Category: The Nation – Nigeria

Nigeria’s tax system has always been a reflection of the country’s economic structure, its federal arrangement, and the state’s constant search for sustainable revenue.

For decades, the framework was built around a combination of direct and indirect taxes, anchored by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), with state and local governments also exercising powers over personal income and certain levies. That old order provided the bedrock upon which the new reforms signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in June 2025 are now being built.

Under the old laws, the Companies Income Tax Act (CITA) stood at the heart of Nigeria’s tax system. It governed the taxation of companies’ profits, covering both domestic and foreign firms operating through permanent establishments. Deductions, capital allowances, and rules for the treatment of dividends were all set out, while incentives for pioneer industries, agricultural ventures, and exporters were embedded as part of efforts to stimulate economic diversification.

Closely tied to this was the Petroleum Profits Tax Act (PPTA), which dealt with upstream oil operators. Given the strategic importance of crude oil revenues, this law carved out a separate regime with ring-fencing, anti-avoidance rules, and allowances to encourage investment in exploration, including deep offshore fields.

For individuals, the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) created a progressive system. Residents were taxed on worldwide income, non-residents on Nigerian-sourced earnings, while deductions for reliefs, dependents, pensions, and life assurance were permitted. Administration was mostly decentralized, handled by state boards of internal revenue, except for specific categories such as members of the armed forces and foreign service who remained under FIRS.

Nigeria’s main consumption tax emerged under the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act, which replaced sales tax. VAT was charged at a flat rate and businesses were required to remit collections monthly, with limited opportunities for input tax credits. Certain essential goods and services, like medical products, educational materials, and basic food items, were exempt to cushion consumers.

Alongside this sat the Capital Gains Tax Act (CGTA), taxing gains from disposals of chargeable assets at 10 percent, though with exemptions for securities and specific reorganizations. Stamp duties applied to legal instruments, while the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) regulated duties on imports and excisable products such as alcohol, tobacco, and petroleum.

The Education Tax Act, imposing a two percent levy on company profits to fund tertiary education through TETFund, highlighted the use of taxes to pursue social objectives. In general, the administration of all these laws rested with the FIRS under the FIRS Establishment Act, which defined powers of assessment, collection, enforcement, penalties, taxpayer obligations, and dispute resolution through objections, the Federal High Court, and the Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT). Double taxation treaties also played a role, ensuring Nigerian companies and foreign investors were not taxed twice on the same income streams, while investment incentives such as pioneer status, rural allowances, and export expansion grants were woven into the system.

That old structure has now been comprehensively reworked by four new laws: the Nigeria Tax Act (NTA), Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA), Nigeria Revenue Service Act (NRSA), and the Joint Revenue Board Act (JRBA). Collectively, they mark one of the most sweeping reforms in Nigeria’s fiscal history.

One of the most innovative changes in the new tax regime, is the relief for small companies. The exemption threshold for Companies Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, and the newly introduced Development Levy has been raised from N25 million to N100 million in annual turnover, alongside a fixed asset ceiling of N250 million. This means thousands of small businesses will no longer carry a federal tax burden, a measure expected to improve the ease of doing business and encourage formalization.

On the other end of the spectrum, the reforms tighten rules for bigger players. The Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rate for companies has been increased sharply from 10 percent to 30 percent, aligning it with the Companies Income Tax rate and removing the arbitrage that once existed between trading income and capital gains. For individuals, gains are now taxed at their applicable progressive rates, making the system more equitable.

The scope of capital gains has also widened, with the introduction of CGT on indirect transfers of Nigerian company shares. This means that offshore holding company transactions that ultimately transfer control of Nigerian entities will trigger tax obligations in Nigeria, subject to treaty protections. In addition, the exemption threshold for share disposals has been raised to N150 million in any twelve-month period, with a cap ensuring gains do not exceed N10 million.

