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Taxation, Patriotism and Nigerian Professionals Abroad; Neglected Avenues for National Development By Dr. Jide Adelugba
However defined and no matter the context there is some
consensus that patriotism is love of one’s country, devotion to its
welfare and willingness to sacrifice for it. Thus a patriot has the
virtues, passions and actions which inspire one to serve his country. It
is against this background that I want to discuss the plight of Nigeria
as a nation. No nation is free of problems especially those related
to good governance and improved socio-economic conditions. The
difference is usually in their nature and what the leadership is doing
to tackle those problems. Perhaps more importantly, in the developing
countries, these socio-economic problems are those that are very basic
to human development. I believe Nigerians are tired of listening to the woes
of Nigeria as a nation in the sense that there is nothing new to be
said. What is perhaps worth mentioning is the changing focus of the
possibility of redemption. Unfortunately and up till now-44 years after
independence - our politics have been dominated by the desire for light
and water, food and housing, road and safety , basic rights and
freedoms, and provision of primary healthcare. Nowadays the landscape is
dominated exclusively by politics of corruption and unfortunately this
makes the other basic politics impossible. Life in Nigeria needs not to
be as it is. Actually Nigeria could be classified as a regressing
nation. The amenities we had when we were growing up are now stories we
tell our children. Infrastructures have vanished and the villages
nothing but monuments of national disgrace. People have been forced to
accept their life of misery and poverty as the norm. The poison of
religion has infested our psyche to the extent that we leave everything
to God and blame everything on him. Government inadequacies and
officials' misbehaviours are excused on the premise of religion. The
government in spite of its secularity is palpably religious and
unashamedly prayerful instead of being active. Nigerians need
governments that can govern, a police force that can protect life and
property, an army that can defend, government ministries and departments
that can deliver their mandates and above all leadership that can lead. I will focus this discourse, from my vantage position,
on the simple fact that only Nigerians can improve the present decadent
situation of things in the country. Come to think of it who will?
Additionally, I believe that Nigerian professionals abroad have a lot to
contribute and indeed can change the situation in a very significant
way. So in a manner of speaking, can they do it? Yes, they can. Will
they do it? No, they will not. This piece will attempt to give some
insight into why they are not willing to do it hoping that some concrete
steps could be taken to encourage them. As a preamble and though we can not boast of any
accurate statistics we know that the number of Nigerian professionals
abroad will cause shivers down the spine of our ‘mother Nigeria '. She
would feel like a raped woman having the mixed emotions of sadness,
guilt, self blame, self-pity, anger, helplessness, shame, hatred and
hopelessness. In her youth and in the prime of her life she had made
available to her offspring her natural endowment and resources, giving
them free hand to utilize them as they liked. However, what did she get other than reckless lack of
vision from the leadership? At present Nigeria needs all her children,
she needs them at her bedside hopefully not to inform them of her will
but to remind them that her death is near if they refuse to look after
her. No doubt Nigeria has tried for most Nigerian professionals abroad.
They have benefited in the most advantageous ways from her generosity.
In developed nations professional graduates are still paying off student
loans decades after graduation. This is not the lot of earlier Nigerian
graduates. Contributions from this sector of our population are
invaluable to national development. Now that the situation is not so
good with Nigeria attempts should be made consider all avenues for
support and help. I always look behind the eyes of Nigerian professionals
abroad when characteristically they moan and whine about the situation
at home and how hopeless it is. The next thing I do is to imagine their
ages, usually they are between the ages of 25 and 50. I always
consciously refrain myself from saying to them ‘shut up ‘ and
reminding them of what some people have done for their countries at a
relatively young age. Even our own Gowon was about 30 ditto the
eccentric Gaddafi of Libya when they assumed some national
responsibilities. When Nigerians put their comfort before the nation’s
comfort the result is that neither the nation nor her citizens would
experience comfort and piece. However if we put the nation first there
is strong hope that both the nation and her citizens will experience
prosperity and comfort. It is high time the present administration did
something that will actively encourage Nigerian professionals abroad to
come home. No crystal balls are needed to inform us of that this would
be a great positive thing for the nation. For example, look at the
medical profession and see how many Nigeria-trained doctors are working
abroad. I know of a province in Canada, which is less than 1 million in
population that has more Nigeria-trained psychiatrists working for it
than five states in Nigeria put together. What is it that make a young
Nigerian feel unashamed and exuberantly happy about giving his youth to
the service of another mother-land indefinitely without any hope of
ending it now or in the near future? This is more concerning given the
pathetic situation of things in Nigeria. What is it other than what is
naturally ours that we have perfected to make life easy for Nigerians?
What systems have we developed that we can be proud of? These and
similar questions are for our policy makers and governments to ask and
Nigerian professionals abroad could provide answers. Areas deserving of
meaningful national attention are basic infrastructures, healthcare,
police and our dear national profession -Corruption with a capital C. There are personal and selfish reasons why it is
preferable for Nigeria professionals abroad to stay away. Some are
related to consideration for their children, safety, liberty and lack of
harassment etc. On a less serious note, actually the only time most
Nigerians have contact with policemen is when they come to their
motherland. It is such times they hear;’ where is your particular,
where is the receipt for your camera, ‘open your boot’, ‘empty
your pocket’ etc’. Continued abandonment of Nigeria by Nigerian
professionals abroad is nothing but palpable lack of patriotism. This
may be a harsh judgement but that is the truth. However they can not be
condemned for that because nobody in his right senses would want to
leave the future of his children in the hands of Nigerian politicians.
