Nigeria, without war, got her independence on the 1st of October 1960. With independence came the hope of a better future. However, for the first few years after the attainment of independence, everything seems to move fine until the negatives of partisan politics found a niche in the system. The country has gone through hell and is not back.
Quest for power was not the only factor that has plunged Nigeria into tales of colossal misfortune. Many historians and other school of thoughts have clearly attributed the country’s failure to crude oil. Prior to the discovery, the absence of crude oil paved way for other sectors to soar but that wasn’t the end of the road. As the rulers of the day learnt about the abundance of wealth embedded in crude oil, they easily gave the sitting room to greed. Without restrain, the rulers shared among themselves the oil wells.
Indeed, there was no telling the extent of what crude oil might bring. In a short while, other sectors which hitherto were doing fine began to suffer. Attention was shifted towards the oil sector – the consequences of which has helped to cripple as well as jeopardized Nigeria’s economy. At the moment, the many failures of the Nigerian state are in way related to wanton greed for national treasury by few political kleptomaniacs.
Every action and inaction bears its own fruits. It is not an open secret to say conclusively that Nigerians are suffering. Right from the days of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the citizens have been suffering and smiling. According to Tolu Ogunlesi, a writer for cable network, on the 30th of November 2015, he wrote that “About forty years ago General Yakubu Gowon famously said something about Nigeria’s problem not being money but is about spending it”. That was perhaps one of the most reckless economic jamborees ever thrown at the citizens by a regime.
After Gowon came countless number of economic miscalculations. In an effort to increase internally generated revenue, the President Goodluck administration thought it wise to cut down on oil subsidies and create a single treasury account. But then, this decision was met with a brick wall. With the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari, he too decided to cut back on oil subsidies and increase fuel price. This act he so justified by claiming that government could no longer afford to accommodate such largesse for the citizens. Without minding the effect of post covid-19, the government has carried on with the execution of the policy.
Since there are many areas of interest, the increase in value added tax has also helped to make heavier the yoke of living. After the federal executive meeting held on the 12th of September 2020 in Abuja, the increment of Nigeria VAT rate from 5% to 7.5% was made official. The new VAT rate was subsequently signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari and it took effect on the 1st of February 2020.
Let us be reminded that Nigeria has one of the lowest VAT rate in the whole wide world. Other countries such as Zambia, Kenya, South Africa and Ghana Have a higher tax rate of 16%, 16%, 15% and 12.5 percent respectively.
Even though the increment seems little, the hardship this has caused can only be seen glaringly on the faces of ordinary Nigerians. The Nigerian banks have become the whip masters doing all it can to profiteer from the citizens through the instrument of stamp duty, ATM maintenance, text charges, withdrawal charges, deposit charges and other gross means.
With the recent poverty index ratio of Nigeria pegged at 87% by the World Bank, there is indeed a problem. The increase in minimum wage has lowered the welfare of consumers.
Almost a year now, the government of placed a ban on the import of rice thereby causing an obsessive push up in the cost of not only rice but other commodities. In the year 2015, the cost of a bag of rice was within the range of eight and nine thousand naira. Right now, a big of rice sells for thirty thousand naira and above. With very little earning and increasing unemployment, the situation is indeed a testament of massive penury.
The tension in the land is therefore not only a call to end police brutality but it is also a call to put a stop to all the years of gross abuse of power. Until something drastic is done, the fabric that binds Nigeria may cease to hold sway.
– Olayinka Kayode Kingsley
olayinkakayodekingsley@gmail.com
