Donald Duke: Quack Politicians Have Badly Diminished Governance

*Says OPEC shouldn’t decide price of oil for local consumption

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Former governor of Cross Rivers State, Donald Duke has lamented that quack politicians have brought governance to the lowest level in the country.
He added that to fight the current economic hardship in the country, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) should not be the body fixing the price of fuel for local consumption.

Duke stated this on Sunday in Abuja at the Teens annual conference themed “The Power of Music,” organised by the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), The Everlasting Arms Parish”.
His words: “Politics could be the most elevating vocation but a lot of quacks are involved in it, so they have brought it down to the lowest level. When politics is right, it elevates everything. It elevates medicine. It elevates your livelihood.

“When we complain about the country not being good, we should look at politicians. So, if you have the right politicians, you have the right country. So, it is the most noble of vocations.”
The former presidential aspirant noted that one of the pitfalls of the country was never preparing the next generation for leadership, saying the same problem led the country to a civil war.

Duke added: “One of the pitfalls of our country is never preparing the next generation for leadership. It led us to a civil war. We have young people with incredible energy, but it’s not channeled in the right direction.
“So, you find that the major actors in the Nigerian Civil War, or in the coup that led to the Civil War, were very young people who were idealistic, who wanted the best for the country, but were not exposed well enough on how to go about it better than war.”

He was of the opinion that everyone has something to give, adding that it was left to the individual to find out his or her usefulness.
Duke admitted that his generation was luckier, saying there is a lot of despondency going on.

He stressed that at the moment, an average young person is looking out and not looking within.
“I believe the Almighty created and put us in this part of the earth for a reason. It’s for us to discover that reason so that we can contribute. I also said in my speech that we are blessed to be Nigerians, an amazing country.

“It has incredible potential, but because we never prepare ourselves, it will always remain a potential that is yet to be discovered. And this young generation, this new generation, has the capacity to discover and actualise the potential that they are Nigerians,” Duke noted.
On what could be done differently to restore the confidence of young Nigerians who are looking outside, Duke said people see politics as a means of livelihood rather than a means of service.

He stated: “We need to reflect; it’s a two-way thing. People see politics as a means of livelihood rather than a means of service. If we begin to see it as a means of service and then politicians become role models and create hope. Create hope in the young ones that their tomorrow will be better than today, just as that today ought to have been better than yesterday.

“That is a failure of our system and unfortunately, when I look at the horizon, I don’t see the political class ready for that. They think of themselves. But anyone that has common sense will know what they call enlightened self-interest.

When Christ said, love thy neighbor as thyself, it’s enlightened self- interest, because what you do for your neighbor, if your neighbor is hungry, you are threatened. For our own enlightened self-interest, we need to uplift our people for our own survival.”

Duke pointed out that there was no problem in Nigeria that is unresolvable including the current economic hardship.
He said: “You see this inflation you are experiencing; you know why you have inflation? High energy. So, if the cost of energy – fuel goes up, inflation will go up, because you’re going to transport your food, you’re going to transport other people.

“I’m just giving you that as an example. Say, for instance, fuel was N700 per litre, today is N1500, inflation will almost double. If the cost of electricity increases, it will also inflate.
“This is a country that flares gas, that’s energy. It’s a country that has oil. We can fix the price of our oil. We don’t have to allow the rest of the world determine the price of our oil for our own consumption.

“This is how we’re going to do it, and monitor it in such a way that it serves us and not go to other countries. That’s very important.
“The second thing is, all this energy, gas that we’re flaring; doesn’t it occur to us to use it for the sake of our own people. Just that alone will crash this inflation you’re talking about. So, when you look, there’s no problem that cannot be solved.”

On his part, the Pastor-in-Charge, Dr. Eva Azodoh, RCCG, The Everlasting Arms Parish, Garki 2, Abuja, said the aim of the conference was to provide the teenagers with people they can have as role models.
According to him, “We want them to have people who have by dint of hard work and integrity have achieved what they achieved in life so that people can look at them and know that by hard work and honest work and integrity you can succeed.

“That is the purpose, we want to give them those role models and that’s what we have done. Like today, you have seen the likes of the former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke; you can see one of our best, Kenneth Ozioma and look at the 15 years old boy who you can see that we have talents.”
Azodoh said Nigeria could be better with honesty and integrity, especially from the lowest position of a cleaner to the president.