A Professor of political economy, Pat Utomi has described the economy of Nigeria as fundamentally an underperforming entity.
He spoke at the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka during its 11th Jacksonite Annual Lecture, organised by the Department of Mass Communication.
He lamented the various setbacks in the country, despite that it is hugely endowed with a lot of human and material resources.
Utomi said that Nigeria in the last 30 years had descended into an anti- intellectual culture, as politicians failed to welcome suggestions by great men intended to move the country forward.
The professor of political economy, who spoke on the theme, “The media and the development challenge in Nigeria at a time of crisis,”said the failure to respect the ideas of intellectuals is the reason Nigeria has continued to experience leadership crisis and poor development.
He however, expressed optimism that the many challenges facing Nigeria could be turned into opportunities for success, if the right people are in power and the right measures are taken.
According to him, these are very trying times in the history of the country as countless people are being killed on daily basis due to insurgency in the north, and the recurrent clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the north-central.
He said: “Nigeria had 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.
In his address, Head, Department of Mass Communication, UNN, Dr. Luke Anorue, sought the support of Utomi and the university’s administration towards upgrading the learning environment in the department.
Anorue also called on all the alumni of the department to contribute towards upgrading teaching and learning facilities in the department, citing television, radio, news editing and advertising/public relations laboratories, as some of the things needed to upgrade learning in the department.
