The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), blamed the absence of strong institutional systems and the preference of the status quo by the political class for the inability of government to deliver on its promises to the people.
Osinbajo said this at a public lecture organised by The Kukah Centre in Abuja on Thursday, with the theme: “How to make Democracy Work for Africa.”
Osinbajo said that people expect those charged with governance to deliver on their promises, which included delivering social goods, ensuring that the growing youth population got jobs, ensure rule of law and security.
He however stated that it was clear that socio-political inequality, weak justice system, absence of rule of law, lack of state capacity to maintain law and order put nations constantly under threats.
He noted that Nigeria had anti-graft agencies yet could not boast of the number of people it convicted due to the system’s manipulation by the suspects who are mainly elites and their counsel.
Osinbajo said people could be put on trial but the trials could go on forever because the system enabled people to employ diverse legal tactics to delay conviction.
Accordingly, he said the elite preferred the status quo, which set the lowest bar for political advancement, being “identity politics” of where one comes from or which religion one belongs.
He said many elites follow the path of such division to analyse real development issues, thus diminishing the real issues concerning the people such as good governance, job creation, poverty alleviation, peace and security.
He said real development issues hardly formed themes in public debates towards elections.
Osinbajo said: “And that is the Africa story; democracy, yes; election yes.
“These are issues that remain very prominent everywhere in Africa.
“It is often threatened because we simply have not invested enough in the institutions that make this possible.
“So ensuring security, problems of weak policing are some of the issues that we experience.
“The perception of people on the efficiency and fairness of the justice system is affected always by the slow pace of trials and manipulation of the systems by those who can afford superior legal representation.
“Many of the ethnic and other parochial tension that tended to create insecurity and outright conflict, time and time again, are largely on account of failure to deliberately undertake nation-building efforts.
“But the question of the capacity of the state to deliver on its most important role of security, justice and rule of law is often threatened because we have not invested enough in institutions that make it possible.”
Why we are unable to deliver on our promises – Osinbajo
