Former Governor of Cross River state, Donald Duke has declared his intention to contest for Nigeria’s number one office. There had always been speculations that he would run, speculations which have now been confirmed.
He made his intention official in an interview with German Media Deutsche Welle Africa.
Explaining his reason for running, he said “I see such obvious failings; I see a leadership that is steeped in the past and that’s really refused to evolve with a nation that’s predominantly a nation of young, aspiring people, and still doing the things the way they were done many many years ago and did not work.
“I think our leadership in the country today is totally out of tune with the current realities of our nation. There’s a disconnect somewhere. So, when you have a leadership that blames its young people, for instance, of not striving enough, or being lazy, it’s a disconnect because the tools to make them achieve their aspirations have not been provided.
“Look at the state of education. The state of education today is a far cry from what I received. So the elites amongst us try to send their children abroad; that’s a dream. They’re gonna breed a generation of children who are disconnected from home and from abroad.
“We had good schools here that could compete with schools anywhere in the world. We had some of the best medical facilities in the 60s and early 70s, all of that has gone to rot. The president himself receives medical treatment abroad. That is a sad state of affairs.
“We can’t go on this way and keep complaining. Someone has to take the bull by the horns and I intend to that.”
The 56 year old former Governor served under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which has zoned its presidential slot for the 2019 elections to the North. Though Donald Duke has previous stated that he does not believe in zoning, it is not yet clear whether he intends to run under the PDP or another platform.