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THE HYPOCRISY OF ‘ENYE NDI EBE A!’

Published

4 years ago

October 5, 2020

By Wordshot Amaechi Ugwele

During the 2019 general election in Enugu State, a radio jingle was done by the campaign team of the former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, representing Enugu West Senatorial District. Its appeal was easily traceable to the simple, sing-along, call and response choral style, that went thus: “e nye ndi ebe a, e nye ndi ebe a, e nye ndi eba, e nye ndi ebe a.” This is roughly interpreted, “you give to these people, you give to those people.”

The message most emphatically summed up the theme of equity he gave the impression was central to his campaign and thus political philosophy. This assumption had connected the song with his supporters and indeed everyone else who understood and loved the peace the fairness of giving to everyone had continued to usher in the State.

But, today, as we inch towards 2023, and as the pressure of events keeps forcing the lids off the fake and pretentious posturings of some political actors, we can now see how the Senator, who had sung and danced to his own song, extolling fair and equitable distribution of political opportunities and patronage, is increasingly showing lack of principles and genuine commitment to such beliefs, through his body language that is speaking eloquently towards its very subversion.

We can now certainly say “e nye ndi ebe a” had only mattered then, when it was self-beneficial when others had given him, as everything is currently suggesting he is obviously most uncharitably and ill-disposed to others getting as he did. And it is very important to properly contextualize this, in reminding us most of the major politicians in Enugu State today, including the Senator, were part and parcel of zoning, and had immensely benefited from it.

In fact, one can safely submit that all those people occupying major positions today in the state easily attained such by leveraging on the peace begetting principles of zoning, when the opportunity had met with their good luck that located the right within their domains.

Hence, we have had no agitations from no one, no quarters, nor this kind of subtle but potentially disruptive posturing and rhetoric’s, being deployed as forerunners to their intended subversion of the will of the people of Enugu State.

Even when we do have desperados in most political environments, those who are now feverishly working to see the always calm political stream in the state turn to raging torrents that must also flow uphill to quell their desperate thirst for power need be reminded no amount of blackmail or partisan shenanigans will ever lead to the abrogation of the ‘turn by turn’ principle that makes the sharing of political positions peaceful in the state. They had their turn. Those who have not had would have theirs.

We have not forgotten how the whole of Enugu then had waited for Enugu East to have their time with Governor Chimaroke Nnamani. Then it shifted to Enugu West with Governor Sullivan Chime who later handed over to the incumbent, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi from Enugu North. And while this went on at the state level, the substructures also observed theirs within the enclaves of their constituencies.

Now having gone round, that is by the time the tenure of Governor Ugwuanyi would be rounding off, it is trite to say the next round would commence in 2023, with Enugu East Senatorial Zone. As such we expect our maturity and culture of civilized conduct of politics in Enugu, as zoning helped to enthrone and as has been well consolidated by Governor Ugwuanyi who is the father of all in the state, should restrain and rein in those who are now allowing selfishness, ego fuelled ambition and other primordial tendencies, to let Enugu State be in peace.

There is no narrative, no matter how contrived, that can persuade the various illogic the Ekweremadu camp is dishing out. It is not the turn of his Enugu West. We must not disrupt a long-standing good process because he thinks by the time it would have reached their turn, time would have rendered him out of contention.

And it is indeed most unfortunate that after Senator Ekweremadu has seen and become everything zoning can give him for twenty years and counting, he is now hiding in the open to push for the removal of the ladder through which he had raised that is meant to equitably serve others.

But, for him to want to thwart a system he had been a huge beneficiary, and take the chance of others it is now their turn, simply mean he was paying mere lip service when he had stood at various campaign podiums in 2019 to sing his “e nye ndi ebe a, e nye ndi ebe a.” Perhaps that is why he monopolized that Senate position, as it could shift from his Aninri to neither Awgu, Oji River, Ezeagu nor Udi local government areas that make up the zone, in the last sixteen years.

So, what actually was he giving to “these people and those people” in Enugu West? Crumbs that must come from only his table? Well, this mentality of “only me is good enough”, to go and get and “share” is what zoning has been preventing. That is why people don’t support those with perpetuity syndrome as Senator Ekweremadu is manifestly afflicted, as they sit tight at the expense of others whose places should also have had their own turns. Besides, when you look at the peace and political stability zoning has brought to Enugu, as has been earlier noted, you will agree those who invented it as a political culture deserve the Nobel peace prize. Enugu had been devoid of strife, and rancorous party politics since democracy stabilized here post 1999. We cannot now afford it otherwise.

