Feature/OPED
A Nation on Tiger’s Back
By Jerome-Mario Utomi
In the words of Justin Merkins, a world-acclaimed management consultant, there are clear thinkers, muddled thinkers and people that fall in between.
Clear thinkers -are the ones that can cull everything down into the right points-are very hard to find. But if you get yourself a team of clear thinkers, the possibilities are endless. These are men who see tomorrow, trailblazers and high-level executives, but most often misunderstood by some fellow countrymen still stuck in the old normal of yesterday.
From the above-outlined attributes of clear thinkers, it will not be considered an overstatement to conclude that Nigeria’s Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Sunday Dare, falls into the bracket of a clear thinker.
This position is predicated on his (Dare) warning on the 27th August 2019, in Abuja while delivering his goodwill message at the launch of the 2019 Futures Awards Africa to commemorate the 2019 International Youth Day, that Nigeria’s future remains endangered except the excesses of youths are checked “We need to lead them on the path that will benefit our society the most.
If we leave them to their own whims, we will endanger our collective tomorrow. “The youths are our future. They are our assurance that we have tomorrow. How bright that tomorrow becomes depends on us. It will depend on the efforts we put in today,” Dare said.
About one year after that ‘prophetic’ statement was made; the negative consequence resulting from the inability to abide by such warning has become a word made flesh and now dwells among us.
Glaringly, the recent quest for a new order in the country spearheaded by Nigerian youths, and other strategic’ interplays, conflicts and considerable uncertainties of the past weeks which exposed the ‘civil but cold’ relationship between politicians and Nigerians is on the one hands a perfect example. Notedly also, it in more than one way underscores the usefulness of the attachment theory of 1958, as propounded by John Bowlby, a British psychologist.
Adding context to the discourse, Bowlby, in that theory pointed out that ‘if a primary caregiver responds inappropriately and/or inconsistently, the infant learns to assume that he or she is powerless to affect the larger world and that his or her signals have no intrinsic significance where the universe is concerned. A child he added, who receives really erratic and inconsistent responses from a primary caregiver, even if those responses are occasionally warm and sensitive, develops anxious resistance and indifferent attachment.
For all intents and purposes, it captures the current political temperature and disposition of Nigerians towards the leaders once considered as caregivers. The previous broken political promises and disappointments, for example, made the youths active on social media. And through the process, they learned strategic lessons.
First, aside from the new awareness that the qualities required for success are the same that undermines success, Nigerians appear to have suddenly come to the realization that political participation is a broader category of political behaviour and consists of those voluntary activities by citizens that are intended to influence the election of leaders or the decisions they make.
Again, not only have Nigerians come to term that ‘power concedes nothing without a demand, to a certain extent, they have expressed dissatisfaction/frustrations that the nation is governed by people that do not feel the pinch the common man is made to endure, noting that their feelings/opinion are not regarded by the government.
There are major realities and instances of gradual and silent infringements on the masses by the present administration that has not only caused Nigerians to stagger in confusion and incomprehension but left the nation on the tiger’s back.
Take as an instance, at the wake of the All Progressive Congress (APC) formation in 2013, the party according to reports presented to Nigerians a 29 paged documents prepared by the Audu Ogbe led 20 man manifesto Committee, where the party among other promises, stated that the APC mission would be anchored on the point that the task before the current generation is to build on the achievements of our heroes past, and Bequette an enduring legacy for the future generation.
Noting that its guiding principles would derive impetus from the six principles of; belief in, and the fear of God; upholding the rule of law; preserving national unity; pursuit of a just and egalitarian society; the building of strong institutions; commitment to social justice and economic progress and promotion of representative and functional participatory democracy. It was on this premise that Millions of Nigerians defied all odds and voted out the PDP and in its place, voted the All Progressive Congress into power in 2015 and 2019 respectively.
Today, while the party has denied making such promises, social justice, economic progress, representative and functional participatory democracy are all under attacks.
All Nigerians now hear is but excuses that produce monument of nothingness; Nigeria cannot work because the past administration did a whole lot of damage to the economy/system. The Nigerian youth who sleeps in the street and excruciating poverty and starvation drives into the ranks of the beggars whose desperate struggle for bread renders them insensible to all feelings of decency and self-respect are lazy.
What however renders the whole argument as verge, ungraspable and spurious is that if the nation’s economy could not slip into recession under the last administration that allegedly mismanaged it, why has recession become a recurring decimal-as it has occurred twice in less than 5years (2016 and 2020) under the present administration?
Away from the issue of economy/recession, if we must ever think of one event in recent times that appeared most ‘brazing’ and probably did more than anything else to convince Nigerians with critical interest to look differently at the out of an ordered situation in the country, it is the present administration’s management of Premium Motor Spirit(PMS).
