Nigeria already a failed state, middle class has disappeared—Duke

…blames poverty, unemployment for kidnapping, banditry

The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate, Donald Duke, has said his 2027 presidential ambition is driven by the need to rescue Nigeria from economic and social decline, warning that the country is already showing signs of a failed state.

Duke, who spoke in an interview on Tuesday, said he decided to contest the presidency because he could no longer watch poverty, unemployment, insecurity, and economic contraction worsen without taking action.

“You get to a point in your life where you say, ‘Either I walk away, or I do something.’

“There is no guarantee that you will win. But I don’t want to look back and say that all these things happened and I did nothing,” he said.

The PRP candidate said the “urgency of now” was central to his decision to run, arguing that Nigeria could not afford to continue on its current path for another four years.

“I talk about the urgency of now because I don’t think we can go on like this for another four years.”

Duke said his campaign would focus on policy solutions rather than political personalities, urging Nigerians to assess candidates based on their plans to address the economy, insecurity, poverty and unemployment.

“What I want to do is focus on those who aspire to lead this nation on addressing the issues that affect us and how we can resolve them.

“I talk about the options. I talk about the real issues. I don’t want to talk about personalities,” he said.

He argued that Nigeria’s security challenges were closely linked to the economy’s inability to create enough opportunities for its growing population.

“If we don’t address these issues squarely and fundamentally, we’re already a failed state. There’s no question about it.

“Look at what is happening — banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and all sorts of conflicts. These are symptoms of a state that is unable, not only to properly articulate its challenges, but to deal with them,” he said.

Duke said the existence of a government and public institutions did not necessarily mean the state was meeting its responsibilities to citizens.

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“What is the definition of a failed state? Fundamentally, it is a state that fails to meet the aspirations of its people.

“You may still have a government and institutions, but if the state cannot protect the people and provide the environment in which they can live productive lives, then it is failing them,” he said.

He added that people who had experienced kidnapping would understand the consequences of state failure without needing an academic explanation.

“Talk to someone who has been kidnapped. That person does not need you to explain the definition of a failed state. His experience has already told him what failure of the state means,” he said.

The presidential candidate also cited the decline of Nigeria’s middle class as evidence of the country’s economic difficulties.

“You have perhaps one per cent who are genuinely wealthy and then a huge number of people struggling around or below the poverty line.

“The so-called middle class does not really exist anymore. Many of those we call middle class are only surviving from day- to- day. Let there be one serious emergency and they crumble.”

Duke said businesses were struggling to expand and create jobs at a rate sufficient to absorb the growing number of graduates and other people entering the labour market.

“Businesses are contracting. New ones are not springing up the way they should. At the same time, we are turning out graduates every year and adding more people to the working population, but there is no work for them to do.”

He maintained that efforts to tackle kidnapping and banditry would remain ineffective unless the economic conditions contributing to the problems were addressed.

“When it comes to banditry and kidnapping, poverty and unemployment are at the bottom of much of it.

“We keep reacting to these crises instead of asking what is producing them. We are too reactive in our governance. Governance is not just about today; it is about laying the foundation for tomorrow.”

Duke said his campaign would also examine whether Nigeria’s economic growth had kept pace with its population.

Comparing the country’s crude oil production in 1980 with current output, he questioned whether the economy had expanded sufficiently to support the population.

“In 1980, Nigeria was producing about 2.5 million barrels of oil a day. Forty-six years later, we are producing around 1.7 million barrels, while our population has tripled.

“So you have to ask: has the economy expanded enough to carry the population? Clearly, it has not.”

He said Nigeria’s population should be an economic advantage if the country invested in education, employment and productivity.

“Our numbers ought to be an asset. But a large population is an asset only when you can educate the people, employ them and make them productive.”

The PRP candidate warned that more Nigerians with the means to emigrate would continue to leave unless the government created conditions for economic growth, while those who remained would face increasing financial pressure.

Duke said his presidential ambition was also influenced by his decision decades ago to return to Nigeria after studying and working in the United States.

“I had the opportunity in my twenties to remain in America. I went to school there and worked there for a while.

“But I voluntarily decided that was not where I wanted to be. I believe the Almighty put me in Nigeria for a reason. I believe in this country’s possibilities, and this is where I believe I should contribute.”

He said the same belief motivated him to contest the Cross River governorship election in 1999 and had now brought him into the race for national leadership.

“I wanted to prove then that we were better than what we were putting forward. From experience, I know Nigeria can be a very successful nation,” he said.