Respected Professor of Political Economy, Prof. Pat Utomi says he is in a constant state of irritation and annoyance with Nigerian politics because it is far removed from the realities confronting the masses.
He added that the calibre of people that become politicians has also been a terrible mistake for the nation.
Utomi, who is a former presidential candidate, stated these at the 26th Annual Pre-Ramadan Lecture organised by the University of Lagos Muslim Alumni.
The Founder of the Centre for Value in Leadership spoke on the theme, ‘Though Tribe and Tongue May Differ: Interrogating Nigeria’s Nationhood’.
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Utomi lamented that the nation has been travelling in the wrong direction and remains in a state of permanent crisis.
He said it was high time the nation prioritised rational conversations to chart a new course.
“In Nigeria, we don’t have a rational conversation that can help us.
“Nigeria is travelling in the wrong direction. This is really the problem. The gap between us and them is pushed in this emotional pulse.
“We seem to stumble from crisis to crisis. In Nigeria, everything you say that seems to be structured, people dismiss it. They say ‘Na grammar we go chop?’ They forgot that every action starts from a theory. But this anti-intellectual disposition, not thinking make us create mountains in a small manhole and put our country in a state of permanent crisis.
“We seem unable to have a rational conversation. Nigeria politics irritates, annoys me because it is not dealing with issues people are dealing with.
“The calibre of people who became politicians in Nigeria is a terrible mistake for our country. People have travelled from citizenship to idiocy,” Utomi said.