BY ABDUL HAMID ALGAZALI
After the presidency ramrodded us into hasty, poorly thought-out economic reforms—subsidy removal and Naira devaluation—this clique of self-acclaimed experts are now back for another round of their bamboozlement with the tax reform bills. Now, already wiser, everyone is being careful about everything the government comes with. Unfortunately, the handlers of this clique, who thought their ideas are not from this planet, find everyone calling for more time to understand the new bills as retrogressive and backward, or at best, an opposition. You can imagine the audacity. I mean, almost everything they did before now didn't work out well, and instead of threading carefully, they think people would wait to be thrown into another socio-economic crisis by the recklessness without giving them a hard run for their money?
Well, this past one week, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, who they are now doing everything to discredit and demonize, has offered them and everyone who cared to know a free master class on democracy, with some pepper to make it yummier. Unfortunately, his generosity has been deliberately misunderstood by the proponents of these reforms. In this regard, they go on to even challenge the rigors of his intellect and academic qualifications. Perhaps, this arrogance is a familiar pattern in the country. Some people across a certain section have arrogated to themselves the right to determine who is knowledgeable, to the extent of treating the idea of education their exclusive preserve. They even wonder how professors can emerge from certain sections of the country.
One day, my X account will cause me high blood pressure. There, one man said the governor shouldn’t have gone on air to express his views because, he said, he only helped to embarrass himself and the North. He said after the Channels TV interview, he found the governor’s professorship questionable. See the audacity. This man has been deciding for himself everything he needed to do with his life until now when he is a governor in a state with over 7m people; so who are you to now tell him what to do? If you are embarrassed, so what? Who are you even that your being embarrassed should matter?
When President Buhari introduced the Naira swap program, governors from the North, more than from the south, fought it. They took it to the Supreme Court and won the case against him. As such, when a northern governor speaks on this matter today, it shouldn’t be treated any differently. I think the rest of the country finds it hard to understand the average northerner. They hardly ever confuse loyalty with outright servility. At the appropriate time, they would challenge whatever they are not comfortable with, without diminishing their loyalty to you. And I think that's true of every other responsible Nigerian, wherever they are from. The only problem for me, which could well be a result of my cyberspace algorithm, is how most of my friends treat national discourses with a provincial parochialism, that is often dismissive of everything that isn't them or from them.
Gov. Zulum has remained loyal to President Tinubu. That is important to note because he wasn't obviously even part of the merger that brought ACN, ANPP and CPC together, where promises of rotating power, or even supporting him to replace Buhari, was made. He joined politics five years after that and only came to find this as an already settled agreement and gave his commitment to it. Based on these principles, he was among the first to uphold and stand up for it.
Prof. Zulum has also remained committed to his policies of subsidy removal and Naira flotation. In supporting them, damaging and crippling though they still are, the governor immediately purchased luxurious commercial buses to ensure that the cost of transportation remains affordable.
He equally went ahead to buy electric cars to run taxi services without making any noise about them. They still offer the cheapest transportation in Maiduguri, if not all across the country, as they would just charge a paltry N100 for a trip. In fact, I haven’t seen any greater working effort than this, even by the presidency, to address the crisis we are plunged into by the president's woefully failing economic experiments. He made sure elaborate solar powered water systems are in place to enable irrigation farming in remote locations. This is so far, already leading an agricultural revolution, besides providing free transport to the farmers, to and from their farmlands.
The government only recently announced a rail project; which goes for one of the boldest moves by any of his counterparts from the North. They may come to argue that this is made possible because of the cost-saving effects of Naira flotation and subsidy removal. The biggest nonsense about Naira flotation is that it will bring in more money. But they won't tell you that it would come with outrageous price hikes that far outweigh its gains. They will impress their minions with huge FAAC allocations monthly, but they are in a real sense, not anything close to what we used to have in worth and value.
Prof. Zulum’s offering is simple. This country is a democracy. You don’t run it like a personal estate, especially when past opportunities given to you were not utilized well. This country has a fair distribution of wisdom across every section, sector, and group. You don’t ram your thoughts down everyone’s throat, especially when concerns are raised. None of these means he is opposed to the tax reforms or this government.
He said Nigerians, including himself and some of his colleagues, feel that the bill was not yet properly understood. As such, he is inviting the presidency and the NASS to allow more time for wider consultation and understanding. In his capacity as a state governor, and the chairman of the North East Governors Forum, it would certainly be irresponsible of him, if for any reason, whatever the assurances, he supports an idea he doesn’t understand for merely political correctness or party loyalty.
Yes, the presidency can irresponsibly say it is not responsible for one’s understanding, or not, of the bills since it has convinced itself that it is a good idea; but this is why Prof. Zulum is reminding them that we are in a democracy. These decisions are made on behalf of, and in the interest of the people. These people are not some aliens or dullards or conquered war captives. They are free, reasonable, and responsible Nigerians, who, what’s more, even voted in the government.
They, therefore, ought to understand what the government is doing, especially on a matter as important as how to tax them. Gov. Zulum is reminding them of the need to offer more public education and enlightenment, which is surely what President Tinubu signed up for since May 29, 2023. If he had conquered them, then he could use his whims and caprices to run them. If they are some brain-dead dullards, supposing someone has declared that, he can as well do as he wishes on the excuse they cannot understand any explanation.
In clear terms, Prof. Zulum is actually helping the cause of the president, so much more than his media team are presently doing. Those who claimed to have read the bills, as well as the president's handlers who are now feeling so indignant of anyone who said there is still a need for some consultation, are actually the ones doing the presidency a great disservice. Instead of them to take the opportunity to explain the documents, they are taunting everyone who has an alternative view of it.
Because they have read it does not mean that those who have different opinions didn't read it. It could well be that it is they who didn't actually understand it. These bills are, first of all, entirely man made, and not revelations. One would read them and still not find them convincing. In this case, even if you read them, you are not likely to immediately digest their contents and tell their long-term implications if you are not a tax expert.
I mean, they were drafted by just a handful of Nigerians, who hardly have the required appreciation of the Nigerian extensive diversity, sensibilities, and what have you. You thus need to consult stakeholders and experts before giving it your blessings. Because they are new doesn't mean they are better. There are so many useless new things. I am personally finding it difficult to understand them, because it is not the kind of things I am used to reading.
The presidency has a duty to embark on a thorough public awareness and stop this truancy. Nigerians are now wiser. Ordinarily, taxes are not collected for the personal use of those in power. It is for the good of the population, and the government is supposed to therefore ensure that everyone understands the overriding importance of it and even eventually pay them willingly. There is still a very poor understanding of even the existing tax laws in the country, and many often feel the government is just forcefully taking a part of their money. More than a lot of other things, these debates are supposed to be opportunities to help the populace understand what this whole stuff is. I mean, the bill is stunningly over 400+ pages, and you don’t expect everyone to understand them overnight.