{"id":2914,"date":"2026-10-29T04:31:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T04:31:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/29\/deputy-senate-president-faults-osinbajo-over-alleged-comments-on-gloomy-economy-democracy\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T04:31:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T04:31:27","slug":"deputy-senate-president-faults-osinbajo-over-alleged-comments-on-gloomy-economy-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/29\/deputy-senate-president-faults-osinbajo-over-alleged-comments-on-gloomy-economy-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Deputy Senate President faults Osinbajo over alleged comments on gloomy economy, democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Nigeria\u2019s<\/p>\n

*Says Tinubu addressing long-standing challenges<\/em><\/p>\n

By Henry Umoru\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

ABUJA \u2014 Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, APC,\u00a0 Kano North, has taken a swipe at former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo over the gloomy picture he\u00a0 painted of Nigeria\u2019s economy and democratic governance.<\/p>\n

Senator Barau\u00a0 Jibrin\u00a0 who noted that Osinbajo got it wrong , said the administration of President Bola\u00a0 Tinubu was taking steps to address what he described as longstanding challenges confronting the country.<\/p>\n

According to Jibrin, while Osinbajo\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Recall that Osinbajo, who served as Vice-President under former President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2023, had 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

He further expressed concern over the rising cost of living, unemployment, inadequate access to healthcare and declining voter turnout, warning that persistent hardship could weaken public confidence in democracy, particularly among young people.<\/p>\n

But replying the former vice president at a public lecture, titled \u2018\u2019Democracy and Development:\u00a0 Rethinking the Leadership Question,\u2019\u2019 in Yola, Adamawa State, to commemorate the 59th birthday of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri yesterday, Barau described Osinbajo\u2019s lecture as thought-provoking and intellectually stimulating.<\/p>\n

He,however, said the gloomy picture painted by the surveys was being addressed and that the gaps were partly attributable to inadequate communication between governments and citizens.<\/p>\n

He said:\u00a0 \u201cI know he is a very good orator, a good public speaker and an intellectual to the core.\u00a0 Having said that, I am compelled to make some comments on the paper. It is a very beautiful and thought-provoking paper.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I want to say is this: one important reason for the gloomy picture portrayed by the surveys, particularly those conducted by Afrobarometer, is what the professor talked about and specifically observed: the issue of communication between the leaders and the led.\u00a0 There is no proper communication.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Deputy President of the Senate maintained that governments at both the federal and state levels were taking steps to address the challenges identified by the former vice-president, particularly in the areas of education, infrastructure and economic development.<\/p>\n

On education, Barau noted that\u00a0 the government was expanding access to education to address the challenges posed by Nigeria\u2019s growing population and its large youth demographic.<\/p>\n

He added that providing educational opportunities for children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, remained critical to addressing the country\u2019s long-term development challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore now, it was very difficult for a child who did not have the means to go to school. Now, everyone, except a child who does not want to go to school, can go to school in Nigeria with the NELFUND introduced by this administration,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He cited ongoing road projects across the country, including the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, the Badagry-Sokoto highway and several projects in the North-East and North-West as evidence of the government\u2019s efforts to address infrastructure deficits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we talk about economic prosperity, you cannot achieve it without a certain level of infrastructure, including road networks, water supply and other essential infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what is happening currently in this country under President Bola Tinubu\u2019s administration. Roads are being constructed everywhere to propel the process of bringing economic prosperity. That is being done.\u00a0 It is a long journey, but it is being done. Yet, there is no proper communication,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Deputy President of the Senate called for sustained public engagement to ensure that Nigerians were adequately informed about government policies, projects and interventions.<\/p>\n

On the economic challenges facing the country, he argued that Nigeria\u2019s rising cost of living should also be understood within the context of global economic pressures.<\/p>\n

He attributed the increase in the cost of energy, goods and services to international conflicts and disruptions in global supply chains, particularly those affecting major food-producing regions and energy markets.<\/p>\n

According to him, the conflicts involving Russia and Ukraine, as well as tensions in the Middle East, have contributed to rising energy prices and increased the cost of production globally.<\/p>\n

He also cited disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, a major international oil transit route, as one of the factors contributing to the volatility in global energy markets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact is that these challenges are not peculiar to Nigeria; they have an international dimension. The rising cost of living is partly attributable to conflicts in different parts of the world, including the Middle East, as well as the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. \u2018\u2019These conflicts have disrupted global supply chains, driven up energy prices and increased the cost of goods and services worldwide,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\n

The post Deputy Senate President faults Osinbajo over alleged comments on gloomy economy, democracy<\/a> appeared first on Vanguard News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source: <\/p>\n

Vanguard News<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

*Says Tinubu addressing long-standing challenges By Henry Umoru\u00a0 ABUJA \u2014 Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, APC,\u00a0 Kano North, has taken a swipe at former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2915,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}