In 2016, with just one year in the office, despite the electoral promise to reduce petrol price fromN87 that he met it, President Muhammadu Buhari, against all known logic increased the price to N145; an increase of about N58 and action that further perpetuated poverty and consolidated powerlessness among Nigerians.
Before Nigerians visited with such oppression could absorb the shock occasioned by the increase, they were again in August 2020, informed by the PPMC of further increase.
It reads, ‘’Please be informed that a new product price adjustment has been effected on our payment platform. To this end, the price of premium motor spirit (PMS) is now one hundred and fifty-one naira, fifty-six kobo (N151.56) per litre. This is effective 2nd September 2020.
Once more, before the dust raised by the 2nd September 2020 pump price increase could settle, another was up. The burden of the hike was again placed on innocent Nigerians with the upward review of PMS Price to N170 per litre.
This came in a season when the poor masses still struggle with nostalgia over other increases such as; an increase of Value Added Tax (VAT) from five to 7.5 per cent, re-introduction of Stamp Duty Charge, re-introduction of Stamp Duty on house rents and C of O transactions and the electricity prices.
Despite all these unpalatable signals and feedback from the poor masses, our nation’s handlers have not deemed it necessary to appraise the entire process in order to situate if these increases are achieving the targeted results. But instead, they pushed on, focusing on trivial concerns while forgetting to address the fundamental issues.
Notedly, Nigerians may presently have no one to comfort them because on the side of their oppressors there is power. However, President Muhammadu led administration must not fail to remember the admonition by AL Gore, a former Vice President of the United States of America (USA), that the visibility of democracy depends upon the openness, reliability, appropriateness, and responsiveness, and two-way natures of the communication between the leader and the led.
If they receive responses that seem to be substantive but actually are not, citizens begin to feel as if they were being manipulated. If the messages they receive from the media feed this cynicism, the decline of democracy can be accelerated.
In the same vein, if citizens of a country express their opinions and feelings over an extended period of time without evoking a meaningful response, then they naturally begin to feel frustrated. This has happened all too often to poor masses who suffer prejudice and are not given a fair hearing by their leaders.
Jerome-Mario Utomi is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Public Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), Lagos. He could be reached via; [email protected] or 08032725374.
By Luke Kyohere
The global payments landscape is undergoing a rapid transformation. New technologies coupled with the rising demand for seamless, secure, and efficient transactions has spurred on an exciting new era of innovation and growth. With 2025 fast approaching, here are important trends that will shape the future of payments:
1. The rise of real-time payments
Until recently, real-time payments have been used in Africa for cross-border mobile money payments, but less so for traditional payments. We are seeing companies like Mastercard investing in this area, as well as central banks in Africa putting focus on this.
2. Cashless payments will increase
In 2025, we will see the continued acceleration of cashless payments across Africa. B2B payments in particular will also increase. Digital payments began between individuals but are now becoming commonplace for larger corporate transactions.
3. Digital currency will hit mainstream
In the cryptocurrency space, we will see an increase in the use of stablecoins like United States Digital Currency (USDC) and Tether (USDT) which are linked to US dollars. These will come to replace traditional cryptocurrencies as their price point is more stable. This year, many countries will begin preparing for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), government-backed digital currencies which use blockchain.
The increased uptake of digital currencies reflects the maturity of distributed ledger technology and improved API availability.
4. Increased government oversight
As adoption of digital currencies will increase, governments will also put more focus into monitoring these flows. In particular, this will centre on companies and banks rather than individuals. The goal of this will be to control and occasionally curb runaway foreign exchange (FX) rates.
5. Business leaders buy into AI technology
In 2025, we will see many business leaders buying into AI through respected providers relying on well-researched platforms and huge data sets. Most companies don’t have the budget to invest in their own research and development in AI, so many are now opting to ‘buy’ into the technology rather than ‘build’ it themselves. Moreover, many businesses are concerned about the risks associated with data ownership and accuracy so buying software is another way to avoid this risk.
6. Continued AI Adoption in Payments
In payments, the proliferation of AI will continue to improve user experience and increase security. To detect fraud, AI is used to track patterns and payment flows in real-time. If unusual activity is detected, the technology can be used to flag or even block payments which may be fraudulent.
When it comes to user experience, we will also see AI being used to improve the interface design of payment platforms. The technology will also increasingly be used for translation for international payment platforms.
7. Rise of Super Apps
To get more from their platforms, mobile network operators are building comprehensive service platforms, integrating multiple payment experiences into a single app. This reflects the shift of many users moving from text-based services to mobile apps. Rather than offering a single service, super apps are packing many other services into a single app. For example, apps which may have previously been used primarily for lending, now have options for saving and paying bills.
8. Business strategy shift
Recent major technological changes will force business leaders to focus on much shorter prediction and reaction cycles. Because the rate of change has been unprecedented in the past year, this will force decision-makers to adapt quickly, be decisive and nimble.
