The President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Alhaji Shettima Yerima in this interview with Saturday Vanguard shares his insights on the perceived northern opposition to the tax reforms bill, highlighting the shortcomings in the government’s approach to the bill, the importance of proper consultation, and the need for transparency to gain public support.
He also addresses the broader dissatisfaction in the north, reflecting on the high expectations from the Tinubu-led government, emphasising the need to address insecurity and economic hardship to win back the trust of the northern populace.
Yerima also criticises some state governors for their lack of creativity and initiative in generating revenue within their states, but rely heavily on federal allocations, preferring to share federal funds with their cronies rather than investing in their states’ development. He argues that decentralizing the federal structure would force states to become more productive and self-sufficient, ultimately benefiting the entire country. Excerpts:
Why the Northern Opposition to the Tax Reforms Bills? What are your fears?
The tax reform bills depend on how individuals or certain interests perceive them. But for us, the government could have done better. The idea was fine, drawing inferences from the situation in the country. Even if we are doing fine, no country ignores taxation.
This is one major area where they can generate funds for development. The presentation was one of the problems. The managers of the bills did not do well, which is why you see the reactions coming from the north as if the region is anti-tax reforms. No. They brought the issue and politicised it, making it seem anti-north. The government can still do well by consulting, which is the first thing they should have done. Go through the National Assembly, and the elected representatives will now go back to their various constituencies to meet with their people.
This way, the bill will enjoy the deserved legitimacy. I am happy that, at the end of the day, there is an understanding between the executive arm of government and the lawmakers. The lawmakers have also agreed to go back to their constituencies for further consultation. There are only a few grey areas I think they will amend and pass the bill. Certainly, the trouble it generated was unnecessary.
What are the grey areas in your view that you will consider for amendment?
For me, I am looking at the VAT area, and I also know there are bigger areas. But the opinion of the people supersedes my interest. So, it is important they let it get down to the people, and they will look at it thoroughly and let all stakeholders make inputs before it is passed at the National Assembly.
The North, having voted massively for President Tinubu and now opposing a major government decision like this, shows there is dissatisfaction among the people. Is there any regret supporting the Bola Tinubu Presidency?
In some quarters, there are certain regrets by the northern region. Don’t forget the eight years of Buhari’s administration brought nothing to the north. So, the expectation was so high that Tinubu knew where the problem lay, and someone like me who had worked with him and took him as a role model believed that he knew so much about the problems of this country and would approach the issues not as a military man but as a democrat and would be able to proffer solutions to them. But the people are disappointed because they are not getting what they expected of him.
In fairness to him, the situation was very bad. Everybody knew that whoever succeeded Buhari would go through a very rough path to succeed. We never expected that after eight years of rubbish, Tinubu would perform a miracle in two years. Yes, there are expected reforms, and without kids, we may not get the result immediately, but what is expected from the government is that whatever policy you are bringing, there must be a cushioning effect so that people would not unnecessarily suffer.
People have suffered enough. If he had done it that way, nobody would have accused Tinubu of ill-intention to balkanise the country or govern against any section of the country. He is very exposed and not a local champion. But sometimes, it is one thing to come up with a policy, but the implementation might not go well with the people.
The North is angry with the government, but the government still has another opportunity in less than two years to turn things around. So, some of us are not in a hurry to conclude that Tinubu might not be of any good to the north. We know the journey is rough. Let us give him some benefit of the doubt and encourage him.
If he doesn’t do anything that will positively impact the lives of the people, some of us can gang up against him and put our vote where we know we can get better treatment. We will sit down with all stakeholders, arrive at a conclusion, and look for alternatives. Right now, it is too early to conclude that Tinubu has failed.
What exactly are you looking at to pacify the frayed nerves of the region about some of his policies?
What I think he should do immediately is address the insecurity. I must first commend the efforts of the military. They are being stretched so much by this challenge of insecurity with inadequate manpower. I must commend the Service Chiefs and the Minister, Bello Metawalle, for boosting the morale of the men among other support.
The government should give them more support so that they can deliver on their mandate. On the economy, they need to look inward and find a way to put in place more palliatives that will get to the people and reduce the hardship on the common people. If Tinubu can win more on security and achieve peace in the troubled areas and go further to reduce the hardship on people, then he would have won the hearts of the northerners.
The north does not hate Tinubu or oppose him; it is just certain government policies making life more miserable for people, and it is expected that two years down the line, things will change for the better. But if this pain continues, you can be rest assured that it will not augur well. I believe in him, I still have faith in him, and I believe he can still turn things around. Again, one of the areas for the government to show sanity is by bringing all those who have stolen Nigeria dry to book. I am not comfortable with the government’s fight against corruption.
Some of those in the last administration who squandered our resources still gallivant around brazenly, and for the government to show sanity in the system, some of them need to be arrested and put in the cooler to pay for their sins. Some of them were nowhere a few years back, but today they own trillions of naira. This is one of the areas I am not comfortable with the government.
Amidst all of these, don’t you think the state governors need to be more creative in tackling some of these issues, particularly the economy and social security?
You have hit the nail on the head. Some of these highlighted issues are not the fault of the President. The question is, what are the governors doing with all the funds and allocations coming from the federal government to the states? Nobody is looking at that area. How have they alleviated poverty in their own way and in real economic terms? I can confidently tell you that some of these governors are sponsors of those bad elements in the National Assembly who oppose the Tax Reform bills. Some of them failed to harness some of the resources in their various states for the betterment of their people. They have nothing to bring to the table.
They only enjoy collecting the federal allocation to share with their cronies and make their girlfriends travel worldwide. They are so lazy and lack ideas. Some states that collect several billions of naira from the centre are not creative enough to even internally generate N1 billion from their states. That is why I am one of those advocating for the decentralization of the federal structure. The moment we decentralize the system, everybody will go back to their various states and harness their potential and resources and become productive. This current system will never see the light of day. If we continue under this arrangement, where people will sit and wait for federal allocation without being productive and in turn bring something to the centre, we will continue to have problems.
This is what the founding fathers envisioned. That was why the likes of Sardauna and Awolowo got it right. Why should we borrow a system from America if it is not beneficial? It is crazy. This central government must be decentralized. States must be made viable, and the governors must be productive. Some of them are lazy. Those governors are our problems.
Where is that money going? What did they use it for? We must begin to ask questions. This is why these Tax Reform bills must fly, but they must adjust the grey areas. Every state must begin to harness its resources and pay a percentage to the centre. The government, in their magnanimity, has made it clear that the money will be distributed to all tiers of government.
The state will take 50%, the local government will take 35%, and the centre will take 15%. What is wrong with that? If you don’t sow, you won’t reap. Why will the monkey continue to work and the bamboo continues to chop? I heard somebody talk about Lagos. That state has come a long way. We have seen how Lagos generates its resources. Today, without federal allocation, states like Lagos and Rivers can sustain themselves. What is wrong with our state governors doing the same to sustain themselves? Some of them, even when the federal government gives them allocation, still find it difficult to pay salaries. How can such a state survive and sustain itself?
Do you see the state governors giving a nod to this arrangement, drawing from their opposition to local government autonomy?
Yes, I agree, it will be difficult to fly, but we will continue to advocate for it until God gives us a rugged President and God-fearing lawmakers who will call their bluff and do the right thing. It will come in such a way that the governors will not be conscious of it until it is passed. Thank God for local government autonomy. We are getting there now, and we will get there.
(Vanguard)