A new feature of the tax landscape is the Development Levy, set at four per cent of assessable profits for all, but small companies. This levy consolidates multiple existing charges – the Tertiary Education Tax, IT levy, NASENI levy, and the Police Trust Fund levy – into a single unified payment, reducing multiplicity and simplifying compliance.

For multinational corporations, the laws introduce a minimum effective tax rate (ETR) of 15 per cent of net income for groups with global turnover of pound 750 million or more, or Nigerian companies with turnover above N50 billion. This measure ensures large firms cannot exploit loopholes to pay little or no tax. Nigerian parent companies of multinationals will also be required to pay a top-up tax where subsidiaries abroad fall short of the 15 per cent benchmark.

The rules around non-residents have been tightened considerably. The ‘force of attraction’ principle now applies, allowing Nigeria to tax, not just activities conducted through a permanent establishment, but also related transactions. Profits from Engineering, Procurement, and Construction contracts are now taxable even when structured through multiple contracts or offshore elements. Minimum tax rules for non-residents also guarantee that their tax liabilities cannot fall below withholding tax, or four per cent of Nigerian earnings.

Free Zone companies retain their exemptions on exports and supplies to oil and gas firms, but a transition period has been set. By January 2028, any sales into the domestic economy will subject them to full taxation, eliminating what was once a permanent tax holiday.

Incentives have been recast. The long-standing pioneer status incentive has been abolished and replaced with the Economic Development Incentive (EDI), which grants a five per cent tax credit on qualifying capital expenditure for five years, extendable where unused credits remain. This shift signals a move toward measurable, investment-linked benefits rather than open-ended holidays.

Personal Income Tax has been modernized. A clearer definition of residency, incorporating economic and family ties, expands the tax net, while exemptions for low-income earners have been raised to cover those earning N800,000 or less annually. Higher earners face steeper rates of up to 25 per cent. The threshold for tax-free severance or injury compensation has also risen from N10 million to N50 million.

Administrative reforms are equally striking. A Tax Ombuds Office has been created to provide an independent forum for taxpayers’ complaints, while the NTAA now mandates disclosure of tax planning arrangements that confer tax advantages, marking a decisive step against aggressive avoidance schemes. Penalties for non-compliance have been significantly increased: late filing attracts N100,000 in the first month and N50,000 for each subsequent month, while contracts awarded to unregistered entities can draw fines of up to N5 million.

Value Added Tax remains at 7.5 per cent, but its mechanics have changed. Nigeria has adopted global principles allowing recovery of input VAT on all purchases, including services and fixed assets, and expanded the zero-rated list to include food, medicines, education, electricity services, and tuition. The combination of zero rating and input recovery provides real relief for both consumers and businesses. VAT administration has also been digitalized, with fiscalisation rules and mandatory e-invoicing now in force.

Perhaps most politically significant is the update to the VAT sharing formula. The federal government’s share has been cut from 15 per cent to 10 per cent, with states now receiving 55 per cent and local governments 35 per cent. Within these tiers, allocations will be based on equality, population, and consumption, creating a stronger link between economic activity and fiscal benefits at the subnational level.

Finally, in recognition of the need for stronger coordination, the FIRS has been reconstituted as the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), with State Internal Revenue Services given full autonomy. A framework for joint audits has also been established, and the NRS may now assist states and local governments in revenue collection upon request.

Taken together, the reforms reflect both continuity and change. From the old laws, Nigeria retains the broad architecture of corporate, personal, and indirect taxation, along with incentives for investment and social levies. But the new laws move the country decisively toward a modern, globally aligned tax eco-system: simplifying compliance, broadening the tax base, reducing distortions, strengthening enforcement, and ensuring a fairer balance of revenue across tiers of government.

For Nigeria’s economy, the implications are far-reaching. Small businesses are set to benefit from reduced burdens, while larger corporations and multinationals will face stricter obligations under global minimum tax and anti-avoidance rules. Consumers will gain relief through expanded VAT zero-rating, while subnational governments stand to enjoy higher revenues under the revised sharing formula. At the same time, the consolidation of levies and the introduction of digital VAT administration promise to ease compliance and close leakages.

