Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin says the Tinubu administration is working to address Nigeria’s economic and democratic challenges, but acknowledges that poor communication with citizens has contributed to public dissatisfaction.

Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, has challenged former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo’s assessment of Nigeria’s economy and democratic governance, arguing that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is taking steps to address longstanding national challenges.

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Barau made the remarks in Yola, Adamawa State, during a public lecture titled “Democracy and Development: Rethinking the Leadership Question”, organised to mark the 59th birthday of Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri.

While describing Osinbajo’s presentation as thought-provoking and intellectually stimulating, the senator said the government needed to communicate its policies, interventions and development projects more effectively to Nigerians.

Osinbajo, who served as vice-president from 2015 to 2023, had raised concerns about growing dissatisfaction with democratic governance across Africa, despite decades of democratic rule in several countries.

Drawing on Afrobarometer surveys, he highlighted economic hardship, declining confidence in government institutions and diminishing youth participation in electoral politics as challenges that could weaken public faith in democracy.

The findings he cited indicated that 64 per cent of Africans preferred democracy to other forms of government, while only 38 per cent were satisfied with how democracy was working in their countries.

The surveys also found that 59 per cent considered their national economies to be in poor condition, while 51 per cent believed their economies had deteriorated.

Osinbajo also expressed concern about the rising cost of living, unemployment, inadequate access to healthcare and declining voter participation, particularly among young people.

Responding to the former vice-president’s assessment, Barau praised his intellectual contributions but argued that inadequate communication between political leaders and citizens was partly responsible for the negative perceptions of government performance.

“I know he is a very good orator, a good public speaker and an intellectual to the core,” Barau said, describing the lecture as a “beautiful and thought-provoking paper”.

He added that communication remained a significant gap between those in government and the people they served.

“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. There is no proper communication,” he said.

The deputy senate president maintained that the federal and state governments were taking steps to address the challenges identified by Osinbajo, particularly in education, infrastructure and economic development.

On education, Barau cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), introduced under the Tinubu administration, as an intervention intended to expand access to higher education for students facing financial difficulties.

He argued that educational opportunities for children and young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, were essential to Nigeria’s long-term development.

Barau also pointed to major road projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the proposed Badagry-Sokoto Highway, alongside projects in the North-East and North-West, as examples of ongoing efforts to address infrastructure deficits.

He said investment in roads, water supply and other essential infrastructure was necessary to support economic activity and improve living standards.

However, he acknowledged that the process of achieving economic prosperity would take time, reiterating that the government needed to explain its activities and policies more clearly to the public.

Addressing Nigeria’s economic difficulties, Barau argued that domestic challenges should also be considered within the context of international economic pressures.

He cited the Russia-Ukraine war, tensions in the Middle East and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz as factors affecting global energy markets and supply chains.

According to the senator, these developments have contributed to higher energy prices and increased production and transportation costs, putting pressure on the prices of goods and services.

He maintained that the effects of international conflicts were not limited to Nigeria, although their consequences for individual countries could vary.

Barau’s comments came as Osinbajo’s assessment drew attention to the relationship between economic conditions, public confidence and the performance of democratic institutions.

While Barau argued that government interventions were addressing some of the challenges, his call for better communication highlighted the importance of ensuring that citizens understand public policies and can assess their effects.

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The exchange underscores a central question in Nigeria’s development debate: how governments can translate policy measures and infrastructure investments into improvements that citizens can see and experience, while responding to concerns about living costs, public services and democratic accountability.