Deputy Senate President faults Osinbajo over alleged comments on gloomy economy, democracy.
Says Tinubu addressing long-standing challenges By Henry Umoru ABUJA — 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 the administration of President Bola Tinubu was 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 needed to improve communication with the people to highlight ongoing efforts to address the challenges.
Recall that Osinbajo, who served as Vice-President under former President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2023, had raised 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, Osinbajo, who was defeated by President Bola Tinubu during APC presidential primary, ahead of the 2023 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 respective countries. Osinbajo also cited findings indicating that 59 per cent of Africans considered their national economies to be in bad shape, while 51 per cent said their economies had deteriorated.
MSEApp News is publishing an original rewrite of this tip for readers, based on reporting associated with Vanguard Politics.