The trajectory is clear: Nigeria is shifting toward a tax system that mirrors international best practices, while remaining sensitive to domestic needs. If effectively implemented, these reforms could broaden the revenue base, strengthen subnational fiscal capacity, attract investment, and ultimately stabilize public finances. However, their success will depend on administrative capacity, transparency, and the willingness of both businesses and citizens to embrace compliance in exchange for visible public benefits.

In this sense, Nigeria’s new tax regime is more than a fiscal adjustment. It is a bid to reposition the economy on a path where taxation is not just a tool for revenue extraction, but a foundation for sustainable growth, equity, and accountability in governance.

An early morning fire yesterday destroyed no fewer than 26 shops at Bariga Market in Lagos, leaving traders counting their losses.

The inferno, which broke out about 4:05 a.m., reportedly started from one of the keeklamps shops before spreading rapidly to others due to the wooden partitions supporting the structures.

Eyewitnesses said the fire spread quickly as most of the shops were closely built, with flammable materials aiding the intensity of the blaze.

Officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Lagos State Fire Service, LRU paramedics and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) were said to have responded swiftly to the distress call, preventing the flames from engulfing other sections of the market.

In a preliminary report, LASEMA confirmed that though goods worth millions of naira were destroyed, no lives were lost and no injuries recorded.

The statement read: ‘Upon arrival, it was observed that some kee klamps shops were engulfed by fire. The cause of the outbreak could not be ascertained. However, the collaborative efforts of all emergency responders ensured that the fire was contained and prevented from spreading further. Twenty-six shops were affected.’

Market leaders expressed relief that no casualties were recorded but appealed to the government for assistance in cushioning the heavy losses suffered by traders.

As at press time, emergency officials had completed dampening operations, and the scene had been secured to avoid secondary incidents.

Imo state-born para Tennis sensation, Chituru Nwaozuzu is excited after winning two Tennis competitions in Lagos and hoping to make it a hat trick of triumphs when she takes part in the CBN Tennis Tournament which serves off today also in Lagos.

Nwaozuzu won the VEMP Tennis Championship beating Chika Enwerem in the final in straight sets of 6-2, 6-1 before adding Devnotch Tennis Championship to her collection a few days later.

The multiple National Sports Festival Medallists told NationSport that she was motivated to attend the championships by the Imo State Commissioner for Sports, Honourable Obinna Onyeocha who ensured she attended the competitions along with Vivian Ozurumba whom she beat in the semi-final 6-1, 6-2 at the Devnotch Championship, and Immaculate Achuluiwu.

‘I am more than happy to win both competitions because I didn’t train much coming to the competitions but my willpower to win and sheer determination to succeed saw me through,’ Nwaozuzu told NationSport.

‘I have won two already and I am still going for the third which starts tomorrow (today). I am ready to give my all to ensure I win.’

Meanwhile, Imo State Sports Commissioner, Hon. Obinna Onyeocha, has challenged athletes with special abilities from the state to aim for excellence at their ongoing championship in Lagos.

Onyeocha, who praised their determination, assured them of the government’s continued support.

He thumbed up the performance of Nwaozuzu who has already won two championships and gunning for the third.

Amid the prevailing economic hardship and social uncertainty in the country, First Baptist Church, Ikeja has launched annual Moments of Gratitude programme, designed to inspire hope and strengthen resilience through thanksgiving.

The event, which runs every Sunday throughout October, features gospel music, testimonies and cultural expressions.

The organisers said the month-long celebration was aimed at helping people focus on God’s mercies and finding encouragement despite life’s challenges.

Host pastor, Rev. Kolawole Ogokunle, said the church decided to dedicate October to gratitude as a reminder of God’s blessings in families, careers and businesses.

