News, Politics

Utomi Laments

Professor Pat Utomi, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has lamented over the turnaround of the party…

“I was a member of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) when the APC was founded, we were trying to merge. My protest has been simple and straightforward, opposition, and politics for change. I don’t change political party; when the political party cannot bring change from within, I will withdraw and leave partisan political life.”

“I helped found the APC and we had our ideals. Has it been 100 percent what we hoped for? Far from it. Have we been unhappy at many points? Yes indeed, but everything is about evolution. In the Conservative and Labour parties in England, they have those they call backbenchers. These are people who are not happy with the things that are going on in the party and want a different thrust.”

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“The Labour Party was floundering and doing so terribly and the backbenchers were in revolt until Tony Blair and Gordon Brown worked out some kind of third wing coalition that brought the Labour Party out of the doldrums. In that same way, I am convinced that if we are serious as political actors, we can find people who are not happy with the way things are going in our party to join hands together and we can make a difference. That is exactly what I am trying to do with this my final effort to provide example before I exit from partisan politics.”

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“In the last one and half years or so, I have received quite a lot of comments, some accusatory others encouraging, but all asking me how I could be working on how to better the society for this long, yet the place I come from is the ultimate source of embarrassment in terms of development experience. They all said that my home state (Delta state) is in a sorry state of development.”

“I have taught about it in many different ways, the one that really got to me was when the Old Boys Association of Government College Ughelli, sought to see me. When they came they made a presentation of why I should go in and I told them why I was tired and that I had done enough and that nobody would hold it against me, that I had done enough and don’t think that Nigerians are ready to think about making progress. I couldn’t see why people work against their own good. Those conversations led to my decision to contest one final time to ensure that I absolve myself completely of blame.”