Photo: Donald Duke.
Nigerians were better off in 1999 than they are now despite 26 years of constitutional democracy, Donald Duke, Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate has said.
Duke, former Governor of Cross-River State, spoke on Friday during an interview on the Policy Without Politics (PWP) podcast, a clip of which circulated on Sunday.
Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999 after years of military rule, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo took over from Abdulsalami Abubakar, then military Head of State.
The country has had six civilian presidents since the return to democratic rule in 1999. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is seeking re-election, is the sixth.
There has however been an ongoing debate over whether Nigeria has fared better under democratic rule than it did under military rule.
Duke said Nigeria had failed to achieve meaningful economic growth despite its growing population and increased budgetary allocations over the years.
Said Duke: “We’re really not in a democracy. It’s a facade. And with each cycle, we get poorer.
“I can say to you very clearly that in 1999, the people were better off than they are today, in 2026. They were much better off. The country was more affordable”.
The PRP presidential candidate said Nigeria’s annual budget during the administration of the late former President Shehu Shagari in the early 1980s averaged about $25 billion, when the country’s population was roughly 70 million.
He added that the country’s budget remained around the same value despite its population having grown significantly.
Observed he: “Today, our population is anywhere between 200 and 250 million. We don’t know. But our budget is still hovering around $25 billion.
“We call it trillions because of the devaluation and all that. At that time, the Naira was N1 to $1. Today, it’s around N1,400 to a dollar. So, we have not grown”.
He said the country’s security challenges, including Boko-Haram insurgency, banditry and kidnapping, were largely driven by economic hardship.
Stated he: “Boko-Haram, they are not religious fanatics. They’re just economic banditry. Then you have the bandits and the kidnappers”.
Duke said the primary responsibility of the government was to create an environment where citizens could be productive.
Noted he: “The essence of having a government in place is to ensure the optimal productivity of citizens within a safe and orderly environment”.
Duke also faulted the use of foreign reserves as a major measure of economic progress, saying employment and citizens’ productivity should be given greater consideration.
Stated he: “Let’s stop measuring the progress of our economy by the amount of Dollars or foreign currency we have in our reserves because that only means that you want to import more things all the time.
“Let’s measure the value of our economy by the number of people who are working”.
He said government policies, including those on education, should ultimately be geared towards improving citizens’ productivity.
Maintained Duke: “Everything, whether it’s schooling, education or whatever you are doing, should be geared towards the productivity of our citizens. I think that is the kernel of government”.