‘Our decision to dedicate October to gratitude comes from looking at our lives and seeing God’s mercy,’ he said. ‘This year’s celebration is both thanksgiving and a prayer for more testimonies.’

The festival will feature performances by Prevailers Voices, Tobi Akuraku, Lilian Nneji and the Prevailers Praise Team, while the final Sunday will be marked with a cultural thanksgiving service, allowing participants to celebrate their faith and heritage.

Church Secretary, Oluleye Ademola, in a statement, noted that the services would also be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube to accommodate those unable to attend physically.

‘Gratitude is more than just saying thanks; it is fuel for future,’ Rev. Ogokunle said. ‘It gives us strength to keep moving forward in our families, our work and our daily struggles.’

The newly inaugurated leadership of the Lagos Secretariat Community Central Mosque (LSCCM), Alausa, has pledged to deepen stakeholder engagement, enhance religious facilities, and expand community-driven programmes to foster harmony and development.

Speaking after his swearing-in for a second term, LSCCM Chairman, Abdulhafis Toriola, who is also the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Housing, assured worshippers of the leadership’s commitment to sustaining the mosque’s legacy.

He noted that the mosque leadership will continue to assess areas for improvement, while emphasizing regular training for Imams to enhance the quality of sermons.

‘Our message to the Muslim community is to continue to believe in Allah, obey His rules, and be good ambassadors of Islam,’ he said.

LSCCM vice chairman and chairman of Shamsideen Adisa Mosque, Dr. Ismail AbdusSalam, stated the need for unity and financial support from the Muslim community.

‘This is a call to serve Allah, and we cannot do it alone. We need cooperation in the form of prayers, financial support, and active participation in our projects. With this, we can harmonise the community and achieve the objectives of the mosque,’ he stated.

He urged Muslims to remain steadfast, contribute to the mosque’s programmes, and continue to pray for the leadership so that ‘Allah accepts our efforts as an act of worship.’

LSCCM Women Affairs Secretary, Hajia Jelilat Abdulhamid, said the mosque runs a weekly women’s forum that provides spiritual guidance, vocational training, and counselling services.

Hajia Abdulhamid, who is the Deputy Director at the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), added that the forum addresses the needs of single sisters by providing platforms for marital connections, educational sponsorship programmes, and supporting young women, some of whom are currently in universities.

‘We need upright women to nurture children and strengthen families. Our society can only thrive if women return to their primary roles of building the home and raising responsible children,’ she said.

The Oyo State House of Assembly has appealed to Governor Seyi Makinde to fulfill the promise of releasing N500 million to the Abiola Ajimobi Technical University in 2024.

The lawmakers also urged the governor to begin monthly subvention payments to the university from January 2026 to sustain its academic operations.

The resolutions followed a motion sponsored by Hon. Oluwafemi Fowokanmi, representing Ibadan South West Constituency 2 and Chairman of the House Committee on Tertiary Education, and seconded by Hon. Babajide Adebayo of Ibadan North Constituency 2.

Fowokanmi noted that the institution is battling inadequate funding for infrastructure, staff welfare, and academic operations, relying mainly on scholarships, internally generated revenue, and TETFUND grants.

He commended Governor Makinde for inaugurating the university’s Governing Council, describing it as a step towards securing proper state funding for the institution.

ýHe disclosed that since the announcement of the sum of N500 million in 2024 by the government, the money has not been released.

ýThe lawmaker added that the financial burden of the institution has increased with the announcement and approval new minimum wage, which has made the institution start taking bank loans to meet staff payments and other financial responsibilities.

ýAlso speaking on the motion, the lawmaker representing Egbeda state constituency and Chairman, House Committee on Budget and Economic Planning, Hon. Sunkanmi Babalola, appreciated the efforts of the present administration on the university in terms of road network, perimeter fence, and street lights, which he said have contributed to its physical outlook.

