‘There’s No Messiah Out There’ – Pat Utomi

Political economist and public intellectual, Professor Pat Utomi, said Nigerians should not expect any individual political figure to single-handedly rescue the country, stressing that meaningful change must come from the people’s collective will.

Naija News reports that Utomi stated this while speaking on Arise News on Tuesday, where he also discussed the prospects of opposition parties working together ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He argued that the opposition does not necessarily have to merge into one political party to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress and President Bola Tinubu.

According to Utomi, any opposition party could potentially challenge the incumbent in a properly conducted election, but cooperation on common issues would make their efforts more effective.

He said political actors should focus less on the pursuit of power and more on establishing a framework that promotes the common good.

Utomi said, “And so, whoever comes from amongst them and is the one that has the headwind to make that happen can do it a little more easily, but there have to be conditions.

“Conditions that advance the common good. For too long, I’ve watched our country deal with the challenge of power versus purpose.

“People are obsessed with power, and purpose is not clear. And then you have power come to them, and they’re just the same as the lot before them, or sometimes much worse, as we have seen repeatedly.”

Utomi said Nigeria’s political challenges could not be resolved by simply replacing one individual with another while retaining the same political system and approach to governance.

He described the belief that a particular politician would single-handedly save the country as a “messiah complex”, arguing instead for a collective agreement on the kind of country Nigerians want.

“It’s been a downward slide. So there are a number of things that must happen. We have to aggregate certain things.

“We have to come to a collegial understanding that whoever has passed the post has to function within a certain context in which the common good is kind of agreed.

“And this messiah complex, ‘Oh, it’s this man who will save us’, nonsense. There’s no messiah out there,” Utomi said.

The professor maintained that the decisive factor in changing Nigeria’s political direction should be the collective will of citizens who want a different system of governance.

He said opposition forces could achieve greater impact if they agreed on fundamental principles and worked collectively, regardless of which candidate eventually emerged.

Utomi added, “The will of the people, properly articulated in the group that says the current order does not work, let’s replace it with something better for all of us.

“And so, collegially, they find a new way forward for their country.”