By Our Reporter
ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – Professor of political economy Pat Utomi has reflected on Nigeria’s political history, recalling the influential group of thinkers popularly known as the “Kaduna Mafia” and arguing that their intellectual contributions helped shape the country’s development in its formative years.
Utomi, in a post reflecting on the country’s political evolution, said he woke up thinking about “thoughtful people” whose ideas and interventions once made Nigeria a country of promise.
He said the “Kaduna Mafia” became one of the most enduring myths in Nigeria’s political history, largely as a result of writings by the late political editor, Nduka Onu.
According to him, however, beyond the mythology surrounding the group were a number of thoughtful Nigerians who lived around one another in Kaduna and regularly exchanged ideas on how to make the country work.
Utomi said his research for a PhD thesis on “The Policy Process and Economic Development” gave him an opportunity to understand some of the personalities associated with the group and their contributions to Nigeria’s policy process.
He explained that the men were generally intellectuals and public-minded individuals who drew from their experiences in Northern Nigeria while engaging in conversations about the future of the country.
“Writing a PhD thesis on the Policy Process and Economic Development helped me get to know some of these men,” Utomi said.
“They were typically thoughtful men who lived close to each other in Kaduna and talked often about how to make Nigeria work, bringing in the perspective of where they lived.”
The economist noted that the Kaduna-based thinkers also maintained relationships with like-minded Nigerians in Lagos, whom he said were similarly portrayed through another media-created myth as the “Super Permsecs.”
He said the two networks of intellectuals and public figures would consult one another whenever they sensed that political or national problems were brewing, often contributing ideas that helped Nigeria navigate difficult moments.
“They had friends in Lagos like other thoughtful men who another media myth called Super Permsecs. Whenever trouble looked like it was brewing, they consulted each other and a way out was usually found,” he said.
Utomi lamented that the generation associated with the Kaduna Mafia and the Lagos intellectual circle had largely disappeared, leaving very few of the personalities who played significant roles in Nigeria’s public affairs.
“Today the Kaduna Mafia is gone and Izoma Philip Asiodu seems the only one left of the Super Permsecs,” he said.
He, however, warned against taking historical myths literally, noting that the tendency to turn political narratives into established myths could distort a proper understanding of how Nigeria’s institutions and political processes evolved.
“The reification of myths can distort understanding,” Utomi said.
Despite this caution, he argued that history had demonstrated the importance of thoughtful networks, institutions and individuals in driving national progress.
“History shows how institutions evolve to drive progress,” he added.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s present condition, Utomi lamented that the country had moved far from the optimism associated with the period when such networks of intellectuals were actively engaging with national challenges.
“Now we know the Kaduna Mafia was a blessing,” he concluded.
Precise Post recalls that Utomi’s comments come amid renewed debates about Nigeria’s political history, the quality of leadership and the role of intellectuals and institutions in shaping the country’s development trajectory.
