Professor of political economy, Pat Utomi, has warned that rising poverty, hunger, insecurity and declining public confidence in government institutions are pushing Nigerians to the brink.

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This is as he urged citizens to resist the erosion of democratic values ahead of the 2027 elections.

Utomi spoke on Wednesday in Lagos while addressing journalists on the state of the nation and efforts by civil society groups to promote credible elections in 2027.

He said the level of hardship in the country had become alarming, with millions of Nigerians facing food insecurity and struggling to meet their basic needs.

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“I will begin and focus majorly on the state of the Nigerian people and Nigeria. The state of our nation is troubling. The pain, the hunger and the anger in the land are so palpable you could slice it with a blunt knife.

“The poverty numbers from the World Bank are numbing, and we heard from the International Monetary Fund that our fellow citizens living in food insecurity are as many as 35 million people,” he said.

Utomi also noted that the country’s economic difficulties were being worsened by deteriorating infrastructure.

He cited the Lagos-Ibadan-Onitsha economic corridor, particularly the Benin-Asaba section of the highway, as an example of the country’s infrastructure challenges.

According to him, a journey that previously took about one hour and 10 minutes now takes more than three hours, while some highways in Edo State had deteriorated to mud tracks.

He also expressed concern over the persistence of insecurity, saying the crisis had continued to affect communities and undermine economic activities.

📰 Source: Punch Nigeria