Killing Us Gradually With Increasing Taxes in Lagos State
Almost everyone will agree with me that Bola Tinubu's former Chief of Staff and now Lagos state Governor, Babatunde Fashola is a visionary man with ready made ideas that are capable of transforming the State of Lagos especially into becoming a mega city.
A lot of assumed policies and style of Fashola will help give us an in-depth idea of how Fashola hopes to actualize this baby dream development. Lagosians are still puzzled on how this will come to pass considering that ordinarily taps do not run in the streets of Lagos and street urchins otherwise referred to as "Area Boys" are tormenting commercial bus drivers on hourly basis which sends the cost of conveyance within the State of Lagos astronomical.
There are basically some areas of policies I disagree with Fashola, no doubt as the former Chief of Staff must have inherited almost all his ideas from Bola Tinubu with only few or no changes. There is the case of Overbearing taxation which basically is a borrowed concept from Tinubu, an accountant. The idea of increasing taxes has the highest number of casualties in Lagos State with the poor as the major victims who bear the burden. Where do the increasing taxes paid by these victims go? It is a fact that no State in Nigeria has been able to deliver in terms of taxes. Payers leave sadly while collectors leave joyfully is how best this situation can be described.
Roads leading to the homes of increasing tax payers in Lagos are inaccessible, people live under bridges and trade under bridges too, they are willing to take up shops but the means are not there either because shops are too few or too expensive. Houses are grossly inadequate in number while gigantic houses constructed are made to bear the name "Low cost Housing" while even the average in the Lagos society cannot afford to live in them for hours because they are too expensive. It is terrible that rather than construct Blocks of flats our State governments build magnificent Bungalows for the rich amongst us still with increasing tax payers' money.
Poor people who do not have the money to fly themselves abroad for medical reasons pay taxes to Lagos State but when they are sick General Hospitals, LUTH and National Orthorpaedic Hospitals in Lagos State fail them with high medical bills, while the wealthy in our society flee abroad for mere medical check-ups. So even in our Government owned Hospitals payment of increasing taxes continues. The policy of former accountant Tinubu now inherited by Fashola is "everything for money" Banks and ATM machines exist in Government owned Hospitals. Pray never to fall sick or ...?
We are told that street hawking has become a thing of the past in Lagos State and penalty for re-enacting it is N5,000. The problem with Tinubu and Fashola in Lagos State is that the status of the poor is not weight before monetary penalties are stipulated. However, what the State government has not for once realized is that street hawking is naturally as old as mankind and only alleviation of poverty with the instrument only possessed by the government can reduce this act. Need we tell Account Tinubu and Lawyer Fashola that people are bounjd to make a living even with dehumanizing and risky ventures when hungry strikes?
It is high time, Tinubu and Fashola remembered that the less privileged have a right to exist side by side with them, our wealthy politicians in Lagos.
Related Tags: lagos state, area boys, poverty alleviation, bola tinubu, babatunde fashola, taxation in lagos state, street hawking, government owned hospitals in lagos, social amenities in lagos, poverty rate in nigeria, housing estates in lagos, lagos mega city
Emeka Esogbue hails from Ibusa, Delta State, Nigeria. He is a Historian and International Reltaions graduate and Public Affairs/Political Analyst.
emekaesogbue@yahoo.com
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