Pat Utomi
Pat Utomi, professor of political economy, has berated the All Progressives Congress (APC) for denigrating his launch of a shadow cabinet.
Felix Morka, spokesperson of the APC, had referred to Utomi as an “intellectual drama king” after the professor unveiled his ‘Big Tent Coalition Shadow Government’.
In a series of posts on X, Utomi said the ruling party’s reaction shows that the government is afraid of scrutiny.
“Many years ago, Felix Morka sat in the back of my car with me as the driver sped to appointments,” he wrote.
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“His mission was to urge me to do some of the things I am doing today. Now I am a drama king. Many playwrights would like that title. Think I love it. Will not dignify him with response.”
Utomi said the level of anxiety from the government over basic civic engagement is alarming.
“I have never seen a democratic government panic so much because citizens are getting together to make rational requests of how they are carrying out the agency function,” he said.
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“Wow. There must be so much to hide, scrutiny frightens them. How did we sink so low?”
He said a mature government would have welcomed the initiative as part of the democratic culture.
“If Abuja people were smart, their response to the shadow cabinet would have been to say that as true democrats they welcome scrutiny and opening up of the public sphere to a robust marketplace of ideas,” Utomi said.
“Even those who thought the worst of the state of our democracy are shocked at the panic.”
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On April 24, Utomi said he was working to mobilise 7.2 million Nigerians to converge on Abuja in protest against Nigeria’s political elite.
Utomi said the protest, tagged ‘Freedom Converge’, is aimed at reclaiming the country from “entrenched systems of state capture and self-serving leadership”.
