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Former Cross River State Governor and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate, Donald Duke, has called on opposition politicians to put aside personal ambitions and work together to address Nigeria’s challenges, saying no single individual can fix the country.
Duke made the call during an exclusive interview with News Central Managing Director, Kayode Akintemi, where he argued that Nigeria’s problems required a team of competent people rather than a leader seeking to govern alone.
He said his political ambition was not driven by the desire to become president but by his interest in seeing the country function effectively.
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“First of all, it’s not about me. The ambition is not to be president. My mission is to get Nigeria working,” Duke said.
“I would love to be part of a team that gets this country working. That’s one.
“Two, the situation is so dire now that not one man can redeem Nigeria.”
The PRP candidate said whoever leads the country must assemble experts across different sectors and hold them accountable for their responsibilities.
“At best, he can put together a team of experts in every sector, holding them completely accountable,” he said.
Duke argued that Nigeria’s situation required firm leadership and decisive action, adding that measures aimed at correcting the country’s problems could be mistaken for excessive toughness.
“You know, it’s the kind of government people say, wow, this guy is ruthless. It’s not ruthless,” he said.
“Things are so bad now that when you do the right thing, it’s, oh, you’re taking it too far.”
He described the role of a president as that of a captain who brings together a capable team to steer the country away from its current difficulties.
“So you want to be a captain who assembles an incredible team to take us out of our rot because not one person can do it,” he said.
Duke also criticised what he described as the personal ambitions of opposition politicians, arguing that their unwillingness to support anyone other than themselves could undermine efforts to challenge the ruling party.
He said political leaders should be willing to support another candidate if they were not the best person to lead the country.
“And this is where I think the ego of the other candidates is becoming negative to Nigeria,” he said.
“Either me or nobody else, or either me or let the incumbent remain. We all agree on one thing: that we’re not doing well as a nation, but if I’m not the one who’s going to be the captain of the ship, then let the nation continue to drift.”
He described that attitude as a major obstacle to national progress, adding: “That’s a problem.”
