By Chibuike Nwabuko
ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – Professor Pat Utomi has lamented what he described as Nigerians’ failure to appreciate the beauty of the country’s diversity, warning that ethnic differences and bitter rhetoric are overshadowing the serious challenges confronting the nation.
Utomi, a political economist, made the observation in a statement posted on his X handle on Friday after a five-day trip across several Nigerian cities following his return from Europe.
He said his recent travels through Lagos, Uyo, Abuja, Enugu and Nnewi had reinforced his belief that Nigerians often fail to recognise the richness and diversity that exist across the country.
According to him, a stop around Nimo in Anambra State provided a striking example when his driver, an indigene of Adamawa who lives in Enugu, expressed surprise at seeing a large number of Hausa-speaking Northerners at a local market.
Utomi said the incident made him reflect on how little Nigerians sometimes appreciate the extent of their own cultural diversity and the interactions taking place across ethnic and regional boundaries.
He also recalled his experience as an undergraduate, when ideological differences were fiercely debated but conducted with mutual respect, saying the political environment has increasingly become characterised by ethnic divisions and hateful rhetoric.
“Students of Eskor Toyo called me Bourgeoise apologist along with Iyorchia Ayu who would call me and say I want to meet your Bourgeoise friends. And we would all laugh about it,” he recalled.
Utomi said that, despite their ideological differences at the time, the disagreements did not prevent people from maintaining relationships and respecting opposing viewpoints.
He lamented that contemporary political and social disagreements had increasingly taken an ethnic dimension, with the language of public discourse becoming more hostile.
The professor said these divisions were particularly troubling because they occurred against the backdrop of pressing national challenges requiring collective attention and action.
He cited the condition of the Enugu-Awka road, associated with the concrete-road project of Works Minister Dave Umahi, saying portions of the road were already rough despite the project not having been commissioned.
He also expressed concern over insecurity in parts of Anambra State, saying bandits continued to prevent some women from harvesting tubers they had planted.
Precise Post recalls that Utomi’s remarks followed a recent visit to Geneva, where he said he spent time at the World Trade Organisation and elsewhere in Europe advocating a new narrative on Africa and drawing attention to what he called the “prejudice premium” imposed on the continent by the international financial system.
He said his mission also involved encouraging African states to “crack the mystery of capital” by making the continent’s vast assets more fungible and capable of attracting investment-grade capital.
Utomi argued that while Nigeria and Africa face significant economic and developmental challenges, the country’s diversity should be viewed as an asset rather than a source of division.
