From A Seenager’s Corner _ Let Us Walk The Walk _ Part Four

Welcome to our part four of, “Let Us Walk The Walk.” In this part, we shall discuss and appreciate how to gather the funds to effectively have, “The Change We Need.” But before then, have to really clean up ourselves. Do you hear all the grumbling around us? Do we really appreciate how much harm we are inflicting on ourselves by being thick-skinned, sitting tight and holding tight to our loots, as if our lives depend on it? Now that we have built our river side, ocean side, valley side, hill bottom, hill side and hill top mansions with heliports, recreational facilities, private churches, private mosques, loots in our private vaults, soak-away and abroad; have we achieved any happiness? When was the last time we have really had a good night sleep and rest?  When was the last time we visited our constituents to listen to their various and numerous tales of woes? Let us purge ourselves, that we may make a difference in this self-preservation task that we have set for ourselves. I call it self-preservation because if we allow others to come and forcefully clean us up, we may be destroyed.

In my broadcast of April 15, 2016, I said, “Why Nigeria Should Not Go Borrowing Again.” Why on earth should we go borrowing, when we have so much cash all around us begging to be picked up? Our first avenue will be all funds in accounts that don’t have BVN. By now, such accounts should be deemed to have been owned and operated by some of our treasury looters, fraudsters or deceased persons. Our second avenue is to ask our Central Bank to produce a list of all account holders, whose accounts total Five Hundred Million Naira and above. Such accounts should be immediately frozen until their owners produce their proofs of earnings and tax returns. And if any of such owners have ever worked in or liaised with the Government, it would be safe to assume that such funds may be product/s of looted funds graft. But if the owners are in business, it will be safe to assume that such funds may be profit, and should be taxed accordingly.

Our third avenue is to tax all properties within Nigeria, starting from the Federal Capital Territory. And those Taxes are very easy to collect, if we adopt the American system of Property Taxation and collection. As once an American Property Tax payer, I know that if you fail to pay your Property Taxes, there are people standing by to pay them and later granted the right to sell those properties to get their investments plus very handsome interests. Let us know ourselves, and to ourselves be true. Let us start living by Honesty and Accountability. While we know that the majority of us hate to pay our taxes, we should appreciate that taxation shouldn’t be punitive. And our fourth avenue is from those arrogantly flaunting their wealth at parties and gatherings. We must see their tax returns, or they be charged for tax evasion. So fellow members, our task of achieving, “The Change We Need,” couldn’t be simpler. All we need is application of Honesty and Accountability. May we be granted the courage to apply these principles; at least for the preservation of ourselves and posterity.