Political economist, Pat Utomi, has lamented that the country is collapsing under poverty, insecurity, institutional decay, and elite failure.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition during a media briefing, Utomi stated that the situation has become an existential crisis requiring urgent civic action and responsible leadership.
He identified poverty as the most visible sign of leadership failure, noting, “that 75 per cent of rural Nigerians now live in chronic poverty. Hunger is ravaging the land.”
Utomi said, “We envision Nigeria as a beacon for African progress, leading a flock of nations toward prosperity, much like the Asian Tigers. But to achieve this, we must confront hard truths. We must wake up to the suffering around us.
“The rural economy has collapsed. Farmers can’t farm, and yet our political elite are obsessed with convoys, jets, and SUVs. It’s morally bankrupt.”
Warning of an unfolding food crisis, he said, “Over 30 million Nigerians are at risk of severe food insecurity during the June–August lean season. Our agriculture team raised this alarm months ago, but the government was too distracted by propaganda.”
To address this, Utomi proposed structural reforms, including overhauling land tenure laws, empowering universities for extension services, and supporting agro-processing clusters.
He said, “Just as land grant universities revolutionised U.S. farming, we must re-engage our academic institutions in agriculture.”
On insecurity, Utomi, who stressed the link between poverty and rising violence, said, “Poverty makes people easy recruits for terrorists and criminals. We need decentralised policing; let local governments and states manage their security.”
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