No, they're not the same thing. GE/NEXUS is a trusted traveller program where they do a full background check on you to see if you are a risk. Passports never provided that; a passport is just a travel document saying who you are, not a bilateral authorization from the security services of both countries that you're not and will not be a security risk.
I don't know, mine contains a request from Her Brittanic Majesty's Secretary of State, in the name of Her Majesty, that I should be allowed 'to pass freely without let or hindrance' and says nothing about requiring me to be inconvenienced and held up...
You know when invented, that was the purpose of a passport!
Of course, it today's world you have to now pay extra for what used to be include.