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Nigerians Were Better Off Under Military Rule Than 27 Years of Democracy — Donald Duke Says
Nigerians Were Better Off Under Military Rule Than 27 Years of Democracy — Donald Duke Says
Former Cross River State Governor and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate, Donald Duke, has sparked a fresh debate over Nigeria’s democratic journey, declaring that Nigerians were better off under military rule than they are after 27 years of uninterrupted civilian government.
Duke argued that since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999, the country has incurred enormous governance costs without delivering corresponding improvements in the welfare and living conditions of ordinary citizens.
Speaking in an interview over the weekend, the former governor said the success of democracy should not be measured merely by the existence of elected governments, but by the tangible benefits citizens receive.
“The people were better off under the military. At least governance was not that expensive,” Duke said, challenging Nigerians to critically assess the so-called dividends of democracy against the realities confronting the population.
He questioned whether the country had made meaningful progress in key areas such as education, healthcare and infrastructure since the end of military rule.
“I’m speaking broadly now. If we focus on the well-being of the people, what we term democracy dividends, how much has been delivered?
“We’re still having the same problems we had 27 years ago. It’s getting worse. The number of children out of school has not improved; it’s deteriorating. The healthcare system is not improving; it’s deteriorating.
“Infrastructure deficiency over the last 27 years are we better off? The question is: are we better off today than we were in 1999? Hardly so,” he added.
Duke maintained that many of the challenges Nigeria faced before the return to civilian rule remain unresolved, despite decades of democratic governance and successive administrations.
He specifically mentioned electricity and unemployment as longstanding problems that, in his assessment, have yet to receive the structured and sustained attention required to produce lasting solutions.
“The problems that existed before 1999 electrification, unemployment, those things are still there. And I don’t see a structured approach towards dealing with these issues.
“This is my frustration, because there’s no problem we cannot resolve. We’re not a unique country.
“There are peer reviews you can do. How did you solve this? How did you do that? Are we thinking through our problems?” he queried.
The former governor suggested that Nigeria could learn from countries that had successfully tackled similar developmental challenges instead of continually struggling with issues that, in his view, are not beyond the country’s capacity to solve.
Duke also turned his attention to Nigeria’s political system, arguing that the weakness of opposition parties and widespread doubts over electoral outcomes have contributed to growing public disenchantment with democracy.
According to him, citizens are increasingly discouraged from participating in elections because they believe their votes may not ultimately influence who governs them.
“The opposition is terribly weakened and self-centred. Democracy is also in danger. The results you get from the polls often don’t reflect the views of the people.
“So there’s a disenchantment with the system, both by the contestants and the public. Most people don’t vote because they believe their votes don’t count,” Duke contended.
He warned that when elected officials do not feel sufficiently accountable to voters, they may have little incentive to respond to the needs and demands of the people.
“Because your vote doesn’t matter, there’s a tendency to take people for a ride and disregard what is required by the people,” he said.
The PRP presidential candidate went further, describing Nigeria’s democratic structure as largely superficial and accusing the country’s institutions of failing to provide effective checks on executive authority.
“We don’t have a democracy. We are pretending democracy. We’re not a democracy. You and I know that. And the checks and balances from the National Assembly, you know there’s no check; there’s no balance.”
He cited the decision to restore Nigeria’s former national anthem as an example of what he considers inadequate scrutiny of executive initiatives by the legislature.
“We changed the national anthem in a week. Nobody was asking questions. They shouted, ‘On your mandate, we shall stand,’ abdicating their responsibilities.
“We had a Chief Justice of this country singing, ‘On your mandate, we shall stand.’ There’s no judiciary. We all know it. But are we prepared to deal with it?”
Duke attributed much of Nigeria’s political shortcomings to the country’s elite, arguing that educated and influential Nigerians had failed to take responsibility for providing effective leadership.
“It’s a failure of the elite more than anything else. We’re elites; we’re enlightened people but we abdicated our leadership to those whom we should be leading. Politics is no longer a vocation. It’s an occupation for those people. And you can’t get them out,” he said.
He argued that the prolonged dominance of individuals who regard political office as a career or permanent occupation has made it increasingly difficult to introduce meaningful changes into the political system.
The former governor also expressed concern over the widening economic gap between wealthy Nigerians and the growing number of citizens struggling to meet their basic needs.
Duke warned that increasing inequality could eventually create serious social instability if the country fails to address the conditions confronting poorer Nigerians.
“There was a time when I used to be in the National Economic Intelligence Committee and Professor Aluko used to say, proverbially, that a time is coming in this country when the rich won’t sleep because the poor have not eaten. I think the time is coming.”
He stressed that Nigeria’s predicament was particularly frustrating because the country possesses abundant human and natural resources capable of supporting significant economic transformation.
“Nigeria is exceedingly blessed. It’s sad. It’s painful that we are where we are,” Duke lamented.
His comments are likely to fuel renewed debate over Nigeria’s 27-year democratic experience, particularly as the country approaches another general election cycle and political parties begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 elections.
