The argument above is debatable and indeed controversial. But without in-depth understanding and scholastic insight, one might conclude it is not true — while we continue in bondage.
Many nations adopt Western democracy without really understanding what it is meant to deliver, or what should make it suitable for their immediate environment.
With a lazy mindset, we assume that what works for one nation will work for another, without thoroughly investigating the functionality of that other society. Many of the approaches we have adopted are responsible for the decadence and regression we face today.
A complex society requires leaders with creative minds, a bundle of initiatives, proven track records, good relationships, honesty, proactiveness, swiftness, and sound educational backgrounds — people who can truly stand in the gap.
Our mode of electing and choosing leaders is to the detriment of our collective existence. We ignore the implications until we are denied the dividends of democracy.
Our failure to be proactive and challenge awkward decisions, bad policies, and the dominance of leaders has pushed us to a dead end where we all feel the impact of economic decadence.
Most of the talented, brilliant, and academically qualified people with proven records and independent minds are not allowed to breathe. Instead, touts and uncivilized groups hold positions of authority.
What we call "insecurity" is not only about the handling of ammunition to cause mayhem. It also includes the massive waste of human capital — people who fight against government incompetence because their capacity is not explored for nation-building.
The truth remains: without the capacity to exchange creativity, innovation, and initiative for development, old and dangerous ways become normalized, causing disarray for the present and future.
Pathetically, many who are already trapped in this economic madness have become powerless and too weak to make meaningful changes because they were not proactive when it mattered.
The best capacity of men is not measured by what they can do alone, but by what they can imagine before the action takes place. Today we have fewer visionaries, and too many who settle for mediocrity, crude mentality, and archaic views.
The essence of government is not to cause intimidation, hardship, untimely death, insecurity, waste of destiny, economic malfunction, social decadence, and absurdity.
Its essence is to ensure the welfare and security of the people. But the reverse is often the case.
Our education cannot just be evidence on paper while we pretend that all is well. We continue to regress collectively because of docile leadership.
Tell me: which oil-producing nation taxes its citizens excessively?
We are backward in imagination and in our ability to achieve sufficiency. We lack what it takes to become an industrialized nation with advanced technology.
The argument is not that we should abolish taxes, fines, and bills. But these should not be the major avenues for generating revenue or development.
It is common to make irrelevant comparisons: “Go and check the USA, Canada, Britain — they also collect bills excessively.”
We must think beyond what happens in other countries to fix our own problems.
If we verify why those countries rely on taxes, bills, and fines, we will see that our comparison is totally wrong.
If Nigeria had the same magnitude of opportunities that should have transformed us holistically — in technology advancement, proactiveness, qualitative leadership, industrialization, civilization, and platforms for skills and potential — our lives would have been close to paradise.
We cannot continue to console ourselves irrationally while we are unjust to the vast degradation of our worth and uniqueness.
We must build strategically, tactically, and diplomatically to move ahead, not looking for shortcuts that will gradually cut us off if care is not taken.
The African continent is not just a place for tourism, but a place loaded with vast resources and a bundle of talents and exceptional giants who always exhibit dexterity whenever they move out, and even give their best within. Yet they are constantly distracted and rendered unproductive in the face of wrong government policies, bad leadership, and our unguided orientation to attack men of value and valor.
These listed items cannot be the major subjects of revenue under sane leadership:
1. Personal Income Tax
2. Taxes on growing businesses
3. Taxes on exportation and locally made commodities
4. Excessive utility bills: Electricity, water, waste, housing, toll gates
5. Excessive vehicle bills and levies
6. Fines for traffic laws, vehicle papers, and other related offenses
7. Fines for crossing roads and other civil offenses
8. Increase in interest rates
All these are symptoms of careless governance and the incapability to move the living standard of the people to an acceptable level of normalcy.
We have dwelled in this madness for too long. We must find every possible means to rescue ourselves and the generation coming after us.
There is a need for us to come together and design the kind of world we must experience — and the kind of world we expect our children to inherit after we are gone.
The essence of government must not be to suffocate innocent citizens or exploit them for the benefit of a few.
It must be to create a competitive and aesthetic environment that allows citizens to grow into the future they desire.
Ade'Tope Adeniji
Realist | Planner | Economist | Political & Public Analyst | Engineer | Data Analyst | Security Expert | Musicologist | Author | Businessman
N.D. Urban & Regional Planning | http://B.Sc Economics | http://M.Sc. Political Economy and Development Studies
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