Former Cross River State governor and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate, Donald Duke, has said Nigeria’s economy has failed to expand at the same pace as its rapidly growing population, linking the situation to poor productivity and worsening living conditions.
Duke made the remarks while speaking to journalists in Abuja, where he argued that Nigeria’s economic challenges had become more visible over the decades because government spending and productive capacity had not grown sufficiently alongside the population.
He compared the current economic situation with the period of former President Shehu Shagari, saying Nigeria’s population has increased from roughly 76 million at the time to about 230 million today, while he believes government spending in dollar terms remains around the level recorded during the Second Republic.
“I think we got it wrong from independence, but as the years go by, the effects become stark. We have not addressed the issue of productivity,” he said.
Duke said the Shagari administration operated an average annual budget of about $25 billion between 1979 and 1983.
“Today, our population, they say, is about 230 million people. We are still spending the same $25 billion that Shagari spent 46 years ago.
“All these trillions and trillions, by the time you convert them, you come down to the same thing. In essence, the economy has not grown. In fact, it has shrunk because $25 billion in 1979 or 1980 is not the same as $25 billion today.”
His comparison is based on dollar-denominated spending, although more recent analysis has noted that comparing budgets across decades solely in US dollar terms does not fully account for inflation, exchange-rate changes and differences between approved budgets and actual expenditure.
Duke said the effects of what he described as inadequate economic expansion could be seen in poverty, unemployment, insecurity and the struggles faced by Nigerians trying to meet their basic needs.
He argued that government’s central responsibility should be to create an environment where citizens can work and produce while enjoying security, justice and public order.
“The essence of government is to ensure the utmost productivity of citizens within a safe and orderly environment. That is why you need security. That is why you have the judiciary. If Nigeria were to be safe and orderly and the people were productive, nobody would care whether you came from Sokoto, Calabar or somewhere else,” Duke said.
The former governor also questioned the economic priorities behind the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, asking whether the project should take precedence over other infrastructure and social needs.
“We woke up one morning and said we wanted to build a road from Lagos to Calabar. What are the economics? How many communities will it go through?
“A road is commuting infrastructure between communities. There are existing roads. What happens to those roads? What happens to the East-West Road that we have been talking about?”
Duke acknowledged that he would personally benefit from the coastal highway because of his connections to Lagos and Calabar but said personal convenience should not determine how public funds are spent.
“I would be the happiest person because I live in Lagos and Calabar. I would be going back and forth but even if it were the best road, with a sea view as you are going to Calabar, what is the economics of it? What is the opportunity cost?
“Maybe you can say we will do it in 10 years when we can afford it. We cannot afford it now. There are higher priorities,” he said.
He pointed to children who are out of school and Nigerians living in poverty as areas that should receive greater attention from government.
“We have the largest number of out-of-school children in the world. We have one of the largest populations of poor people, and you are building a fancy road from Victoria Island to Calabar,” Duke said.
“It does not work like that. All I am asking is that we should be honest with our people.”
Duke also argued that economic hardship contributes to ethnic, religious and regional divisions in the country. He said people may rely on such identities when they believe belonging to a particular group could improve their access to limited opportunities.
“I don’t believe that we are naturally tribalistic or ethnic. We use those things because they are advantageous to us,” he said.
“We want a president or governor from our locality because we think it will give us an added advantage. But if you are getting what you need without that advantage, who cares where the governor comes from?
“When you go to a hospital, you don’t ask for a doctor from your village. You ask for the doctor who can cure you.”
Duke said Nigeria needs a clearer national direction that connects government spending, infrastructure, education and economic policies to the goal of increasing productivity.
“Where are we taking this country? We don’t have a vision. We just wake up and do whatever appears important at the moment,” he said.
“The real task is to make our people productive. When inadequacy persists because we are not productive, we begin to exploit tribal and religious sentiments to get what we want.”
