Renowned political economist and public intellectual, Pat Utomi, has warned that Nigeria’s current governance conditions are worse than those experienced under former military ruler, Sani Abacha.

Utomi made the assertion during an interview on ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, where he said the country is witnessing an alarming level of executive overreach and institutional decline.

“We have reached a moment. We are in conditions presently in terms of manipulations of the executive branch worse than we were under Abacha,” he said.

He noted that Nigeria is at a critical point, with democratic institutions facing increasing pressure amid rising political tensions and insecurity across parts of the country.

Utomi also expressed concern over what he described as a growing erosion of empathy within the political class, warning that the country risks losing its sense of shared humanity.

“Every new day, something reminds us of the question of our humanity in Nigeria. The very essence of our humanity is solidarity… If we lose it, we’ve lost everything. And we seem to be losing it,” he said.

He criticised leaders for treating the loss of lives as mere statistics rather than human tragedies.

“We seem to have a political elite that sees the death of Nigerians as just another statistic. It is not. It is a sad, sad moment for our country,” Utomi added.

Referencing recurring violence, particularly in Plateau State, he said many of the crises had long been predicted but remain unresolved.

“These deaths were predicted long ago… and after all these years, we cannot fix it. It shows that the Leviathan has lost its essence,” he stated.

On the economic front, Utomi said Nigeria ranks poorly on global wellbeing indicators, describing the situation as dire.

“Take any misery index in the world. Nigeria is almost at the very bottom,” he said.

He further alleged attempts to stifle dissent, citing incidents involving protests at the National Assembly.

“If they try anything extraordinary, they tear gas people… people try to have ordinary simple protests… to say we don’t want this,” he claimed.

Utomi disclosed that civil society groups are pursuing legal and civic actions to challenge recent political developments, including electoral issues.

“We go to court to essentially challenge what happened… and we are returning to court to seek a repeal of that electoral act,” he said.

Despite concerns about judicial independence, he expressed confidence that both legal processes and public opinion would influence outcomes.

“We are in two courts — court of the people and the courts of law. And those courts will sort themselves out,” he added.