As the payments space evolves, businesses, banks, and governments must continually embrace innovation, collaboration, and prioritise customer needs. These efforts build a more inclusive, secure, and efficient payment system that supports local to global economic growth – enabling true financial inclusion across borders.
Luke Kyohere is the Group Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Onafriq
In a heartfelt statement released today, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has extended its warmest congratulations to Ghana’s President-Elect, emphasizing the importance of learning from Ghana’s recent electoral success as Nigeria gears up for its 2027 general elections.
In a statement signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Comrade James Ezema, the CNPP highlighted the need for Nigeria to reclaim its status as a leader in democratic governance in Africa.
“The recent victory of Ghana’s President-Elect is a testament to the maturity and resilience of Ghana’s democracy,” the CNPP stated. “As we celebrate this achievement, we must reflect on the lessons that Nigeria can learn from our West African neighbour.”
The CNPP’s message underscored the significance of free, fair, and credible elections, a standard that Ghana has set and one that Nigeria has previously achieved under former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. “It is high time for Nigeria to reclaim its position as a beacon of democracy in Africa,” the CNPP asserted, calling for a renewed commitment to the electoral process.
Central to CNPP’s message is the insistence that “the will of the people must be supreme in Nigeria’s electoral processes.” The umbrella body of all registered political parties and political associations in Nigeria CNPP emphasized the necessity of an electoral system that genuinely reflects the wishes of the Nigerian populace. “We must strive to create an environment where elections are free from manipulation, violence, and intimidation,” the CNPP urged, calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to take decisive action to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
The CNPP also expressed concern over premature declarations regarding the 2027 elections, stating, “It is disheartening to note that some individuals are already announcing that there is no vacancy in Aso Rock in 2027. This kind of statement not only undermines the democratic principles that our nation holds dear but also distracts from the pressing need for the current administration to earn the trust of the electorate.”
The CNPP viewed the upcoming elections as a pivotal moment for Nigeria. “The 2027 general elections present a unique opportunity for Nigeria to reclaim its position as a leader in democratic governance in Africa,” it remarked. The body called on all stakeholders — including the executive, legislature, judiciary, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and civil society organisations — to collaborate in ensuring that elections are transparent, credible, and reflective of the will of the Nigerian people.
As the most populous African country prepares for the 2027 elections, the CNPP urged all Nigerians to remain vigilant and committed to democratic principles. “We must work together to ensure that our elections are free from violence, intimidation, and manipulation,” the statement stated, reaffirming the CNPP’s commitment to promoting a peaceful and credible electoral process.
In conclusion, the CNPP congratulated the President-Elect of Ghana and the Ghanaian people on their remarkable achievements.
“We look forward to learning from their experience and working together to strengthen democracy in our region,” the CNPP concluded.
By Kenechukwu Aguolu
The proposed tax reform, involving four tax bills introduced by the Federal Government, has received significant criticism. Notably, it was rejected by the Governors’ Forum but was still forwarded to the National Assembly. Unlike the various bold economic decisions made by this government, concessions will likely need to be made on these tax reforms, which involve legislative amendments and therefore cannot be imposed by the executive. This article highlights the purposes of taxation, the qualities of a good tax system, and some of the implications of the proposed tax reforms.
One of the major purposes of taxation is to generate revenue for the government to finance its activities. A good tax system should raise sufficient revenue for the government to fund its operations, and support economic and infrastructural development. For any country to achieve meaningful progress, its tax-to-GDP ratio should be at least 15%. Currently, Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio is less than 11%. The proposed tax reforms aim to increase this ratio to 18% within the next three years.
A good tax system should also promote income redistribution and equality by implementing progressive tax policies. In line with this, the proposed tax reforms favour low-income earners. For example, individuals earning less than one million naira annually are exempted from personal income tax. Additionally, essential goods and services such as food, accommodation, and transportation, which constitute a significant portion of household consumption for low- and middle-income groups, are to be exempted from VAT.
In addition to equality, a good tax system should ensure equity and fairness, a key area of contention surrounding the proposed reforms. If implemented, the amendments to the Value Added Tax could lead to a significant reduction in the federal allocation for some states; impairing their ability to finance government operations and development projects. The VAT amendments should be holistically revisited to promote fairness and national unity.
The establishment of a single agency to collect government taxes, the Nigeria Revenue Service, could reduce loopholes that have previously resulted in revenue losses, provided proper controls are put in place. It is logically easier to monitor revenue collection by one agency than by multiple agencies. However, this is not a magical solution. With automation, revenue collection can be seamless whether it is managed by one agency or several, as long as monitoring and accountability measures are implemented effectively.
The proposed tax reforms by the Federal Government are well-intentioned. However, all concerns raised by Nigerians should be looked into, and concessions should be made where necessary. Policies are more effective when they are adapted to suit the unique characteristics of a nation, rather than adopted wholesale. A good tax system should aim to raise sufficient revenue, ensure equitable income distribution, and promote equality, equity, and fairness.
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