Friday Lines (52) With:
Dr Abubakar Alkali

14/3/25

1. House of Representatives Passes Tinubu’s Tax Reform Bills:

Despite the groundswell of opposition against Tinubu’s tax reform bill, Mr President has gone ahead to lobby the House of Representatives to pass the anti-people tax bills. Without Doubt:

* The next government will throw the bill away

* ⁠Increased Taxation is never the appropriate economic policy during a period of hyperinflation.

* ⁠All taxes including the so-called corporate tax will eventually fall on ORDINARY NIGERIANS on the streets.

* ⁠The increased corporate taxes on companies under the so-called Tinubu tax reform bill will translate into higher prices on Rice, Garri, Maggi, Palm Oil, etc.

* ⁠It is not true to say that the so-called Tinubu tax reform bills will not tax low income earners as the companies will increase prices of foodstuff and other essentials as a direct consequence of corporate tax in the bills.

* ⁠The worst hit from this tax reform bill is the ordinary Nigerian.

* ⁠When you increase corporate tax and VAT, the manufacturing companies will increase their prices for the economically straggled families to bear.

* ⁠Taxation is never a good policy in a mindlessly corrupt system like Nigeria’s partly because you don’t see where the accrued taxes go to.

* ⁠Most revenues from tax reforms end up in private pockets. Nigerians are not encouraged to pay taxes because they don’t see anything on ground to justify the taxes they pay. No jobs, no electricity, no health care. Nigerians pay for everything: Generators for electricity, private schools, Boreholes etc

* ⁠Revenue from taxes end up in private pockets.

* ⁠Where is the money supposedly saved from fuel subsidy removal? The same thing will happen to any taxes collected from Nigerians.

Solution:
The right policy is not Tinubu’s so-called tax reforms or advance taxation taxation. The solution is to change the narrative from an economy built on consumption to one based on production:

* Skills acquisition and building factories to process finished products.

* ⁠Nigeria should centralise it’s economic diversification efforts around 3 commodities: COTTON (Textile industries), RICE and SOLID MINERALS.

* ⁠Stop illegal mining in Zamfara and other parts of Nigeria.

* ⁠The federal government should acquire ALL mining sites in Nigeria and designated all OIL THIEVES and ILLEGAL MINERS as TERRORISTS.

2. Appeal Court Stops Sanusi’s Reinstatement as Emir of Kano

Nigeria’s Extremely Weak Judiciary that has not Prosecuted Even ONE Bandit or Boko Haram Member or IPOB/ESN is Busy Dissipating Energy and Resources on Local, Customary and Traditional Chieftaincy Affairs that Should Normally be Handled Homely by Traditional Kingmakers.
The Emir of Kano is constitutionally under the Nassarawa local government chairman so why is the judiciary at the federal level dissipating all its time in this political tussle tied to Kano Emirship instead of allowing the Kano magistrate courts at the local level to handle the matter?

Questions:

* What Has the Emirship Stool in Kano Got to do With National Development?

* ⁠What Has it Got to Do With Job Creation, Food Production, Skills Acquisition etc.

Simply because two politicians namely Kwankwaso and Ganduje are Fighting Each Other, the Nigerian judiciary is Now Neck Deep into the Kano Emirship Tussle.
Courts are Giving Conflicting Judgements As they try to outdo one another to Appease Desperate Politicians.
What a shear Waste of Time!

Dr. Abubakar Alkali is the writer.