Questions asked of Duke
There's been quite a bit flying around in question of Donald Duke's record in Cross River in the blogosphere (see Chxta, Arun's Odyssey etc), stemming from this article. Given the slick PR exercise of having a blog and a well orchestrated media campaign, it behoves Duke and his people to respond point for point. It does strongly look like someone on the inside is supplying the information.
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7 comments:
That isnt an article, but some rambling editorial. But shows that Duke is being accused of taking money from LGA's to fund projects to make the lives of Cross Riverians better. It'd be one thing if he was accussed of using this money to build homes abroad.
Perhaps there is a constitutional issue here, but nothing to indicate he is a sinner or corrupt
I am sure that by now you should know that Nigerians tend to lie a lot. Very soon, you will hear stuff like Jeremy lives in Maitama because he is a contractor and he is one of those foreigners milking Nigeria dry .
I am sure the Duke camp will reply but the intent of some of these stories is truly to cause harm and the damage has already been done even if the stories are untrue.
Its funny what Nigerians write on their blogs these days. Now an Obasanjo kid/nephew has also started his blog dishing out OBJ's dirty linen in public. One is unsure if it is all true or if it is all fiction but its the most popular Nigerian blog now because we love to hear bad things about people whether they are true or not.
Ok well I dont know about the whole Nigerians being liars thing, generalizations like that make you seem ignorant...its amazing what people say under anonimity.
As for Duke, I havent read the article because I couldn't open it for some reason but if its an article telling people that he is corrupt then I say its about time (I've been meaning to write an article on him, i just haven't had time). Everyone is jumping on his dick (excuse my language) 'cos for once he does something right but all his years in office, is it only the carnival he has to show? I guess Nigerians are willing to overlook all his wrongs 'cos at least he is doing something good, bringing a little money to his state but how many cross riverians are enjoying the benefits?
I'm half Efik and when I was younger, my siblings and I always went to Calabar for chrismas with the grand parents but for as long as I can remember, I have never seen water run from the tap - we were lucky 'cos my grandmom had one of those tanks and a tanker would come and put water in it but how many people could afford to do that that? The last time I was in Calabar was I think 2001 or 2002 and not much had changed since '92 through '95. I mean I like cally 'cos its a chilled place but it has it problems and Duke definetely has his also...I'm just sick and tired of everyone saying how much of a saint he is - Please!
Hi Jeremy,
I think the Duke campaign has responded to some of these issues in the link below.I am not sure if it is the exact response to the article as I cant open it but perhaps the link below helps to clarify some of the issues.
http://www.dukeforpresident.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=55&sid=b2d9e278e63a142d09fbb4936db1a9c8
Hi Jeremy, I am the second anonymous that commented on this topic and this is really a response to RJ.
I think she might have taken my comments out of context and the fault is essentially mine. I should have said that I was actually commenting in response to what I read on chxta's blog(got the link here) with Duke's "childhood friend" talking about DD having a terror squad, DD leaving Cross Rivers with far too much debt & having a hand in unresolved murders in Cross Rivers.
2)She says that the generalisations I made make me seem ignorant and she is entitled to her opinion.I live & work in Nigeria and the point I was trying to make is that one hears truly vile things daily without questioning the source of the information but most Nigerians I know tend to spread the stories & make their own juicier additions to it whether the original story was true or not.
3)I am not saying Duke is a saint. I believe that if there are questions about his integrity/character, he should be made to answer those questions. What I dont support is accusations/allegations of the "dem say"/"I hear say" model without any proof.
BTW, my name is Temitope and I am not hiding under any cloak of anonymity.
Tope
Bill Clinton said that he kept score by asking "Did I leave America a better place as President than how I found it" and I think that is the yardstick that should be used to judge Duke.
I cannot claim to be from Calabar like RJ but surely you cannot limit his achievements to just the carnival. Have you not heard of Tinapa (www.tinapa.com), Have you not heard of the CRS Pineapple farm project, the impressive cable cars for tourism & obviously Obudu Cattle Ranch is the top destination for tourism in Nigeria today.Obudu existed before Duke came in but it has flourished under him.
My family always holiday in Obudu instead of abroad & a lot of us in Lagos do that. We think it is important to show our children that not everything that works is Western & there are also places in Nigeria where things also work perfectly and Cross Rivers is the best example of this.
Calabar may have its problems and so may Duke but please lets be objective enough to see his accomplishments nonetheless.
rj, so the carnival is the only thing he's done in cross river. he hasn't brought electrification to the rural areas, developed the obudu mountain race, tinapa, subsidised books for kids, health insurance and better access to water as well as created a general positive vibe for CRS among other things?
that you mention only the carnival like it's some flimsy event shows you are either unaware or misrepresenting duke's accomplishments. I await your article because your post didn't specify the evil part of duke. tell us in detail what we need to be wary of.
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