Pat Utomi, professor of political economy, says Nigeria would have been a “different place” if former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had not died in office.

Speaking in an interview programme titled: ‘Csuite Cafe’, Utomi described late Yar’Adua as a “committed patriot” who desired to see Nigeria move forward.

Yar’Adua died on May 5, 2010, and was succeeded by his then vice-president, Goodluck Jonathan.

Utomi said Yar’Adua once invited him to the Presidential Villa and tried to persuade him to join his cabinet as a minister.

The professor said he told the late president that he would prefer to offer advice when consulted rather than serve as a minister.

Utomi said Yar’Adua insisted that he could do more for the country as a minister than by working from outside the government.

“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.

“One Friday, he invited me over to the villa to try and persuade me to join his cabinet. We met in his office. He was in the meeting with the economic team.

“He made the pitch on why I should join his government. I said to him that the thing is not joining but impact and I don’t think I can have impact in this kind of PDP environment.

“The best I can do as a patriot is to give advice anytime of the day. He said that is not good enough, inside you can make a difference more than what you can say outside.”

Utomi added that after several minutes of persuasion, he told the president it would be ridiculous for him to join the cabinet after forming a shadow government.

Utomi said Yar’Adua volunteered to speak with members of the shadow government to convince them on why they should join his cabinet.

“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.

Utomi said he later suggested that he would give the president a list of seven names of persons who will work with him to move the country forward.

Utomi said he sent the list to Yar’Adua through Stephen Oronsaye, a former head of the civil service of the federation.

“I went back and wrote the names of seven people across Nigeria who I thought have capacity and could make a difference,” he said.

“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 him that Yar’Adua did not get the list and that he must have died thinking he was snubbed.

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