The presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has described Nigeria as a failed state, blaming worsening poverty, unemployment, insecurity and economic decline for the country’s challenges.
Duke, a former governor of Cross River State, said he decided to contest the 2027 presidential election because he could no longer watch the country’s problems deepen without offering himself as an alternative.
Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, he said Nigeria could not afford another four years of its current economic and social challenges.
“You get to a point in your life where you say, ‘Either I walk away or I do something,’” he said.
Duke acknowledged that there was no guarantee of winning the election but said he did not want to look back and regret failing to act when the country needed solutions.
He said his campaign would focus on policies and practical responses to Nigeria’s challenges rather than attacks on political personalities.
“I talk about the urgency of now because I don’t think we can go on like this for another four years,” he said.
Duke links insecurity to poverty, unemployment
The PRP candidate argued that Nigeria’s security challenges were closely connected to the economy’s failure to create enough opportunities for its growing population.
He cited banditry, terrorism, kidnapping and other conflicts as signs of the government’s failure to protect citizens and address the conditions driving insecurity.
“If we don’t address these issues squarely and fundamentally, we’re already a failed state. There’s no question about it,” Duke said.
He argued that having a government and functioning public institutions did not automatically mean a country was meeting its responsibilities to citizens.
According to him, a state fails when it cannot protect its people or provide an environment where they can live productive lives.
Duke added that people who had experienced kidnapping and other forms of insecurity understood the consequences of state failure through their personal experiences.
He also linked poverty and unemployment to banditry and kidnapping, arguing that security measures alone would not resolve the problem without addressing its underlying economic causes.
“We keep reacting to these crises instead of asking what is producing them. We are too reactive in our governance,” he said.
‘Nigeria’s middle class is disappearing’
Duke also expressed concern over what he described as the near-disappearance of Nigeria’s middle class, saying economic hardship had left many households struggling to meet their daily needs.
He argued that a small proportion of Nigerians enjoyed substantial wealth, while many others lived 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,” he said.
The former governor said businesses were contracting and new enterprises were not emerging quickly enough to provide jobs for the growing workforce.
He noted that Nigerian universities continued to produce graduates every year, even as employment opportunities remained insufficient.
According to Duke, the pressure on households and the lack of jobs showed the need for policies that would stimulate businesses, create employment and strengthen the economy.
Oil production, population growth raise concerns
Duke also questioned whether Nigeria’s economic growth had kept pace with its population increase.
He compared the country’s crude oil production in 1980 with current output, arguing that Nigeria was generating insufficient economic capacity to support its growing 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,” he said.
He argued that Nigeria’s population should be an economic advantage if citizens had access to quality education, employment and opportunities to contribute productively.
“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,” he said.
Duke also warned that prolonged economic hardship could encourage more Nigerians who could afford to leave the country to seek opportunities abroad.
The PRP candidate said his decision to seek the presidency was connected to his long-standing belief in Nigeria’s potential.
He recalled that he had the opportunity to remain in the United States after studying and working there in his twenties but chose to return to Nigeria.
“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.
Duke said the same conviction motivated him to contest the Cross River governorship election in 1999.
He added that his experience as governor reinforced his belief that Nigeria could become a successful nation if its leaders addressed the country’s challenges effectively.
The 2027 presidential election, he said, presents an opportunity to focus national attention on practical solutions to insecurity, unemployment, poverty and the wider economic difficulties facing Nigerians.