ýEmphasising the recent achievements recorded by the institution at the global stage, the lawmaker said that the release of funds and their inclusion in the monthly subvention would give the university the ability to expand its facilities, retain qualified personnel, and provide wider admission opportunities.

ýWhile toeing the same line with the mover of the motion and Hon. Babalola on the call inclusion of the institution in the monthly subvention payment, like other state-owned tertiary institutions, Hon. Babajide Adebayo also called for the audit of the institution’s account.

ýPassing the resolutions, the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, granted the request by the mover of the motion, Hon. Fowokanmi, to allow the House Committee on Tertiary Education to meet with the management of the university.

ýHon. Ogundoyin clarified that the purpose of the engagement is to ensure proper audit of the institution’s account, its internally generated revenue, and other financial records, as well as other challenges confronting it.

ýThe Speaker noted that the steps will give the House the lead on how to further intervene and provide legislative support on behalf of the institution.

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher G. Musa, has tasked Nigeria’s security forces with identifying and eliminating criminal elements destabilising the country and the wider Sahel region.

Speaking as the guest of honour at the closing ceremony of Exercise Haske Biyu, a joint security training organised by the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, Musa said peace in Nigeria and the Sahel can only be achieved by decisively removing such threats.

‘At the end of the day, the only thing we must do is to look for the bad guys and take them out. That is the only way we can have peace,’ he declared.

The CDS cautioned that the crisis in the Sahel is escalating, stressing that the enemies confronting Nigeria disregard national borders, making unilateral responses ineffective.

‘If we hold on to our borders alone, we will continue to suffer. But if we unite and work across, it makes it better,’ he said, urging stronger regional cooperation and joint operations.

Musa cited the Multinational Joint Task Force in Chad as an example of how neighbouring nations can operate collectively ‘as brothers’ to root out insurgents exploiting porous frontiers.

He linked military action to community engagement, insisting security forces cannot succeed without the cooperation of citizens who must deny criminals safe havens.

‘Once communities deny these elements the ability to stay, they will not be able to stand,’ Musa told participants, stressing that civil-military synergy is vital to sustainable gains.

The CDS also highlighted the role of the media in shaping public perception, praising journalists for educating Nigerians on the objectives and progress of security operations.

‘When perception is wrong, anything you are doing will be perceived as being wrong. So the media is critical,’ he said, thanking reporters for sustained, constructive coverage.

Musa urged personnel to remain professional and resist corruption and partisan influence, warning that money and politics could undermine operations against armed groups.

‘The only thing we must do is to look for the bad guys and take them out,’ he reiterated, charging officers to execute their mandate without fear or favour.

Closing his address, General Musa charged participants to convert the training’s outcomes into ‘solution-driven action’, stressing that relentless pursuit of criminals in cooperation with neighbours, communities and the media, is the surest route to lasting peace.

Earlier in his welcome address, Commandant of AFCSC, Air Vice Marshal Hassan Idris Alhaji, said Haske Biyu 2025, the largest exercise the college has held, deliberately adopted the theme Family and National Security to reconnect social cohesion with national defence.

He warned that weak families and fractured communities create fertile ground for radicalism and criminality, and urged trainees to translate lessons learned into community-focused action on return to their formations.

The presence and representation of high-level dignitaries at the exercise underscored the national importance of the event and the need for an all-of-society approach to security, the Commandant said.

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Thursday warned that uncertainty over the legal framework for the 2027 general election could unsettle the commission’s preparations.

Speaking while receiving a delegation of the European Union Election Observation follow-up mission to Nigeria, Yakubu appealed to the National Assembly to expedite action on the electoral reform proposal currently before it.

He said, ‘Election is a process governed by law. Many of your recommendations require the review of our electoral laws. For this reason, the Commission had interfaced with our National Assembly, including a retreat with the Joint Committee on Electoral Matters (Senate and House of Representatives).

