Pat Utomi, as he is fondly called, who hails from Ibusa in Delta State, was born in Kaduna, on February 6, 1956. He went to school virtually in all of the six zones in the country and graduated at every level ahead of his peers and age-mates.
As a multi-talented fellow, Prof. Utomi has reached the top in different endeavours, becoming one of Nigeria’s top managers in manufacturing before his 33rd birthday, reaching a Presidential Advisory position at 27; earning two Masters Degrees and a Ph.D. at 26 from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA. He earned his professorship and global acknowledgement as a leading scholar in Business, Political Economy and Media Studies in his forties. His first publication in a refereed international journal appeared in 1981 in a European Journal, Gazette.
Pat Utomi is, perhaps, the first candidate for President in Nigeria to be formally endorsed by such renowned scholars as Nigeria’s sole Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka and Prof. Sam Aluko, among others. Honored by so many professional bodies as a distinguished fellow, he has collected more than 700 plaques that mark a life of service.
He has served on the key apex private sector associations, including the Lagos Chamber of Commerce, The National Council of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA). He is active on the international speaking circuit, especially on the subjects of Growth Economics, Comparative Development Economics, Leadership, the Curse of Oil and China’s Economic surge and growing influence in Africa.
Pat Utomi has collaborated frequently with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington and Chatham House in the UK. He has also written commissioned papers for the DFID including the latest collaboration with colleagues from Oxford on the Political Economy of growth in Nigeria. He is a visiting scholar at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Pat Utomi was voted one of the top 10 Nigerian Living Legends in the Vanguard Newspaper/Silver Bird Television poll in 2009. He has written dozens of first-class books and numerous chapters in edited volumes. He ran for President of Nigeria in 2007 and 2011 and has passionately pursued the building of a viable opposition political party in Nigeria and transparent, accountable government. Pat Utomi is deeply religious and highly devoted to his family.
Pat Utomi is married to Isioma Utomi, a medical doctor, and they are blessed with children. Prof. Utomi, who is widely traveled through all the continents of the world, has visited more than eighty countries.
