Utomi to FG: Restore critical institutions, credible polls, laws to rescue Nigeria

Former presidential candidate, Prof. Pat Utomi, has declared that Nigeria might be heading for a collapse if critical institutions, credible elections and constitutional democracy were not restored.

Utomi who made the statement in Enugu on Thursday at the ongoing 22nd Conference of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, noted that that unless there was critical value of institutions, credible elections as well as precise laws, the nation might head to a fall.

He said that if nothing was done to remedy the situation and put Nigeria’s electoral process in the right perspective, people would lose interest and the apathy would lead to a collapse of the system.

“If the people are convinced that there is no point, what is an election? Imagine the amount of money we waste to have elections that are totally meaningless.

“Because they do not legitimise anybody. Everybody assumes that elections are problems,” he said.

He asserted that once the people began to recognise and accept the electoral process, the path to greatness would be paved and stability would ensue.

“But if we really recognise the value of the electoral process, and it has great value. This is institution building. A good part of my adult life, I have passionately researched and written about institutions and economic performance. You can tell countries that fail from countries that succeed by essentially looking at their institutions.

“Boundaries that define behaviour. Within the boundaries, you can anticipate outcomes. Outside the boundaries, there are consequences. Because of it, uncertainty is reduced, transaction costs are lowered, and people can grow and make progress.

“What has happened to us, unfortunately, is because the abnormal has become so accepted that the transaction costs of engaging in Nigeria are such that we are only heading in one direction, ultimate collapse.

“Anybody who wants, they can test me. It doesn’t happen next year, two years, but if nothing changes, Nigeria will collapse and it will cost millions of lives.

“Because you see, if people realise that they can’t do anything about anything, they keep quiet. And today, they get angry enough, they destroy something. And we descend into our market.

“Look, in 1999, an American called Kepler wrote a book titled “The Coming Anarchy. He projected how this part of the world would collapse into our market,” he pointed out.

Lamenting about the parlous electoral system in Nigeria, he likened Nigeria to Somalia that once degenerated into anarchy, positing that Nigeria could drift if nothing drastic was done to remedy the situation.

‘We saw what happened in Somalia. But somehow, we managed to keep laughing about it. But it’s coming at us,” he intimated.

He, however, suggested that with all hands on deck, Nigeria could be bailed out of the murky waters.

“And journalists, editors, the gatekeepers, have an even more important role to play in that regard than lawyers. But lawyers have an extremely important role,” Utomi warned.