‘We appeal to the National Assembly for an expeditious consideration of the electoral reform proposal. An early passage of law is critical to our planning for the elections. Uncertainty over the legal framework for the election can unsettle the work of the Commission as election draws nearer.’

The INEC boss said, ‘this is the third time that the present Commission is receiving such a mission. I recall that in 2017, we received Mr. Santiago Fisas who led the EU Election Observation to Nigeria’s 2015 General Election. Similarly, in 2022 we hosted Maria Arena who led the EU Election Observation Mission to Nigeria in 2019. Today, we are glad to receive Mr. Barry Andrews who led the EU Mission to the 2023 General Election.

‘In 2019, the EU EOM made 30 recommendations out of which 11 were specifically addressed to INEC. Three of them were identified as priority recommendations while 8 were categorised as general.

‘By comparison, your 2023 report made 23 recommendations out of which 8 (34.8%) require action by INEC of which only one recommendation was listed as priority. The remaining 15 (65.2%) recommendations, of which five were categorised as priority, require action by other entities in the executive, legislature and the judiciary as well as political parties and multiple stakeholders such as civil society organisations, the media and professional bodies.

‘The Commission has carefully considered all the 8 recommendations specifically addressed to us in your report. Action has been taken on aspects of the recommendations that only require administrative action to implement.

‘Similarly, action is being taken on cross-cutting recommendations that require collective action between INEC and other bodies and stakeholders while waiting for the conclusion of the ongoing legal review by the National Assembly on the recommendations that require legislative intervention.

‘To this end, the Commission has prepared a detailed response on each one of your direct observations which we shared with you at this meeting. If time permits, we can go over each of the recommendations seriatim.

‘I must also add that your recommendations, along with similar reports from other national and international election observers, were the subject of wide-ranging consultations with critical institutions and stakeholders during our own review of the 2023 General Election.

‘The review report contains 142 recommendations for electoral reform. In addition, the Commission has published our main 2023 General Election report over a year ago. The two reports are available from our website.

‘We look forward to the next EU EOM for the 2027 General Election. As you are aware, international Election Observation Missions are deployed on the invitation of the Commission. I want to reassure that we will continue to engage with you.

‘Very soon the Commission will send out invitations to the EU as well as the Commonwealth, the African Union and ECOWAS for the 2027 General Election. We believe that the recommendations arising from your observation of our election and electoral process help to improve the quality of our elections and electoral activities.’

The head of the delegation, Barry Andrews said the mission was pleased with the implementation of their recommendations from the 2023 general elections, but insisted that Nigeria must move beyond half-measures and guarantee transparency if democracy is to survive.

He said election observation is not about interference; it is about strengthening democracy in Nigeria, in Africa, and across the world.

He warned that reforms in the judiciary, administration, and constitution remain too slow, with transparency in result publication still unresolved.

Minister of Works David Umahi said that President Bola Tinubu has ordered continuation of all road projects previously funded by the NNPCL tax credit.

Umahi, who acknowledged funding challenges following the suspension of the NNPC tax credit funding, said President Tinubu remained focused on delivering durable roads despite criticism from some quarters.

The NNPCL, in 2021, launched the first phase of funding road projects with N621.24bn for the reconstruction of 21 roads across the six geopolitical zones.

Roads affected were the Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa/Bokani Junction Road (Sections I and II) in Kwara and Niger States, the Suleja-Minna Road, and emergency repairs along Mokwa-Makera-Tegina toward the Kaduna state border.

Checks showed that in 2023, the NNPCL got approval to invest N1.9 trillion in the reconstruction of 44 federal roads including the East-West Road, the Port Harcourt-Onne Junction upgrade, the Eket bypass, and the construction of the Nembe-Brass Road in Bayelsa State.

Umahi, who was accompanied by Governor Monday Okpebholo, spoke in Benin City during an inspection of the Benin-Warri dual carriageway bypass.

Umahi announced that President Tinubu has approved that the 100-kilometre stretch of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway pass through Edo State.

