Professor of Political Economy, Pat Utomi, says Nigeria’s trajectory would have looked markedly different had former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua survived his illness and completed his term in office.
Utomi made the remarks during an appearance on Csuite Cafe, describing the late president as a genuinely patriotic leader who wanted the best for the country, despite his shortcomings.
Yar’Adua died on May 5, 2010, roughly three years into his presidency, and was succeeded by his then deputy, Goodluck Jonathan.
Sharing a personal account of his dealings with the former president, Utomi recalled being invited to the Presidential Villa, where Yar’Adua tried to persuade him to join his cabinet as a minister. Utomi said he turned down the offer, arguing he could be more useful giving independent advice from outside government — a position Yar’Adua pushed back on, insisting he would have greater impact working from within.
“Nigeria would have been a different place had Yar’Adua lived. He was really and truly a committed patriot as president,” Utomi said. “He may have made a mistake here and there, but he was a committed patriot who wanted Nigeria to move forward.”
According to Utomi, the encounter happened on a Friday when Yar’Adua was in a meeting with his economic team. The president made his case for Utomi to come on board, but Utomi maintained that impact mattered more to him than a title, and he doubted he could achieve that within what he described as a difficult political environment under the then-ruling PDP.
Utomi said Yar’Adua persisted, telling him he had already assembled a “shadow government” of independent advisers and offering to meet with its members directly to convince them to join forces with his administration instead.
“He said he was willing to talk to all of them and say to them that they can come and join his government to build the country together. That is a spirit of leadership that this country needs desperately,” Utomi said.
As a compromise, Utomi said he offered to submit a list of seven Nigerians he considered capable of contributing meaningfully to the administration. He said he handed the list to Stephen Oronsaye, then Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, to pass on to Yar’Adua.
Before the list could reach him, however, Yar’Adua fell ill and travelled abroad for medical treatment — leaving Utomi uncertain whether the president ever saw it.
“I gave it to Steve Oronsaye to give him. He took ill around that time and went abroad. The rest is history,” Utomi said. “Someone later told me that Yar’Adua did not get the list and that he must have died thinking he was snubbed.”
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