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Business

Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

Published

1 week ago

March 6, 2025

The Gleamer

Ismaila Ahmad Abdullahi Ph.D

The public hearings conducted recently by the two Chambers of the National Assembly have elicited positive responses from a broad spectrum of Nigerians, cutting across regional interest groups, government agencies, civil society groups, concerned individuals, the academia, and Labour Unions, among diverse others. Contrary to a few dissensions hitherto expressed in the media, almost all the stakeholders who spoke during the week-long sessions were unanimous in their declaration that the hallowed Chambers should pass the tax reform bills after a clean-up of the grey areas.

The public hearings were auspicious for all Nigerians desirous of economic growth and fiscal responsibility. They were also a watershed moment for the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which had been upbeat about the tax reforms. Indeed, the public hearings had rekindled hope in the tenets of democracy that guarantee freedom of expression and equitable space for cross-fertilisation of ideas. Without gainsaying the fact, the tax reform bills have been unarguably about the most thought-provoking issues in Nigeria today, drawing variegated perspectives and commentaries from even unlikely quarters such as the faith-based leaders, student bodies, and trade unions, which speaks much about the importance of the bills.

In the build-up to the public hearings, not many people believed that the bills would make it to the second reading, much less the public hearings. Even the Northern stakeholders who seemed unlikely to support the passage of the bills have softened their stance and have given valuable suggestions that would enrich the substance of the bills. The Arewa Consultative Forum came to the public hearings well-prepared with a printed booklet that addressed their concerns. It concluded with an advisory that the bills should be “Well planned, properly communicated, strategically implemented and ample dialogue and political consensus allowed for the reforms to be accepted.”

The concerns of ACF ranged from the composition of the proposed Nigeria Revenue Service Board as contained in Part 111, Section 7 of the bill, the unlimited Presidential power to exempt/wave tax payment as proposed in Section 75(1) of the bill, the family income or inheritance tax as contained in Part 1, Section 4(3) of the bill, to the issues around development levy and VAT. On the development levy, the ACF stated that unless the Federal Government is considering budgetary funding for TETFUND, NASENI and NITDA, it does not see the “wisdom behind the plan to replace (them) with NELFUND”.

The position of the North was equally reinforced by the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria, Northern Elders Forum, Kano State Government, Professor Auwalu Yadudu, and the FCT Imams. Like the ACF, these stakeholders lent their respective voices to the Section on the Inheritance Tax in Part 1 of the bill and the use of the term ‘ecclesiastical’, which, in their views, undermines certain religious rights and beliefs. The Kano State Government, represented by Mahmud Sagagi, affirmed that “we support tax modernisation” but cautioned that “we must ensure that this process does not come at the expense of states’ constitutional rights and economic stability”. Professor Auwalu Yadudu, a constitutional law professor, drew attention to the use of the ‘supremacy clause’ and cautioned that the repeated use of “notwithstanding” in the bills would undermine the supremacy of the Nigerian constitution if passed as such.

Other stakeholders that made contributions at the sessions included the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, and a host of others. While most of their concerns bordered on technical issues requiring fine-tuning, they were unanimous in their support for the bills. They aligned with the position of the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, Ph.D. and the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, which is that the extant tax laws and fiscal regulations are obsolete necessitating reforms aimed at creating a fair and equitable tax and fiscal space to grow Nigeria’s economy.

In one of the sessions, Dr Zaach Adedeji expounded on the criss-cross of trade activities in the Free Trade Zone whereby companies misuse tax waivers as exporters to sell their goods or services in the Customs Area at an amount usually less than the price the operators in the Customs Area who pay VAT and other taxes sell theirs thereby disrupting business transactions. This way, the operators in the Free Trade Zone shortchange the government in paying their due taxes by circumventing extant regulations, which are inimical to the economy’s growth.

Overall, the presentations were forthright, foresighted, and helpful in elucidating the issues contained in the bills. According to the statistics read out at the end of the hearings at the Senate, 75 stakeholders were invited, 65 made submissions, and 61 made presentations. At the House of Representatives 53 stakeholders made presentations. By all means, this is a fair representation. Given the presentations, it is evident that the National Assembly has gathered enough materials to guide its deliberations on the bills. As we look forward to the passage of the bills, we commend the leadership of the National Assembly for their unwavering commitment to making the bills see the light of the day.

Abdullahi is the Director of the Communications and Liaison Department, FIRS.

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