Edo was not originally included in the highway’s alignment.

Other States benefitting from the project include Lagos (100km), Ogun and Ondo (82km), Akwa Ibom (65km), and Cross River (27km).

Umahi said: ‘Mr. President has directed that 100 kilometres by two lanes of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway must now pass through Edo. This is a special gift to the people of Edo.

‘But the President, impressed by your governor’s commitment to infrastructure, insisted that the state must benefit. It’s a reward for loyalty, leadership, and performance.’

He said Tinubu’s road projects were designed with reinforced concrete technology to last between 50 and 100 years

He said the appalling condition of federal roads in Edo State was tragic and unacceptable.

He commended President Tinubu for his swift intervention and commitment to reversing decades of infrastructural decay, saying no motorist could travel 100 kilometres on federal roads nationwide without encountering major challenges.

‘President Tinubu met an overwhelming situation in terms of roads and bridges. You can’t travel 100 kilometres on federal roads without encountering serious difficulties. But the President is showing resolve, and Nigerians are already commending his efforts.’

The Minister commended Governor Okpebholo for intervening in critical failed portions of the Benin-Warri highway after the termination of a contract earlier awarded to Levante Construction Company under the NNPC Tax Credit Scheme.

He explained that Levante executed only four kilometres of reinforced concrete pavement in stable sections of the road, neglecting the worst segments despite repeated warnings.

Umahi further appealed to Governor Okpebholo to extend his intervention to an additional nine kilometres, praising his willingness to collaborate.

‘The contract was terminated after months of delay and poor work. We appealed to Governor Okpbholo to take over the first 23 kilometres, which he promptly awarded to CBC. The quality of their work is commendable.’

I have written many times deprecating the phenomenon of African heads of state or government rushing in and out of major metropolitan centres like London, Paris, Washington, Beijing, Tokyo and others to provide them comic relief and inviting African heads of government or state to come and make serious people laugh at their penury and global jamboree. It will soon be New Delhi, Lisbon, Madrid, Moscow and any global power that needs funny African rulers wearing what to them looks funny.

Recently 52 or so African heads of state and government assembled as they do annually in Beijing to meet With President Xi Jinping in a one-way dialogue in which the Chinese are presented with a list of requests on developmental projects spanning civil and military spheres of life. Most of the African countries are already indebted to China and they are not really in positions of serious binary negotiations. Sometimes, the African countries are just like Oliver Twist asking for more and more without understanding Chinese oriental mentality of asking for their last pint of blood from them and their children when their loans mature.

Orientals are generally not in the habit of forgiving creditors their debts. It is not just in their character and I am afraid that Africans will in future learn to their own detriment that the Chinese like other Orientals are incredible taskmasters not because they are wicked but because it is in their blood. There is no free lunch anywhere in the world! Whatever loans the Chinese are giving out now will be collected with interest in future or assets will be seized when the debtors are not able to pay. The experience of Sri Lanka which took generous Chinese loans for the development and modernisation of their ports and when they could not pay the Chinese simply seized the ports in lieu of the money owed.

I hope the African states will open their eyes when taking Chinese loans or any loans at all because they are not grants. Many of the projects the Chinese funded like the TANZAM railways running from Zambia to Tanzania built between 1970 and 1975 as the ‘UHURU RAILWAY’ is now not running and is virtually out of commission and has gone into a state of almost total disrepair and is being repaired with another loan of $1 billion provided by the Chinese. In our own case in Nigeria, the Kaduna- Abuja railway has been rendered hors de combat because of terrorists attack and bureaucratic thefts and it thus cannot pay its way. The Lagos-Ibadan railway is hardly a tale of success and the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport in Abuja runs fitfully and not always and only God knows the fate of the Kano-Katsina-Zinder railway all built with Chinese money. The intercity railway in Lagos stands as a case of success if the bureaucratic shenanigans and corruption are minimized.

