Daily Independent (Lagos)
Michael Jegede
27 November 2008
He was a two-term governor of Cross River State, holding sway from 1999 to 2007. As governor on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Donald Duke was believed to have performed creditably particularly in the area of tourism and agriculture.
Because of his mien and gift of the gab, his dress code and his carriage, Duke is seen as a man of class. At the beginning of his administration, he promised to pursue agriculture and tourism as the centerpiece of his programme of development in Cross River State. He was said to have used his developmental stride and knack to transform the State into a tourist haven in Nigeria both for the citizens and foreigners.
Though, the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) graduate who joined PDP in 1998, is no longer in office, the Tinapa project in Calabar, the Obudu Ranch Resort, the Nkarassi Monoliths as well as the State National Parks, which he established, give eloquent testimonies that he occupied the Government House in the Paradise State. These were expected to generate revenues that would drive the economy of the state to greater heights.
Described as a man of ideas, the ex-Governor has been shortlisted as one of those to be given national honours by the federal government in 2008. Duke, who was the Cross River State Commissioner for Finance in 1992 made the list for the Commander of the Order of Niger (CON) category alongside other 18 prominent Nigerians including some erstwhile governors.
Born on September 30, 1961, Duke was one of the presidential aspirants of PDP, who were said to have been pressurized to step down for President Umaru Yar'Adua at the party's primaries on December 16, 2006. The two-term governor had attempted vigorously to become the president as he took his campaign train to various parts of the country, before stepping down.
"If by tomorrow I become the president of Nigeria and Lagos and Kano States are not under the leadership of the PDP, then our victory is hollow. The reason you have had it so rough in Lagos is because you have in place a government that is in conflict with the national leadership. You have in Lagos a government that confronts rather than seek assistance," Duke had stated in one his presidential campaign tours to Lagos.
Duke was in October last year accused by the General Assembly of the People of Bakassi (GAPB) and Cross River Movement for Justice (CRMJ) of the misappropriation of one billion naira fund meant for the relocation of the displaced Bakassi people. The Director with Volkswagen of Nigeria in 1984, Duke was also said to have been quizzed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) in February this year over allegations of illegal deductions from local government funds when he was governor.
While some Nigerians described Duke's nomination for the award of CON as well deserved, others appear not to see anything spectacular about the national honours awards. "There are a lot of Nigerians out there who deserve such an award, but they are not given because they are not politicians to be recommended. So, there is nothing Donald Duke must have done that any other person has not done," says Damian Ogbonna the national chairman of Peoples Progressive Party (PPP).
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