Renowned economist and political activist, Professor Pat Utomi, has revealed that he once declined an offer to serve as a minister in the cabinet of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Utomi made this disclosure while reflecting on his longstanding commitment to independent political advocacy and his desire to maintain an unfiltered voice in national discourse.
Speaking in a recent interview, Utomi recounted how President Yar’Adua, who led Nigeria from 2007 until his death in 2010, personally tried to persuade him to join the federal cabinet. “I have been asked to be a minister before I turned it down. The last person who did that was President Yar’Adua and he went the extra mile. For two hours, he was talking to me to persuade me to join,” Utomi explained.
Utomi said his decision was not motivated by any aversion to public service, but rather by his belief in the importance of an independent opposition voice in African politics. He argued that, too often, strong critics are co-opted into government roles, only for their voices to be diluted or silenced. “One of the biggest challenges we have in Africa is what is called the corporatist state in post-colonial Africa. There’s a tendency to look for a strong voice of opposition and drag the voice into government, so as to rubbish it or to weaken it,” he said.
Instead of accepting the ministerial position, Utomi advised President Yar’Adua to appoint seven competent and principled individuals to key ministries, assuring the president that he would always be available to offer honest advice as a patriot. “You can wake me up at any time, at 2:00 a.m., ask for my views and I will give it to you honestly. Let those hustlers who are looking for jobs, they can contract awards. Let the seven good people man certain critical ministries. That all these hustlers who are looking for jobs can have contract awards. I emphasized that the seven people will make the government work,” Utomi recounted.
Utomi’s revelation comes shortly after he launched a “shadow government” initiative aimed at providing constructive criticism and alternative policy ideas to President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
His story underscores the ongoing debate in Nigeria about the value of independent voices in governance and the risks of co-opting critics into the establishment.