A professor of Political economy, Pat Utomi has said that
failure to respect the ideas of intellectuals is the reason why Nigeria
continues to experience leadership crisis and poor development.
He made this known at the 11th
Jacksonite Annual Lecture, organized by the Department of Mass Communication,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, July 3. The lecture went with the theme: The
media and the development challenge in Nigeria at a time of crisis.
Utomi
said that Nigeria in the last 30 years has descended into an anti- intellectual
culture as politicians have always failed to welcome suggestions by great men
intended to move the country forward.
According to him, these are very trying times in the history
of the country as countless people are being killed on daily basis owing to
insurgency in the north and the now recurrent clashes between farmers and
herdsmen in the North- central.
He said that the economy of
Nigeria is fundamentally an underperforming one even though the country is
hugely endowed with a lot of human and material resources adding that all of
these setbacks are a result of failed leadership.
He
further noted that there continues to be an exodus of people from Nigeria
because there is the perception that the prevalent situation in the country
could grow from bad to worse with time.
“Nigeria
has been in the firm grip of a few since 1966 and this group of people does not
have the needed knowledge to salvage the country from the precipice of failure”
he said.
He,
however, expressed optimism that the many challenges facing Nigeria can be
turned into opportunities for success when the right people are in power and
the right measures are taken.
He
said that the media can contribute to enhance rigor in policy choice and
encourage a culture of reasoned public conversation on policy matters as well
as play up the activities of civil society that results in strong institutions
with more effective investment in human capital.
“The media can shape the future
of our country with a culture that is aligned to progress from social
responsibility orientation because they are at the heart of cultural
conversation. With that, Nigeria can reach the heights its founding fathers
dreamt” he said.
In
his words “to vision the future based on a burden and pull others together to
make what was yesterday’s impossible tomorrow’s routine in the face of the drag
against the wind of change is really what progress is about”.
Speaking
earlier, Head of the Department of Mass Communication, UNN, Dr Luke Anorue,
recalled with gratitude the great contributions of Prof. Utomi and the
University administration towards academic excellence in mass communication,
UNN. He, however, called on the erudite Prof Utomi and the University
administration to do more to upgrade learning in the department. Areas in great
need of upgrade, according to Dr Anorue, were the television, radio, news
editing and advertising/PR labs. The HOD also called on all the alumni of the
department to contribute their quota towards upgrading teaching and learning by
helping in the areas mentioned as well as in boosting the capacity of lecturers
through sponsorship of refresher courses.
Highpoint of the event was the presentation of the award of
Distinguished Jacksonites Ambassador to Prof. Pat Utomi for his giant
developmental strides towards the Department of Mass Communication, UNN.
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