First Thoughts: Like the Phoenix; Like Nigeria.
I grew up reading a lot of fantasy story books and believed for a very long time in the existence of a lot of mythical creatures. I looked forward to encounters with fairies, centaurs, bush babies, unicorns, dinosaurs and mermaids among others. I was almost a teenager before I got to finally accept that I was never going to actually see any of these creatures and so had to settle for the encounters with them in these story books and movies. I read all the 7 Harry Potter Books by J.K. Rowling from my early teens and into my early twenties and of course watched every single one of the movie adaptations and this simply reinforced my fascination with the imaginary world.
One of the most interesting mythical creatures for me remains the Phoenix. I got more interested in this bird when I read Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ released in 2003 and later watched the movie when it came out in 2007. Now the Phoenix is a mythical bird that is able to regenerate itself and obtain new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor. Basically, the phoenix at its time of expiry burns itself up and rises from its ashes birthing a new bird in a raw blaze of glory and wonder. A lot of quotes and witty sayings have been attributed to this amazing creature. The standout point for me remains the fact that from the seeming irrelevant matter, something new and glorious is brought into existence.
Coming home to Nigeria, it is no gainsaying that the last few weeks have probably been the worst we have experienced in a really long while. The nation was easily at its lowest point with total disintegration staring us right in the face. We were at a tilting point where it was looking more likely we were going to fall into the abyss than recover our posture as a nation. A legitimate and noble action of people was almost turned on its head as a harbinger of one of the worst collective experiences this generation has ever faced. Lives were lost, sources of livelihoods were destroyed, sickening realities were exposed – from the places of power to the very lowest realms of our national existence – and again and again, the very justification of the idea of the project called Nigeria was called into question. It is easy to say, we had been burnt to ashes as a people.
We are still struggling to recover from the aftermath of the events of the last few weeks, but one thing is worth holding on to here. That thing is called Hope and that is what my ‘Phoenix’ analogy represents here. We can rise from our ashes and birth a new nation; a place where our dreams can indeed find expression. The people in power are at first individuals and every leadership is simply a product of its followers. We cannot afford to give up on our nation and the call is upon every one of us as individuals to pitch in and contribute our quota, donning our tools and putting in the work into this project called Nigeria. Like the phoenix, we can rise from our ashes and we will. God bless Nigeria!
In this Issue:
- We review the recently released Nigeria’s proposed budget for 2021 in Nigeria 2021 Proposed Budget: What You Need To Know.
- 2021 is almost here and one of the best things you could do for your business is have your tax strategy well thought out and planned for. We address this in ‘Tax risks and the threats it poses to Organisations/Businesses in Nigeria’.
- You could also read up our previous posts on our blog relating to this subject. Read: What is your 2021 Tax Strategy – How to Stay Ahead of the PAYE Returns Filing Process here.
- Read: 4 Important Steps to ensure you and your organization stay tax compliant in 2021 + 2020 PAYE Returns Filing Process here.
- Nigeria’s treasury bills rate falls to 0.5% per annum. Treasury bills rate has fallen sharply since the central bank switched monetary policy from fighting inflation and attracting foreign portfolio inflows to boosting domestic credit. Read more here.
- The Governors of the 36 States under the aegis of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), have moved to strengthen land administration and boost Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in their respective states. Read more here.
- The Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) and Chartered Institute of Taxation (CITN) has stressed need to address the unending controversies and conflicts over the issue of revenue allocation to the different tiers of government. Read more here.
Please stay tuned to our TaxThursday bulletins, our website and of course our mobile application, TBook.
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Till Next Time
GB (g.sile@localhost)
