Tinubu's Tax Reform, Sunusi Lamido, National "Greed" and Sundry

By Sani Bello Hamza

One of the valuable lessons I learned this year is the power of silence. 2024 forcefully taught me how to keep mum in a noisy and chaotic gathering. I realized it's true that not everything deserves our comment or attention. We must not comment on all sundry issues to be respected. Even as writers, we are not here to babble daily as commentators; there are times we comment and analyze issues publicly. Other times, we keep the analysis to ourselves.

I also realized that silence is not only the best answer to a fool but also a weapon at the disposal of a smart person to live a healthy and intelligent life. Keeping quiet in the midst of a controversial or complex argument requires a high level of self-discipline and life exposure. It's also a way of maintaining value in the eyes of people. Islamically, silence is considered a sign of good morals, piousness, and faith. Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib noted that someone who speaks less often actually embodies more wisdom. According to Imam Ali's teachings, when you're quiet, you avoid unnecessary talk that might lead to lying.

Take President Tinubu's controversial tax reform bill, for instance. Nigerians took to their social media handles to dish out intelligent and stupefying opinions on the purported tax reform. Some of us commented without caring to go into the details of the actual bill – not even the 10-paged summary. I tried to pen something down to either support the bill or religiously oppose its content. Alternatively, I also tried to have an open-ended piece where I would neither support the bill nor oppose its content. However, it suddenly came to my mind that I'm neither an accountant, a tax expert, nor an accounting student. A "bloody" Law student with little knowledge of accounting and taxation, who am I to comment on a bill curated by a high-profile presidential committee headed by the renowned Tax Guru, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele?

I decided to step back and let our tax experts do the job. I will not be an intruder, neither will I become a meddlesome interloper. I further asked myself a simple yet profound question: whether my input would be considered for possible amendment of the bill during the public hearing? I was convinced that even if I write a thousand-word article, it won't be as rich as it would be expected to be. So why waste my time and the precious time of the public on a subject I do not fully appreciate its concepts? I honorably decided to leverage the opportunity to learn from lawyers, accountants, and tax experts on and off social media. Bearing in mind that in every disappointment, there is a blessing.

Now that all legislative proceedings regarding the tax reform bill have been suspended, as we await a positive outcome from the committee, I asked myself what is wrong with our "National Grid" or better still "National Greed"? On 11th December 2024, the national grid was reported to have collapsed for the 12th time in 2024. You know what that means? It means we were hit by a national greed catastrophe 12 times this year, which undoubtedly led to a drastic and massive setback in public and private sectors.

I recently had a chat with a small business owner, where he narrated how he spent the exact or close to the amount he spent monthly on electricity on diesel daily in just 24-48 hours of the "national greed collapse". Our SMEs can no longer afford the draining price of diesel or petrol. Most businesses are forced to shut down or live in the dark either because of the "national greed" or the so-called Band E.

Malam Sani, what's the way forward? Well, the method of getting out of the "national greed" calamity is not as easy as it seems. Electricity has undoubtedly become part and parcel of our lives; a day without electricity seems like a day in the grave. Nevertheless, we must learn to adapt and diversify the means of energy. A large chunk of small businesses and households have since embraced the booming solar power to power their homes and businesses. There are solar panels and inverters that can generate as much as 200-300V of power. Why not give it a try and get out of the prison of the endless "national greed" collapse?

For state governments and private sectors, electricity has since been removed from the exclusive legislative list, meaning state governors can independently generate electricity to power their regions without relying solely on the "national greed". We have seen few examples recently from the South West. The Lagos state governor recently signed the Lagos Electricity Bill into law, which, according to the governor, will provide 24-hour electricity to the state, ensure businesses have affordable and sustainable energy. 

Oyo state government has also embarked on this laudable journey to rescue its citizens from the continuous collapse of the "national greed." While their colleagues from the South are making conscious efforts to usher in development and rescue their people from national greed, their northern counterparts are busy politicking in a game of throne-like manner. Their subjects are also not willing to talk sense into them, or maybe it's because they are busy supporting domestic violence; calling on Gov. Abba to stand on his feet and anxiously waiting for Arewa 24 to drop the next episode of LABARINA or DADIN KOWA? Sani Bello Hamza is a law student at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He writes from Zaria and can be reached via his email, sanibellohamza@gmail.com, or 09013506168.