Pat Utomi Launches Movement to Mobilise 7.2m Nigerians for Protest against Political Elite
Renowned professor of political economy, Pat Utomi, has unveiled a nationwide movement aimed at mobilising 7.2 million Nigerians to take to the streets of Abuja in protest against the country’s political elite.
Speaking on News Central’s *Breakfast Central*, Utomi said the protest—dubbed *Freedom Converge*—is part of a broader effort to wrest power back from what he described as a “captured state” run by self-serving leaders.
“The government is doing everything to silence the voices of the people,” Utomi said. “That’s why Nigerians must rise and reclaim their country.”
Quoting Bishop Onah of Nsukka, he added: “A country where leaders no longer fear the people is as good as dead. Unfortunately, that’s the Nigeria we live in today. The political class has lost all respect for the citizens.”
Utomi lamented that Nigeria’s democracy has been weakened by fear, intimidation, and violence—worse, he said, than during military rule.
“Fifty years ago, as a student, we could freely protest under military regimes,” he recalled. “Now, civilians are using bullets against fellow citizens simply for speaking out. That’s not democracy.”
The planned protest, he clarified, is not a one-day event but a month-long mobilisation that will culminate in a massive, symbolic gathering in the capital.
“We’re not just staging a protest,” Utomi explained. “We’re creating a process—a national movement—designed to remind Nigerians that they are the true owners of this country.”
He said the build-up to the Abuja convergence will include concerts, discussions, and public forums across the country, all aimed at educating Nigerians about their rights and the power of collective action.
“Inspired by the 1964 March on Washington led by Martin Luther King Jr., we’re organising activities in cities like Maiduguri, Sokoto, Yenagoa, Asaba, Ado-Ekiti, and beyond. People will join the movement in convoys and trailers, all dressed in green-white-green, moving toward Abuja from every direction.”
Utomi envisions a powerful visual—a sea of Nigerians united under the national flag—marching peacefully into the capital, creating an unforgettable image from space.
“This is about sending a clear message: enough is enough,” he said. “We have the constitutional right to protest. And if anyone tries to stop us, they should know—we won’t back down.”
The post Pat Utomi Launches Movement to Mobilise 7.2m Nigerians for Protest against Political Elite appeared first on Kano Times.
