Professor of Political Economy, Pat Utomi, has said Nigeria could have taken a different political and economic direction if former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had survived and completed his tenure.
Utomi, who spoke on the ‘Csuite Cafe’ interview programme, described the late president as a committed patriot who genuinely wanted to move the country forward.
Yar’Adua died on May 5, 2010, and was succeeded by his then Vice-President, Goodluck Jonathan.
Recalling his relationship with the late president, Utomi said Yar’Adua once invited him to the Presidential Villa and tried to persuade him to join his cabinet as a minister.
The professor said he declined, explaining that he believed he could make a greater impact by offering independent advice rather than joining the government.
“Nigeria would have been a different place had Yar Adua lived. He was really and truly a committed patriot as president,” Utomi said.
“He may have made a mistake here and there but he was a committed patriot who wanted Nigeria to move forward.
“One Friday, he invited me over to the villa to try and persuade me to join his cabinet. We met in his office. He was in the meeting with the economic team.
“He made the pitch on why I should join his government. I said to him that the thing is not joining but impact and I don’t think I can have impact in this kind of PDP environment.
“The best I can do as a patriot is to give advice anytime of the day. He said that is not good enough, inside you can make a difference more than what you can say outside.”
Utomi said Yar’Adua remained persistent during the conversation, but he eventually told the president that joining his cabinet would be difficult because he had already helped establish a shadow government.
According to him, Yar’Adua offered to meet members of the shadow government himself and persuade them to join his administration in the interest of national development.
“He said he was willing to talk to all of them and say to them that they can come and join his government to build the country together. That is a spirit of leadership that this country needs desperately,” Utomi said.
The political economist said he later proposed giving Yar’Adua the names of seven Nigerians whom he believed had the capacity to contribute meaningfully to the government.
He eventually compiled the list and sent it to the late president through Stephen Oronsaye, a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
“I went back and wrote the names of seven people across Nigeria who I thought have capacity and could make a difference,” he said.
“I gave it to Steve Oronsaye to give him. He took ill around that time and went abroad. The rest is history.”
Utomi said he later learnt that Yar’Adua might never have received the list before his death.
According to him, someone subsequently told him that the late president may have died believing that Utomi had deliberately ignored his request.
The revelation has renewed attention on Yar’Adua’s leadership style and the political possibilities that could have emerged had his administration continued beyond 2010.
