Former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has called for a paradigm shift in Africa’s development strategy, urging governments and institutions to prioritise social justice at the center of economic growth. 

Mr Osinbajo made the call at the Ford Foundation Office for West Africa high-level anniversary celebration in Abuja. He said that true progress should be measured not by GDP, but by the well-being or quality of life of the citizens.

Reflecting on his tenure as chair of Nigeria’s Economic Management Team from 2016 to 2019, Mr Osinbajo highlighted the disconnect between economic statistics and the lived experiences of citizens. He said that development should start from the bottom up, not from the top down.

“We should not talk about development unless it is tied to the welfare of the majority of our people. Social justice places the human being, not statistics, at the centre of development. It produces development that reaches the majority,” said Mr Osinbajo.

He stressed that true development must prioritise the welfare of the majority, arguing that social justice ensures fair access to opportunities, protection of rights, and the resources needed to live a dignified life.

Mr Osinbajo explained that inclusion and equality are the  drivers of growth and have transformed economies globally.

Speaking on climate justice as a form of social justice, he warned that climate change is a critical economic issue for Africa, with Nigeria among the 10 most climate-vulnerable countries globally.

“By 2050, Nigeria could have 9.4 million internal climate migrants, mostly poor rural farmers displaced by floods or desertification. Yet we are not responsible for the crisis—the global north is. Climate justice is therefore a social justice issue,” he said.

The former vice-president called on global corporations responsible for decades of carbon-intensive activities to fund adaptation and loss-and-damage efforts in vulnerable countries. He also stressed that communities affected by environmental degradation, such as in the Niger Delta, should  be empowered to negotiate with both the state and resource-extracting companies.

Mr Osinbajo also linked good governance and anti-corruption measures to economic growth, sharing insights from his co-founding of the anti-corruption organisation Integrity, funded by FFOWA in 1994.

“Corruption is not just a public sector problem; it is  a development problem. If unchecked, it could cost Nigeria 37 per cent of GDP by 2030,” he warned, citing a PricewaterhouseCoopers report. “Anti-corruption programmes are not just good governance programs. They are social justice programmes. They protect public resources. They strengthen businesses and create jobs. So when we build systems of fairness and accountability in government and in the marketplace, we actually unleash increasing economic growth, and we give our people what they deserve, a future that works for everyone.”

Mr Osinbajo reiterated that Africa’s greatest wealth lies in its people.

(NAN)