PAT UTOMI ATTRIBUTE DESTRUCTION OF NIGERIAN ECONOMY TO WEAK INSTITUTION

Professor Pat Utomi

Professor Pat Utomi, an expert in political economy, entrepreneurship and management, has stated that weak institutions had been a drag on the nation’s economic progress, stressing that there was an urgent need to diversify the base of the economy.

Prof. Utomi made this known while speaking on ‘Institutions, culture, and inclusive private sector rapid growth’ at The Platform, a forum organised by Covenant Christian Centre in Lagos. Tectono Business Review’s Chief Ugwokeh Nnaemeka was there. According to the professor, institutions set boundaries and help to reduce uncertainties.

As he was noting the importance of quality policy choices, he revealed that weak institutions could be an obstruction to the implementation, a situation that had seen the country move two steps forward and four steps backwards.

He said: “We keep repeating our past experiences because our institutions are weak. Institution building is part of the critical challenge of nation-building. Human capital is critical for economic development. Unless people are well-educated and have the right skills, we will not be able to make progress. Developing human capital is very critical.

Entrepreneurship is essential to wealth creation, and if we are going to grow out of the challenges that we face today, we will have to create value machines in the ways that our people think. Values shape human progress. Without the right values, you cannot make progress.”

The professor of entrepreneurship and alumnus of the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka stated that every part of the country had endowments that could be harnessed to make the country a high-growth economy.

In his own words: “Just look at the endowments of our country; why have we for 30 years talked repeatedly about diversifying the base of our economy and have done nothing about it.”