Barau faults Osinbajo’s gloomy assessment of Nigeria’s economy, democracy

By Henry Umoru, Abuja The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, APC, Kano North has taken a swipe at former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo over the gloomy picture he painted of Nigeria’s economy and democratic governance. Senator Barau Jibrin, who noted that Osinbajo got it wrong, said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is taking steps to address what he described as longstanding challenges confronting the country. According to Jibrin, while Osinbajo’s concerns, particularly those drawn from Afrobarometer surveys on Nigeria and other African countries, were valid, the government needs to improve communication with the people to highlight ongoing efforts to address the challenges.

The Deputy President of the Senate made the remarks in Yola, Adamawa State, during a public lecture titled “Democracy and Development: Rethinking the Leadership Question,” organised to commemorate the 59th birthday of Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri. Osinbajo, who served as vice-president under former President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2023, expressed concern in his lecture about the failure of democratic governance among citizens across Africa after almost three decades of uninterrupted democratic rule in several countries. Citing Afrobarometer surveys, the former vice-president, who was defeated by President Tinubu during the APC presidential primary ahead of the 2023 general elections, highlighted widespread dissatisfaction with democratic institutions, economic hardship, declining public confidence in government and diminishing youth participation in electoral politics. He noted that although 64 per cent of Africans preferred democracy to other forms of government, only 38 per cent were satisfied with the way democracy was working in their…