As long as politics in Nigeria is the vocation of people with little
minds and poor understanding of life we would remain at the rudimentary
level of development. This is a clarion call for people of substance to
participate in politics. In the last ten years Nigeria politicians are
nothing but a constituent assembly of opportunists with varying fake
pretensions, visible lack of vision and mission. Though without any proven data the most important
impediment to the Nigeria professional returning home en- mass is the
lack of concrete efforts and incentives to do so. A proactive drive to
bring them home should be undertaken including safeguards to prevent the
process from being abused. As a framework the basic requirement should be that the
professional intending to come home has been offered a job or committed
to working in Nigeria for a period not less than three years. That it
would be considered a criminal offence if the process were abused. Contacted Nigerians have indicated their interest and
willingness to come home. None had said "No" to a proposal
that reads like this; " What if with a 3-year bond, the government
is responsible for the cost of your transport {family personal effects)
and payment of half of your current salary for 2 years in a currency of
your choice’. This may sound excessive and callous but if one takes a
hard look at the sacrifice they are making by agreeing to such a
proposal, an undertaking of this nature on their part is a highly
patriotic act. The national assemblies should seriously look into what
could be done to attract professionals abroad. This drift is to our
disadvantage as a nation. I do not believe that local resources should be used
for a project like this rather some United Nations funding should be
sought. Again, a study could be conducted by one of our missions abroad
to see what could be done to bring Nigerian professionals home. A
clearly patriotic idea like this may not receive the blessing of the UN
given the implications for the developed nations. Imagine the same thing
being successful for a country like India, Pakistan, South Africa, Ghana
and others. The developed nations are significantly dependent on the
developing nations for the provision of some of their highly specialized
services especially in the healthcare system. Nigeria is crying and dying and her children abroad
have neglected her for too long. With due respect to Nigerian
politicians, I believe their attitude is the greatest impediment to
national development. It is only in Nigeria that laws have no meaning.
Obedience to law is a question of how low you are in the scheme of
things .I do not think that the behaviour of most of our politicians is
governed by its legality or morality. The spoilt category of the
military and retired military men has been so privileged to the
annoyance of all Nigerians. Their incursion into government have left
the nation poor and without shame they brandish their wealth with no
consequences to their acts of looting. Yet they are supposed to be the
most patriotic elements of the society. Comments on Tax Policy as a means of economic and
national development: Firstly, I must say that what is contained in this
piece may not meet the expectation of students of economics especially
at graduate levels. However, I can say that it contains practical
methods of taxation that have proved successful both in theory and
practice in societies where taxation, as an instrument of governance,
had played pivotal roles and continue to do so to date. The myriad of problems faced by Nigeria demands a
multi-faceted approach. Many well meaning Nigerians continue to offer
solutions. Only those close to the seat of power could describe Nigeria
as a nice society to live in. We have also come to realize over the
years that the corruption we talk about so often emanates from the
simple fact that our governments have too much money on their hands. This is an irony because a very simplistic way to
explain our lack of development is lack of funds. Given the reality of
failed governments as we know them in Nigeria one of the alternatives is
devolving more money and responsibilities to individuals and
organization in a way that would promote national and economic
development. I suggest and advocate a very comprehensive and efficient
tax relief mechanisms for organizations and individuals. This can take
various forms and may include a variety of considerations as highlighted
below. A lot of tax deductibles could be part of our tax policy. Family-
friendly tax initiatives could make certain family expenses tax
deductible .For example, school fees whether nursery, primary, secondary
or post secondary. Expenses spent of providing infrastructure such as
water electricity, water, and expenses on our elderly relatives and
etceteras. Medical expenses especially on children under eighteen and
full-time students and elderly relatives should be tax- deductible.
Positive community-related expenses including road maintenance,
membership of charitable organizations, any money spent in an effort to
make life more comfortable for our neighbours. Prudent economic spending
for example payments on life insurance, property insurance, children
educational plan interest on loans should all attract tax incentives.
The above tax incentives are also for corporate bodies. Our governments have so far failed to deliver in terms
of the basic necessity of life. It is untenable that given the resources
we have and the amount of money that passed through our governments each
fiscal year, we remain at this rudimentary stage of development. It is
no more up for debates whether our governments could manage our
resources on our behalf. It is a reality that they have demonstrably
been unable to do so. Governments as we have them in Nigeria are too
expensive to maintain .One of them –the state government, is
necessarily unnecessary and irrelevant. There is no single function it
performs that can not be more efficiently undertaken by either the local
government or federal government. We all know the evolution and genesis
of state governments. It was a creation of the military possibly with
good intentions initially however in the hands of successive military
regimes it became a platform for playing all sorts of music with
distinct tones of favouritism, tribalism and reckless considerations. In
their hands it became a potent vehicle of government presence and
siphoning government resources with the attendant abandoning of
socio-economic development. There is definitely no hope for Nigeria as long as
things remain the way they are at present. A need to deliberate on the
way forward is no more open to debates. Granted, there is no better
alternative to staying together and remaining united, as a nation but
the arrangements between the constituent nations need to be reviewed.
This is usually the case with any unnatural alliances and relationships.
In the United Kingdom Wales, Scotland and England still have issues to
discuss. Anybody asking that issues be tabled for discussion is not
branded as unpatriotic, in fact that is the best way to peaceful
co-existence. The minorities and especially the oil producing ones can
not be wrong all along. Their cries must be listened to and concerns
addressed to their satisfaction. The majority must not harass and
oppress the minority and the power of number and overriding force can
not be used to suppress legitimate aspirations. It is more peaceful for
the minorities to claim ownership of Nigeria, its converse would always
portend danger as it connotes arrogance and affront to the dignity of
the minorities. Our potential to be great is not doubtful but I am
afraid it is taking too long. The generation of those who fought for our
independence could not make us great, the present generation is
incapable and decidedly unwilling but we must fight not to incapacitate
our future generations. Dr. Jide Adelugba
Consultant Psychiatrist
regional psychiatric center Saskatoon
Canada ***
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