According to renowned political economist Professor Pat Utomi, Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, was discovered by angry Nigerian teenagers who were sick of the dreadful situation of their nation.

He claimed that while young Nigerians have been fleeing the country in pursuit of better opportunities abroad, those who are left behind are battling for the country’s advancement by promoting Obi to the presidency.

These ideas were communicated by Professor Utomi in a discussion with The Niche.

“The youths of Nigeria, fed up enough about the structure and the nature of Nigeria, seeing it denying them opportunity began to respond first by leaving the country – the so-called Japa phenomenon,” Utomi said.

The #EndSARS protests, which were organized to demand an end to police violence, are where the youth, according to the don, lodged their first complaints against the administration.

He continued, “Those who could were leaving. Many were dying in the deserts, just looking for opportunity anywhere outside of Nigeria.

“And then, some decided that it was time to fight back. And their first form of organisation to fight back was against police brutality – ENDSARS. And the state met them with brutality.

“And without their saying a lot, they then determined that they were going to go out and organise and use the political process to defeat those who were oppressing them, those who kept their knees on the necks of the generation next.

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“So, out of nowhere sprang what has come to be known as the support groups. They somehow discovered Peter Obi from what he was saying and decided that he will be their vehicle.

“And that vehicle built its momentum. The momentum that that vehicle built was to say to the next generation there is hope; if you organise, you can stop agonising and get rid of these people who keep you down.

“At first, they thought the people were joking. One day they woke up and found out that it wasn’t a joke anymore and they got vicious. They got dangerous.”