Donald Duke, former governor of
Cross River state, says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cannot zone his
constitutional rights, stating that he has the right to aspire, win or lose the
party’s presidential ticket.
Duke, who was governor from 1999
to 2007 says he had always wanted to be president since 2005, with the plan to
solve Nigeria’s productivity problem.
He said about two thirds of the
total population of the country — about 132 million people — are unproductive.
Speaking in an interview with
Osasu Igbinedion on The Osasu Show, Duke said the lack of productivity is
responsible for the insurgency, insecurity and unemployment in Nigeria.
Duke had in February 2017,
announced his intention to contest the 2019 presidential election.
He said the lack of will by
leaders is another factor responsible for the challenges plaguing the country,
adding that he has this will to offer.
“I have had interest in the
presidency since 2005. It has always been there. The reason is that there is a
certain level of frustration; we seem not to be making the requisite progress
we ought to be making as a nation and we all know that we are better than what
we are today,” Duke said.
“And to me, the answers to our
problems are not far-fetched. What I find missing is the will to make it happen
and this is what I bring to the table.
“What I would like to do, to move
our nation forward, we need to address the productivity of a Nigerian. Here you
are, a nation of almost 200 million people. Two-thirds are not productive.
Two-thirds actually depend on one-third.
“When you see the problems we are
having, whether it is Boko Haram, the militancy, the kidnapping it is all born
of the fact that …people are discontent and the discontent is a result of not
being able to fend for oneself. So, we have to address the productivity. If
every Nigerian were productive, believe me, we won’t have Boko Haram.”
Duke further said the statistics
of unemployment and failure of leadership in Nigeria “is what fuels my
interest” to run for presidency.
According to him, the education
system needed to be reformed to provide for skill acquisition for every
graduate.
“That is what fuels my interest.
We talk the talk, we know what to say, we know our problems but do we have the
will, do we have the strategy to make it happen. I went into the numbers. This
is a developing country where many thighs ought to be done are not being done,”
he said.
“So the reason for people not
having jobs is a bit off because people should have a lot of jobs. For example,
we have 20m housing shortage and that in itself can engage about 15m people.
“The four things that I would
immediately address, we talk about education but in today’s world, it is more
than just reading and writing. Education should leave you with a skill.
“So, for me, every brain must be
trained because an untrained brain is a drain on the nation, because that brain
will be dependent on another brain for its own subsistence. So, we need to
invest heavily on education and skill development.”
He also said he would give
priority to the areas of infrastructure, health and technological advancement.
Commenting on the administration
of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Duke said the government is distracted.
He said the government was
addressing the symptoms of the problems, not the problems themselves.
“This administration, I think
they are being distracted. I think they came into office not really
appreciating the totality of the picture and the fixation on corruption and
security they don’t look at the broader picture. Those are symptoms of a
problem, not the problem itself,” he said.
“There are two types of
corruption: corruption of greed and corruption of need . corruption of greed,
we can deal with it institutionally, having a strong judiciary but corruption
of need, a policeman who has 8 children at home, a family back in the village
and is paid a pittance will find a way of making money on the side. That you
can’t stop. So, they didn’t think of the totality and this is a recurring
problem, not just with this administration.
Asked his chances of contesting
on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since the party has zoned
the presidential ticket to the north, Duke said: “ You cant zone my
constitutional right”.
“I have a right to aspire, I have
a right to win, I have a right to lose. How realistic is dependent on the
electorate. They would realise my ambition. I believe there is enough
frustration in Nigeria to take the scales off our eyes and say ‘look, who is
gonna solve our problem’?
“If I run, I might lose, if I
don’t run, I am guaranteed to lose. So, I will give it a shot, I will give
Nigerians the option of Donald Duke. The worse that would happen is that I
lose. For me, the bigger loss is not offering myself.”
You have my vote already
ReplyDelete