Utomi’s Bid Is an Asset to Be Treasured
by
Anthony A Kila
When the news came through
that the Nigerian law-makers had rejected the constitutional amendment
aimed at allowing President Olusegun Obasanjo and other executives to
seek a third term in office, Nigerians across the world rejoiced and
jubilated. Regardless of Obasanjo’s achievements or failures, many
people saw the third-term bid as an attempt to breach the contract
between the elected and electors, a violation of the rules of
engagement by the executives. Even those of us who had identified and
defended some of the present administration’s accomplishments feared
that the third-term agenda risked relegating Obasanjo to being merely
one of those Third World rulers who cling to power and simply refuse
to go. Many more of us were anxious for Nigeria. The concern was that,
far from being perceived as a growing democracy, Nigeria risked being
definitely categorised as a “banana republic” run according to the
whim of a small self-serving monetarily wealthy, but morally famished
and intellectually lacking, corrupt clique. With the abortion of the
third-term plot, Nigeria — through its media, its civil society at
large and its law-makers — has shown that it still has some of the
decorum and self-respect necessary for a prosperous, dignified future.
Or, as a senior London, City-based lawyer put it to me, “This shows
there is still hope.”
As one might expect, what has
followed has been a rush and search for candidates and nominations but
the news on these activities has not excited us. Rather, the quest for
new leaders in the country has generated nothing but monolithic,
mind-numbing petty news unworthy of a great country like Nigeria. The
same people, the same party, the same lack of ideas — all are moving
the same conflicts towards a pettier and duller Nigeria. Reactions
have been understandable apathy, cynicism and scepticism among the
people. The general comment amongst Nigerians all over the world seems
to be, “Here they go again… No point in trying… Only God can help us…
I have given up.” All these reactions become even more worrying when
even those who (by virtue of their age, achievements and experience)
should be automatically politically, or at least socially, engaged are
engulfed by apathy.
To all those who care about
the future of Nigeria, I bring good tidings. Something exciting has
happened again in Nigeria. Pat Utomi has declared his intention to
contest next year's presidential polls. Most people reading here will
certainly know who Pat Utomi is. For the uninitiated, Utomi
is —
among many other things — a
university professor,
founder of the Centre for
Values In Leadership, chairman of the Platinum Bank, director of the
Centre for Applied Economics and Lagos Business School, was CEO of
Volkswagen, Nigeria.
In his declaration to
contest for the highest public office in Nigerian politics, Utomi
identified the fast-developing economies of the so-called Asian Tigers
as his economic
models for emulation. We
will urge and guide him to look towards the West for models in liberty
and democracy, but this will come later. Utomi’s main vision for
Nigeria can be safely summed up as creating jobs and wealth and to
transform the country from a state of underdevelopment to a
fast-developing country. To achieve these goals, Pat Utomi has rightly
identified natural allies for this project in the
youths, organised labour and
the middle class. To this list I will include all men and women of
goodwill and quickly add here that, for anybody who fits into these
categories, not supporting Utomi’s bid can only be put down to
omissions due to social pathologies such as political myopia or total
blindness to self-interest or pure masochism and proclivity for
self-destruction
Those who know Pat Utomi will
describe him as a political and economically sound, cultured,
informed, motivational and charismatic leader in tune with the Nigeria
of today. This is certainly more true of Utomi than for most other
aspiring candidates, and this is good for the many Nigerians who need
inspiration and charisma. We have been on the block too long to
believe in, and to invest our emotions in, a superhero for Nigeria; we
have been disappointed too many times to believe in a political
messiah; we are too conscious of the magnitude of Nigeria’s problems
to rely on charisma. Our support for Utomi’s bid is rational and
pragmatic. It goes beyond the man himself. For us, the Utomi bid is an
embodiment of ideas, strategies and tactics that can turn Nigeria into
free, prosperous and safe country where people from any background can
realistically dream, strive and achieve.
For all those interested in
the progress of Nigeria, the advantages of supporting Utomi’s bid are
many — they are concrete, immediate and measurable. In this forum, the
advantages and effects of the Utomi bid will be grouped in two phases.
The first phase is that of the
candidacy, and this period will be from now till some time in 2007
just before elections take place. In this period, the main advantages
of the Utomi bid will include a raise in the level of the Nigerian
political debate, a modernisation of the rules of engagement,
appearance and intervention of fresh dynamic ideas and people in the
political arena. Pat Utomi’s campaign and canvassing, it is hoped,
will be all about programmes, ideas, ideals and policies. Utomi has no
recent political baggage to justify or defend. He is not known as
anybody’s boy or godfather. All we will have to discuss with him will
be Nigeria’s business. Citizens and journalists will be asking what
plans an eventual Utomi administration has in stock for Nigeria. They
will want to know how these plans will be achieved, and the man will
be seen giving answers to these questions. It will then become
inevitable for other aspiring contestants and candidates to be faced
with the same questions. Even when they leave home with the intention
of flaunting their Babariga, and their wives’ and mistresses’ headgear,
Nigerian citizens and journalists will now expect them — and even
force them, if necessary — to think and talk about Nigeria’s business
in a reasonable and fruitful manner. Due to the Utomi effect,
everybody aspiring to rule Nigeria will have to talk in detail, and
clearly, about inflation, unemployment, tax, interest rates,
infrastructure, education, investment, GNP, etc. Nigerians are
creative people and the political class has a remarkable capacity for
adaptation and transformation. Many will copy Utomi’s ideas, get
people to prepare speeches aping or reacting to Utomi’s initiative.
Although these might appear to be personally unfair to Pat Utomi
because he will not be able to copyright his ideas, it will be great
for Nigeria.
It will confirm our theory
that Utomi’s bid is an asset for the whole of Nigeria and, as such,
everybody will benefit from it — even those who will not vote for him.
In phase one, anybody who has the interests of Nigeria at heart should
support Utomi’s bid. I am appealing for tactical support here.
Regardless of our voting intention or pattern, all those who care
about the future of Nigeria will have to treasure this asset. We will
need to support his bid, make sure it gets the right relevance, and
commit and engage ourselves to make sure Utomi is perceived as a
credible candidate. The media and everyone that cares for Nigeria will
be useful in making sure that (with all due respect to them) Utomi’s
bid does not end up like Tunji Braithwaite, M. D. Yusuf or Chris
Okotie’s attempts. The second phase of Utomi’s bid will be fully
discussed in a later stage. For now, let us just note that it will
start from the voting and last till the post-election period.
In this first phase, my
invitation to all men and women who care about the future of Nigeria
is to do everything we can to treasure Utomi’s bid. We have to make
sure that he becomes a prime candidate in the 2007 race. Let us talk
about the Utomi bid, write about it, tell people about it, and do
everything in our means to make sure that this precious asset we have
in our hands is not wasted.