The problem of these railways is that only sections are complete. For example the Lagos – Ibadan railway is the southern portion of the line going to Kano. Without its completion, it can hardly be expected to pay its way.

We also have the problem of Nigerians not willing to pay for infrastructural modernisation because they think government owes them a living! Toll roads and bridges are objects of protest and damage in Nigeria whereas in the civilised parts of the world, people are made to pay for new roads, railways and other means of modern transportation and communication. There is a need for civic education to inculcate into our people the primary responsibility of citizens to pay tax. Bill Gates on a recent visit to Nigeria pointed out that Nigerians do not pay taxes. Of course, it is generally known that only salary earners pay taxes while business people hardly pay taxes no matter how wealthy they are. They simply bribe their ways through. The complaint is that taxes are routinely stolen.

I am afraid we have come to a point in our country when we have to put our feet down and say no more stealing and police the state to prevent arrant looting after all, thieves are people not spirits. If we are serious we can do it. China that we run with begging hats and plates in hand to was one of the most corrupt societies in the world. China and India used to struggle with each other about which country was worse than the other until China of Mao Tsetung decided to deal brutally with any rogue pilfering from state coffers. Anyone pilfering was met by bullets. People sat up and this severe retribution continues till today.

Until we do this, corruption will continue until it destroys this country. The China we all run to borrow money was within my lifetime abjectly poor until the Chinese revolution in 1949. The country continued to engage in life and death struggle with poverty until Deng Xiaoping took power and ruled the country between 1978 and 1989 and completely transformed the country from being in the backwoods of development in the world into what it is today as the second most powerful country in the world, second to the United States and on the cusp of overtaking it in the next decade or two, all things being equal. The phenomenal development of China within a living memory should be what our people should try to emulate. Borrowing money and opening our markets to all kind of junks was not the Chinese way to development. The way the Chinese mobilised its huge population for development should be an example which a country like Nigeria should follow rather than importing all kinds of Chinese goods into our country.

Instead of wasting our time and the little money we have on constitutional debates and writing and rewriting our constitution, we should take our ploughs, hoes and cutlasses and go to farms with the aim of not only feeding ourselves but the rest of the world as Americans do.

I am opposed to all the presidents of Africa queuing up in foreign countries to beg for assistance when we are endowed with available land, sunshine, water, air, minerals underneath the earth and flowing water that can be harnessed for hydroelectricity. It is not just the humiliation in Beijing that I am opposed to; I am also opposed to all African presidents going to Paris as begging children every year for France – Africa powwow. The same goes for the similar phenomenon in London, Washington, Tokyo, in New Delhi, Berlin with Madrid and who knows when even puny Lisbon will follow.

These African rulers will fly in their executive jets costing millions of dollars to purchase, to beg for money which is sometimes not up to the cost of their planes. We are told that the Chinese is sharing $50 billion among the 52 African states assembled in Beijing. This means some of these presidents would go home with less than $1 billion when prorated. It just doesn’t make sense when the monarch of Britain, heads of state and government in Germany, France, Spain, and Italy rents planes from their national airlines when they want to fly and make an impression. No one can begrudge the United States, Russia and even France for using executive personalised aircraft’s for their trips abroad, after all, they make them and can afford them without borrowing or breaking the backs of their people to buy them

If there is need for all African countries to meet with these powerful countries for assistance, let the OAU decide that as from now onwards, African ambassadors would represent their countries in bilateral relations one on one and if they have to be met as a collective, there should be no problem and for the countries that have no ambassadors in these major capitals, they should be represented by neighbouring countries’ ambassadors or those of regional organisations like Economic Community of West Africa – ECOWAS or SADC or such regional bodies. This annual jamborees reminds me of what the late President George Walker Bush said about such International jamborees. He said the smaller countries speak longer than the bigger and more important participants representing important countries and that their long speeches are simply ignored. I hope this is not the case with these African jamborees simply providing comic relief for the government leaders of busy and serious countries!