A political coalition known as The Big Tent has warned that Nigeria is collapsing under the weight of poverty, insecurity, institutional decay, and elite failure.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition at a media briefing, Convener Professor Pat Utomi described the situation as an “existential crisis requiring urgent civic action and responsible leadership.”
“We envision Nigeria as a beacon of African progress, leading a flock of nations toward prosperity much like the Asian Tigers,” Utomi said. “But to achieve this, we must confront hard truths. We must wake up to the suffering around us.”
He identified poverty as the most visible evidence of leadership failure, noting that 75% of rural Nigerians now live in chronic poverty. “Hunger is ravaging the land,” he said. “The rural economy has collapsed. Farmers can’t farm, yet our political elite are obsessed with convoys, private jets, and luxury SUVs. It’s morally bankrupt.”
Utomi warned of an unfolding food crisis, stating that over 30 million Nigerians are at risk of severe food insecurity during the June–August lean season. He added that the government ignored earlier warnings raised by agricultural experts within the coalition.
To address the crisis, he proposed structural reforms including an overhaul of land tenure laws, empowering universities to provide agricultural extension services, and establishing agro-processing clusters.
“Just as land-grant universities transformed U.S. agriculture, we must re-engage our academic institutions to drive innovation and support in farming,” he said.
On insecurity, Utomi emphasized the connection between poverty and rising violence: “Poverty makes people easy recruits for terrorists and criminals. We need decentralised policing—local governments and states must be allowed to manage their security.”
He also called for regionally driven economic development: “From cocoa in the South-West to lithium in the North-Central, each region has untapped potential. But growth must be led by the private sector, with government acting as a smart enabler.”