he's the only honest businessman in the country.

What did he think presidential contests in Nigeria were going to be about? Manifestos and policies? If he had actually spent more time articulating a coherent vision for the country he would have known why boycotting elections does nothing for the advancement of free and fair elections. But no, he spent his campaign trying to unprotected populist issues. Very little thought for issues around governance and restructuring. Because he
knew they would laugh in his face. As a so called economist he did not analyse the Govt's needless paying off of the national debt. A misuse of billions of dollars. But he had time to make pronouncements on the Delta cataclysm. And trials of militants.

If his life, or that of his family, was in danger I could have understood him withdrawing but he was not a threat to anybody so what was the point. Those still in the race might be a rogues but at least they are standing up for what they believe in.

Lets ask Utomi what he believes in.

He should have counted the costs before starting; why now?

those of you saying that utomi does not understand naija(omon and MAMAJAMA) pse go and kiss ur ass.If understanding nigeria is by looting public funds and making a mockery of democracy,then truly he does not understand naija.If naija is so good under this regime,then why are u guys washing'corpse'abroad,come to your home and enjoy the dividends of democracy,numbskulls.

In actual fact, the only people who can boycott the elections is the electorate. So a total boycott is not really feasible. Any candidates who choose to withdraw now will still be on the ballot paper and would have already been registered anyway. So even their parties could not effect a change of their candidature.

Thats why Utomi's posturing is a bit lame. If he went on to win the election, or poll the highest number of votes; he would also make a claim to be reinstated.

poor utomi. i don't think his party won even a seat in the state house of assembly. he is knowing for the first time that nigeria is not about how fluent we are in english. it is about convincing people. it is about taking your campaign to the length and breadth of the country. i called many back home, but they never heard his name before.

The withdrawer of Pat Utimi from the presidential race clearly demostrate thne saying that " light and darkness has nothing in common, and that among men there are Men! i wish him well.

i don't think he needs a prophet to tell him to withdraw when his party didn't even win one councillorship position, not even in his ward.

he did the right thing but definitely at the wrong time.

he shud wait till naija is truely democratic

The Nigerian political terrain is not for the everyone. Politics involves a great deal of unscrupulous activities. By occupying the position and then resigning at this point, Pat Utomi has effectively denied another prospective contestant a chance of coming out for the presidency. Tell me, did he not know what to expect before embarking? Politics is dirty. Its not a game for "righteous people" as much as leadership is not for the faint hearted.

Guess the ill he did to volkswagen Nigeria in the early Eighties finally caught up with him. Ruling Nigeria takes more than having a huge nasal cavity, it combines real as balls and grey matter.

Utomi simply chickened out

Why are you guys surprised that the Pat Utomi stepped down from the presidential race, we all knew from the beginning he was never gonna win and he was wasting his time.

The race is between Yar Adua or Buhari and i know for sure the Yar Adua is gonna be our president

Are u guys kidding me?Did he actually do that?What is wrong with all these young politicians.Huh Pat shldnt do this to his supporters cos he has so many people who are ready to vote for him.What happens now?

9ja4eva:

Are u guys kidding me?Did he actually do that?What is wrong with all these young politicians.Huh Pat shldnt do this to his supporters because he has so many people who are ready to vote for him.What happens now?

well the only people they were voting for him were the IGBOS not the YORUBAS, so i don't how in the world do u think he was gonna win

It is so easy to seat in our comfort zone to call those who have attempted to change our politics names, it is also a fact that it is easier to play by the rules while in politics than to initiate something different.
We criticize and make fun of those who attempt to make a difference and that in principle means celebrating those who play by the rules and maintain the status quo.

What has this status quo brought us other than Poor education, poor health facilities, and generally poor basic amenities. What I find very disturbing is the fact that the average Nigerian who bear the brunt of all this is so happy to make jest of the utomi's of this world when they fail.
OK let the game continue since Nigerians will not take their destiny in their hands, If their is a young Nigerian thinking of making a difference tomorrow tell me how such person will be encouraged after reading these post. He will simply play by the rules so as to be celebrated as others.

UTOMI STILL IN THE RACE, CALLS FOR ABORTION OF POLLS  
Written by Pat Utomi '07 Campaign    
Tuesday, 17 April 2007  
 
UTOMI STILL IN THE RACE, CALLS FOR ABORTION OF POLLS

PRESS STATEMENT

Says "Saturday's Elections is a Big Fraud by PDP"

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Prof. Pat Utomi hereby refutes claims by certain news media that himself and other candidates have withdrawn and are calling for a pull-out from the presidential election.

Prof. Utomi declares that he is still in the race, his campaign continues, and he remains convinced that he is the best material for the presidency as well as remaining the peoples' choice.

He states that on the contrary, the group resolve is getting stronger, the status quo remains, and the group is developing its resolution-document which calls on the Nigerian people and the international community to reject the elections so far and see it as a big fraud pre-decided and manipulated accordingly by the PDP.

With due respect to the various international observers, Utomi states that they have been hoodwinked by the riggers to interpret the peaceful conduct of the Nigerian people at the polls as freeness and fairness of the voting exercise.

Prof. Utomi in his capacity as the chairman of the Granite Coalition political parties group hereby calls for an abortion and postponement of the remaining election process in view of the various levels of irregularities, malpractices, and fraud by security agents and INEC officials in last Saturday's elections.

Prof. Utomi hereby also call on Nigerians and all people of goodwill to see the numerous, spontaneous, certainly unrelated, and diverse unrests following the Saturday elections results announcement as the attestation to the rejection of the process by Nigerians.

Meanwhile, Prof. Pat Utomi, will from today, wind down his campaign activity with a symbolic interactive assembly where he addresses a gathering of various South-south and South-east peoples' unions, communities, political associations, youth movements, and pressure groups is scheduled for the FCT Abuja.

The Abuja session which ends Prof. Pat Utomi's 'Oil from Curse to Blessing' nationwide tour , had formally commenced at Oloibiri, Bayelsa state and was scheduled to end with a grand rally at Oloibiri.

The venue change is due to recent political developments among which is Utomi's adoption as the chairman of the ongoing political parties' 'Granite Coalition' session by members which include the Action Congress (AC) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) among others, in Abuja.

Following Abuja, Utomi will on Wednesday visit major marketplaces in Lagos state to interact with executives and traders of the populous Balogun, ASPAMDA Mushin, and Ladipo markets.

Finally in Lagos on Thursday, Prof. Utomi who yesterday released the ADC Ideology Manifesto and Policy Plank titled 'Liberation of the People from Poverty; Proclaiming Prosperity and Progress' for public distribution, will address the executives and members of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN).



http://www.patutomi2007.com/


Why unu dey talk false things?

McKren:

It is so easy to seat in our comfort zone to call those who have attempted to change our politics names, it is also a fact that it is easier to play by the rules while in politics than to initiate something different.
We criticize and make fun of those who attempt to make a difference and that in principle means celebrating those who play by the rules and maintain the status quo.

What has this status quo brought us other than Poor education, poor health facilities, and generally poor basic amenities. What I find very disturbing is the fact that the average Nigerian who bear the brunt of all this is so happy to make jest of the utomi's of this world when they fail.
OK let the game continue since Nigerians will not take their destiny in their hands, If their is a young Nigerian thinking of making a difference tomorrow tell me how such person will be encouraged after reading these post. He will simply play by the rules so as to be celebrated as others.

He is still in the race.Why shld he?