Donald Duke: Nigerians were better off in 1999

Donald Duke, presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), says Nigerians were better off in 1999 than they are today, despite more than two decades of constitutional democracy.

Duke, a former governor of Cross River State, made the remarks during an interview on the Policy Without Politics (PWP) podcast on Friday, with excerpts from the interview circulating on Sunday.

Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999 after years of military rule, with former President Olusegun Obasanjo succeeding Abdulsalami Abubakar, the then military head of state.

Since then, the country has had six civilian presidents, with President Bola Tinubu, who is seeking re-election, being the sixth.

However, Duke argued that the country had failed to record meaningful economic progress despite its growing population and rising budgetary allocations.

“We’re really not in a democracy. It’s a facade. And with each cycle, we get poorer,” he said.

“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 candidate compared Nigeria’s current economic situation with the country’s budget and population in the early 1980s.

According to him, Nigeria’s annual budget during the administration of the late former President Shehu Shagari averaged about $25 billion when the country’s population was roughly 70 million.

Duke said Nigeria’s budget remains around the same value in dollar terms despite a significant increase in population.

“Today, our population is anywhere between 200 and 250 million. We don’t know. But our budget is still hovering around $25 billion,” he said.

“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 also linked insecurity, including Boko Haram insurgency, banditry and kidnapping, to economic hardship.

“Boko Haram, they are not religious fanatics. They’re just economic banditry. Then you have the bandits and the kidnappers,” Duke said.

He said the primary responsibility of government should be to create an environment where citizens can work productively and live safely.

“The essence of having a government in place is to ensure the optimal productivity of citizens within a safe and orderly environment,” he said.

Duke also criticised the use of foreign reserves as a major indicator of economic progress, arguing that employment and citizens’ productivity should receive greater attention.

“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,” he said.

“Let’s measure the value of our economy by the number of people who are working.”

He added that government policies, including those relating to education, should be designed to improve the productivity of citizens.

“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,” Duke said.