Nigerians celebrate Pat Utomi at 70

In a society where age often ushers public figures into quiet retirement, there is a Nigerian who, even at 70, has remained fiercely present through his thoughts and intervention. The man is Pat Utomi, a professor of political economy.

His personality and what he has stood for over the years were behind the noiseless but epoch-making event that took centre stage on 5 February.

The event organised by Prime Business Africa unfurled not in a banquet hall or under the glare of state power, but in a webinar that convened the cerebrals and persons with solid credentials to honour Mr Utomi at 70.

The theme, “Leadership and Governance in West Africa: Lessons from a Lifetime of Service,” was an apt description of the life under review.

That service has made him, in the lifting metaphor used by the moderator and journalist Jahman Anikulapo, “an elephant who is everywhere.”

“He is everywhere,” Mr Anikulapo said, setting the tone. “Politics, academics, business, media. I don’t even see him as a politician. I see him as an interventionist in politics.”

Like the elephant, Mr Utomi’s presence has been large, impossible to ignore, and deeply consequential to the terrain he traverses.

Day of reckoning with values

Welcoming participants, the Editor-in-Chief of Prime Business Africa, Marcel Mbamalu, said the occasion was both a celebration and a moral reckoning.

“It is a big day for us. Prof Pat Utomi is accomplished in academics, business and beyond, yet he remains approachable and accessible.”

What Mr Mbamalu admired most, however, was not Mr Utomi’s résumé, but his resistance to compromise, convenience, and ethical shortcuts.

“In a society where everyone seems ready to bend the rules to get ahead, when people want to play ball, he will not only stand firm, he will preach to them why they shouldn’t. And he acts what he preaches,” he said.

That ethical stubbornness, Mr Mbamalu noted, has come at a cost, which includes hostility, isolation, and political travails. Yet, at 70, Mr Utomi appears unconquered, still vibrant with ideas, still optimistic about Nigeria.

“Looking at him, you would never know he is 70,” Mr Mbamalu added, with a laugh. “He still looks like a man hitting his prime.”

Knowledge in the push for transformation

For Bongo Adi, a professor of economics and data analytics, Mr Utomi is an epitome of a rare synthesis of intellect and humanity.

“Before artificial intelligence, we had Prof,” he said.

Mr Adi, an economic expert, recalled a generation of readers who eagerly awaited Mr Utomi’s newspaper columns, memorising his phrases, borrowing his arguments, and sharpening their own thinking through his prose.

“He is an economist, but he breaks things down,” he said. “When you read him, you see the good, the true and the beautiful, which are ethics, science and art combined.”

Mr Utomi’s knowledge, he said, is not performative. It is directed at transforming the human person and, by extension, society.

“If he hasn’t referenced you, then maybe you haven’t made an impact in academics. The way he talks, you know he has given his life to reading,” Mr Adi added.

Utomi marries the town and gown

That commitment to reform was offered insight by Abiodun Adeniyi, professor of communication and registrar of Baze University, Abuja, who described Mr Utomi as a thinker obsessed with legacy.

“He once told us at Lagos Business School that leadership is ordered, value-centred behaviour. Our problem is that people behave in ways that favour themselves and their friends, not society,” he said.

Mr Utomi’s work on state capture, Mr Adeniyi noted, laid bare how Nigeria’s institutions have been pocketed by a few, hollowing out governance and public trust.

“He marries town and gown. He brings theory to practice. He tells stories that are didactic, and you learn from them,” he said.

Yet, there was also regret in Mr Adeniyi’s voice.

“The tragedy is that people like this often grow old without being properly celebrated,” he said, referencing the late human rights lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi. “We hope it won’t be the same with Pat Utomi.”

Leadership beyond office

Former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, mentioned Mr Utomi’s influence in his refusal to disappear from the scene after public service. Mr Utomi had served as a special assistant to President Shehu Shagari in 1982 at the age of 26, but the position was short-lived due to the military coup that ended the Second Republic in 1983.

“When he left office, he moved on to his future, not his past. Many fade away. He did not,” Mr Chidoka said of Mr Utomi.

Nigeria’s failure, he argued, lies in its reluctance to accept that knowledge matters in leadership.

“There are those who know, and those who don’t. It is those who know that should lead,” he said.

Loaded bus of ideas

Okey Ikechukwu, a professor of strategic management and human capital development, offered one of the day’s standout, vivid images.

“Prof Pat Utomi is a loaded bus,” he said. “We should allow him to offload what he has.”

Mr Utomi, he asserted, has led without title, governed his conduct with dignity, and refused to accept what is unacceptable.

“He is not poor in cash or ideas. He believes that knowledge and capacity cannot be hidden. He is a man of legacy,” Mr Ikechukwu said.

Ethics as the missing link

For Chinyere Okunna, a professor of mass communications, the central deficit in Nigeria and Africa remains ethics.

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“Our leaders are there for selfish interest. And there is no belief in goodness for the people,” she said. She recalled her first political encounter with Mr Utomi during the movement from the Peoples Democratic Party to the Labour Party.

“That was when I knew he had values,” Mrs Okunna said. “We have a few people at 70 still shining. The younger generation will look at you and draw hope.”

Humbled response

When Mr Utomi finally spoke, it was not with triumph, but with gratitude and a rain of emotions.

“The kindness of these words overwhelms me. It would take many retirement years to respond,” he said.

He remembered friends who were ill, colleagues who had passed away, teachers whose shoulders bore his journey, and communities that shaped his humanity.

“I am because we are,” he said softly, invoking the African ethic of shared existence. “A broom is more resistant than a broomstick.”

His gratitude stretched across generations, from elders to younger professionals, from visible leaders to quiet pillars.

“My bouquet of gratitude is too large to carry with elegance,” he concluded. “So I yield.”