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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Economy & Trade

Nigerians Do Not Hate Taxes, They Want Results, Amaeshi Says

From Vanguard · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Professor Kenneth Amaeshi said Nigerians’ reluctance to pay taxes reflects concerns about how revenue is used, rather than opposition to taxation itself.
  • He called for greater transparency, taxpayer education and a tax accountability desk under the Office of the Tax Ombud.
  • Speakers at the University of Lagos lecture also urged businesses to combine profitability with quality service and ethical conduct.

Nigerians do not necessarily reject taxes. They want to see what their payments achieve, Professor Kenneth Amaeshi said at a public lecture at the University of Lagos.

Amaeshi, who holds the First Bank Samuel Asabia Professorial Chair in Business Ethics, said poor accountability and declining public trust were obstructing tax compliance. “Nigerians do not necessarily hate tax. They just want to be convinced that their taxes would work,” he said.

Nigerians do not necessarily hate tax. They just want to be convinced that their taxes would work.

· Kenneth AmaeshiThe University of Lagos professor explained why public trust affects tax compliance in Nigeria.

Speaking on ethical paradoxes, small businesses and the informal economy, Amaeshi argued that efforts to increase government revenue would remain limited unless citizens believed their contributions were being used responsibly. Nigeria faces both low tax morale and low compliance, he said, adding that aggressive enforcement alone could not solve the problem. “Pursuing one but not the other comes across as a futile effort to clap with one hand,” he said.

Pursuing one but not the other comes across as a futile effort to clap with one hand.

· Kenneth AmaeshiAmaeshi said enforcement cannot improve compliance without stronger public trust and accountability.

Amaeshi urged tax authorities to improve transparency, accountability, taxpayer education and communication. He proposed a tax accountability desk that would regularly explain how revenue is spent, potentially operating under the Office of the Tax Ombud. He also recommended earmarking tax revenue for specific development projects, saying visible results could help rebuild public confidence and strengthen the relationship between citizens and government.

Professor Akin Osibogun, chairman of the professorial chair’s board of trustees, said businesses should pursue more than profit. “Business is about making a profit while providing service, and not just service, quality service,” he said. First Bank Managing Director Olusegun Alebiosu said ethical business practices were essential to sustainable economic development, especially in Nigeria’s informal sector.

Business is about making a profit while providing service, and not just service, quality service.

· Akin OsibogunThe former LUTH chief medical director described the ethical responsibilities of businesses.
About this summary

Originally published by Vanguard in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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