By E.E. Okpa
According to a recent Economic Confidential study, Nigerian states plus the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja generated N1.3tn in Internally Generated Revenue. Or, an equivalent of about $2.5bn. The IGR is a statutory revenue states and local governments are authorised by law as supplement to the federal allocations in order to bolster their spending.
Across the board, no state has been able to collect from internal sources an amount to rival the federal allocations, technically making many states welfare recipients. This means that, without the federal allocations, a majority of the states will not exist.
Another undeniable fact is that 200 million Nigerians only chip in $2.5bn to sustain their collective existence outside what is earned from oil and gas – which is Unearned Income from mineral production.
On per capita basis, it stands that Nigerians chip in $2.5bn annually, qualifying Nigeria as a desperately poor nation.
During Madam Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s reign as the Coordinating Minister of the Economy as well as Minister of Finance, she and the former Emir of Kano, then Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Lamido Sanusi, spoke jointly about Nigeria as the largest economy in Africa. The members of the National Assembly cheered and clapped while the duo reeled out figures to buttress their remarks at an event. Given Nigerians’ penchant for biggest and largest mentality, no one grilled Okonjo-Iweala and Sanusi on what that meant in terms of revenue to the federal and state governments.
The volume of consumption does not matter if that volume is not recaptured in systemic tax administration structure.
Nigerians hate paying tax and existing tax structures are lousy and porous. By now, 200 million people should have been producing revenues from activities such that oil and gas combined is less than 10% to the federation accounts. Instead, oil and gas revenue dominates and whoever serves as President uses this one single source to tease Nigerians and his tribe.
Northern Nigeria, which given their vast landmass should have been the bread basket of Nigeria using agriculture, is merely a dependent region using religion and grab of power to feed their insatiable appetite to dominate.
Despite their undue numbers in many federal positions, they cripple the entire nation because their disposition is about power, and not what to do with it to advance their own and others. A majority of the lagging states with poor IGR are in the North where their leaders expect them to do nothing but get fed.
Until a new structure for Nigeria is fashioned and hoisted to maximise the population size in order to produce, Nigeria as ‘Giant of Africa’ will continue as a laughable and lousy one.
No one benefits from the current structure and Nigerians must be effective and resistant not allowing money from their region to take flight to sustain appetite of an indolent bunch.
Oil and gas should be a regional asset not national one, and should be addressed and treated as such. Money should be spent where it comes from not used as “Father Christmas – Robin Hood” gift. One Nigeria will matter when each is chipping in to sustain the nation.
Nigerians can beat and pound their chests all they want, the number is an indictment. A mere and pitiful $2.5bn is what they chip in to live life in the world’s most populous black nation. Nothing to sneeze at nor be proud of. Quantity does not mean quality – look no further than Nigeria.
Originally published at Punch