TAX REFORM BILLS: THE NORTH MUST MODERNISE ANYHOW 

  By Abdullahi Ismaila Ahmad, Ph.D. The tax reform bills recently sent to the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, have generated controversies over the past weeks. Many commentators have expressed their views in support of the bills or against some of their provisions. The Northern Region has expressed vehement objection to the bills. They are against the bills because, in their views, the bills are entirely or partly anti-north. Given most of the observations and the pros and cons of the arguments advanced by the various commentators, it is pertinent to say that whatever views are advanced by the Northern stakeholders, the truth that must be told is that Northern Nigeria must yield itself to the full extent of modernisation, anyhow and soonest. The tax bills will invariably switch a region like the North out of its encrusted traditional and provincial life patterns. There is no need to regurgitate the controversial issues around the tax reform bills as they are already in the public domain, and much has been said about them thus far. However, three keywords about the VAT derivation model proposed in the tax bills should form the cornerstone of deliberations and whatever decisions may be taken afterwards by the Northern stakeholders. These signature words are production, consumption, and competition.  The Value Added Tax (VAT) is described as a consumption tax. However, before consumption occurs, there must be production, whether in goods or services. Therefore, production is a key factor in any consideration or discussion of the Value Added Tax. Our rudimentary economic class tells us that factors of production are land, capital, labour, and entrepreneurship, which are the building blocks of any economy. Any society that desires economic progress will not take these factors of production for granted. Without mincing words, these production factors are abundant in Northern Nigeria, almost to the point of waste. One would expect that the North will have no issue with production, which invariably gives rise to consumption.  As an output of the production process, consumption depends on the purchasing parity of a people and their cultural tastes. Nonetheless, consumption can happen away from the point where goods and services are produced. It is expected, however, that both production and consumption can occur at the same place, thereby enriching the economy of that particular place. This is because trading and commerce will enhance people’s purchasing parity. Without mincing words, Northern Nigeria is essentially a consumption society but with the potential to be a producing economy. It must embrace progressive ideas and modernisation to harness its full economic potential.  This is where competition comes in. There is competition in every aspect of our lives, from the products and services being churned out daily to how societies employ strategies to grow their economies. This makes every society think progressively and forecast the future. No society lays back or indulges in wastefulness or a careless lifestyle and expects to be at par with other societies that have moved on the fast pedestal of development.  The pertinent question to ask at this juncture is why Lagos has suddenly become the envy of the entire nineteen northern states. What does Lagos state have that all northern states do not have or cannot have? The answer to the second question is that Lagos state has painstakingly embraced the full extent of modernisation through its deliberate policy planning and execution, it has embraced technology, industrialisation, financial inclusiveness and wealth creation strategies. Northerners are among those who made Lagos State what it is today with their massive investment there.  The point being emphasised here is that the VAT derivation formula being proposed by the tax bills should also be seen as a wake-up call for the Northern stakeholders and political establishment to stir the region out of its slumber and decipher these salient issues dredged up by the bills and quickly embrace the imperative of modernisation. Modernisation does not mean only the erection of skyscrapers, the construction of flyovers, or paved motorways. Suppose we have all these, by all means, okay. In other words, modernisation refers to a reformation of habits, which W. H. Auden refers to as a ‘change of heart’, which is not simple. In this regard, modernisation ‘is the reshaping and resharing social values, such as power, respect, rectitudes, affection, well-being skill, and enlightenment’. This is to say that the Northern leadership and political establishment must change its old ways of engaging with the people and the society. It must change its way of perceiving reality to begin to understand that leadership is an instrument for improving the conditions of a people, not a tool for manipulating them. It must wake up to an understanding that modern life is about competition, progress, and overcoming challenges that improve the condition of a people. It’s not about rhetoric and hyperbole. The Northern political establishment must develop a mindset that comprehends the reality that governance is about service to the people, building capacities, developing human resources, bettering the living conditions of a people, and challenging the environment to yield its potential for the growth of the society. Indeed, governance should not be approached as a private fiefdom, a personal estate for a willful distribution of privileges and patronage. For too long, the Northern political establishment has held down its people in poverty to authenticate its affluence and influence, thereby closing the space for more engaging and productive ideas and wealth creation. That’s why the political class would instead purchase bicycles, coffins, grains, wheelbarrows, and other mundane items purportedly as empowerment when politicians from different regions build their people on ICT and technology pedestals and build food security hubs and other progressive ideas. The change of attitude required of the Northern political establishment should be the type that will lead to an organisation of economic activities, automation of business transactions, creative development of natural resources, and development of human resources through restructuring of education system and manpower training. W. W. Rostow states that for a society to