Renowned Nigerian economist and political activist, Professor Pat Utomi, has revealed that he rejected a ministerial appointment from the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in a bid to preserve his independence and voice in the nation’s political space. In a candid interview with Sunday Sun, Utomi detailed how President Yar’Adua spent two hours trying to convince him to accept a role in his cabinet — a rare move by any sitting president.
Utomi, known for his outspokenness and his recently launched “shadow government” aimed at holding President Bola Tinubu’s administration accountable, said he believed he could serve Nigeria better from outside the system rather than being absorbed into it.
“I turned it down. The last person who offered me a ministerial post was President Yar’Adua… Two hours, he was talking to me to persuade me to join,” Utomi recounted. He cited the “corporatist state” nature of post-colonial African politics, where critics are often silenced once integrated into government roles.
Utomi emphasized that while he valued public service and had formal training in political science, he feared losing his independent voice. Instead, he offered a patriotic alternative. “I told him to find seven good people. I would help identify them, and he could bring them into government,” Utomi said. True to his word, he returned to Lagos, compiled the list, and delivered it to Steve Oronsaye, a top official at the time. But he never received a follow-up.
Utomi later discovered that President Yar’Adua may never have seen the list before his health deteriorated. “I was told by someone very senior that the envelope might not have reached him and that he may have thought I snubbed him during his final days, which is absolutely not true,” Utomi clarified emotionally.
This revelation sheds light on the often-unseen tensions between activism and governance in Nigeria and highlights Utomi’s commitment to integrity over position.