₦airaland Forum

I sensed blackmail. it feels like they’re holding something serious over him. Onanuga is now the one sniffing who has joined the coalition. He is working hard to protect his job.

By the time you deduct all these taxes from the minimum wage, I wonder what would be left as a take home. This man is just terribly wicked.

It means I would have enough time to enjoy my birthday. #Obudu is on my mind. Since I can’t afford flight tickets…

netricoin:
GEJ chances of winning in 2027 with ADC is as high as 98%
peter obi chances of winning in 2027 with ADC is as high as 80%

Atiku chances of winning with ADC in 2027 is like 55%

if rotimi amaechi VP Will be kwankwaso his chances of winning 2027 WITH ADC will b 60%
7

How exactly did you arrive at these statistics? Do you genuinely believe any southern candidate can defeat Tinubu in 2027? You might need to reassess your data. At the moment, there are three major contenders from the South but only one from the North. What does that signal? The northern bloc is preparing to consolidate behind a single candidate, while the South is set to split its votes among three gladiators.

Historically, the North has always delivered the largest share of votes in Nigeria, and I don’t expect that to change in 2027. If Atiku manages to secure even 70% of the northern votes, while the southern gladiators divide the southern votes in a rough ratio of 60:30:10, Atiku’s path to victory becomes very straightforward.

The real swing factor will be the choice of running mates, that will determine how much support each candidate can attract from outside their regional base. Don’t you think so?

Splitmind:
Only if Tinubu is elected. We will see 50 million jobs in just a few months.

How market? Abi you still need more time?

WorldRichest:
These children no know anything. You just dey behind keyboard dey make yourself happy. No hunan nor spirit can stop Tinubu’s landslide victory in 2027 and his handover to his selected successor in 2031

No be juju be that? E go shock you

Nigerians have no idea of the hidden traps buried inside this new tax system. Trust Tinubu at your own peril. Isn’t this the same government that paraded the so-called Fresh Order Book (actually the Freight On Board, FOB, valuation policy) as a masterstroke to reduce import duties? Yet when the policy landed, it slyly added an extra 4% to clearing costs. If you still believe the same man who once staged a circus of fake bishops during campaigns just to fool the public, maybe it’s time you reassessed your mind.

Jokerman:
Stop accepting peanuts from politicians during elections. Bring in credible leaders, vote out irresponsible government that doesn't care about its people.

I pray they don’t regard your message as another Igbo ranting. I’m tired honestly.

Owombakara:
[b]And then there are the defenders, the tragic comedy of Nigerian politics. Some people still clap for this government, blinded by ethnicity or religion. Others do it for peanuts; the infamous ₦30k monthly stipends that breed keyboard warriors. These ones defend poverty online, shouting praises for the same politicians who have secured luxury for their fifth generation. Ironically, these praise-singers cannot even afford to put their children in good schools. Which means their unborn generations will remain slaves to the children of the very politicians they worship today.

Generational slavery, sponsored by loyalty and ₦30k.

This is Nigeria’s tax story; a government that borrows in billions, loots in trillions, taxes in desperation, and delivers in suffering. A government that feeds fat while the people starve. A government that uses the people’s money to arm the security forces, not to protect the people, but to guard its own palaces and silence its critics.

That’s not governance. That’s organized wickedness in agbada.

Until Nigerians stop excusing evil because of crumbs, fear, and tribal sentiments, the cycle will never end. And the tragedy is, the receipt for this wickedness will always carry one word printed at the top: TAX.[/b]


Could not have said it any better. Its the sad reality in Nigeria today,

Last night, I sat down reflecting on Nigeria and the bizarre way some Nigerians reason. The more I thought, the angrier I became, until I had to pour it out in writing. Tell me, what could be harder than sharing a country with people who act like they’ve been bewitched, hypnotized, and stripped of common sense, yet they wear their delusion like a badge of honor? They come online and start defending nonsense. Ask them to mention one thing that this government has done to make life better and easier for them, they’ll start calling you Ibo and all sorts.

helinues:
Are you talking about subsidized dollar?

Are you saying that the Tinubu has not started subsidizing the naira?

helinues:
Less than N30 difference between dollar and naira for a year. That's what we called stability in currency

At what cost please?

The whole point of taxation is simple: the government takes from citizens to make life easier for them. That’s the deal.

But welcome to Nigeria, the only country where you dig your own borehole, buy your own generator, hire your own security and then still pay taxes so politicians can loot in peace, guard themselves with armed convoys, and unleash the police on you whenever you complain. Here, tax isn’t a social contract; it’s a weapon of mass suffering.

In developed countries, you see it clearly. In the UK for instance, taxes give you the NHS: free or affordable healthcare, structured education, pensions for the elderly, housing benefits, child support, maternity and paternity leave. Even newborn babies are not left behind, the system makes sure every child has a fair start in life.

In the U.S., the same principle applies. I remember when my sister, a U.S. citizen, gave birth, the government sent her a package so loaded with food, formula, and supplies that she had more than enough. She even sent the excess to us. Imagine that; a government sending baby food across borders because it gave its citizens too much.

In Scandinavia, the story is even crazier: monthly child benefits roll in until your child grows up, and the elderly live with dignity, not as abandoned beggars. That’s what tax is meant for: protection, dignity, fairness.

Now shift the camera to Nigeria. Here, citizens are their own government. You dig your own borehole for water. You buy your own generator and solar for electricity. You repair your own road if you want to drive without sinking into craters. Your safety? Directly tied to how much money you can pay vigilantes or private guards.

In Nigeria, governance has been fully outsourced to the citizen. Survival is DIY.

And despite all this madness, the same irresponsible government has the audacity, no, the boldness to tax the people.

But it doesn’t end there. They borrow recklessly, steal the loans through bloated contracts and phantom projects, and then tax the same citizens to pay back the stolen loans. It’s like a thief robbing you at gunpoint, then sending you a bill for the bullets.

And let’s not forget security. Citizens pay taxes to equip police, military forces and the DSS, hoping for protection. What do they get in return? Nothing!!!! Instead, the politicians hijack those forces for themselves. Armored convoys of security men guard them in luxury while ordinary Nigerians are butchered by bandits, kidnapped on highways, and left to their fate. And when the same citizens dare to protest, those very security forces, paid for by the taxpayers are unleashed to beat, harass, and kill them.

Think about it: you are literally funding your own oppression.

Meanwhile, the government slashed the real value of minimum wage from over $100 to $46 and still insists on taxing even that crumbs.

They killed fuel subsidy, threw millions deeper into poverty, and then returned with a new trick: taxing fuel directly.

Maybe they felt the pain wasn’t sharp enough, so they turned the knife, just to make sure everyone bleeds.

And then there are the defenders, the tragic comedy of Nigerian politics. Some people still clap for this government, blinded by ethnicity or religion. Others do it for peanuts; the infamous ₦30k monthly stipends that breed keyboard warriors. These ones defend poverty online, shouting praises for the same politicians who have secured luxury for their fifth generation. Ironically, these praise-singers cannot even afford to put their children in good schools. Which means their unborn generations will remain slaves to the children of the very politicians they worship today.

Generational slavery, sponsored by loyalty and ₦30k.

This is Nigeria’s tax story; a government that borrows in billions, loots in trillions, taxes in desperation, and delivers in suffering. A government that feeds fat while the people starve. A government that uses the people’s money to arm the security forces, not to protect the people, but to guard its own palaces and silence its critics.

That’s not governance. That’s organized wickedness in agbada.

Until Nigerians stop excusing evil because of crumbs, fear, and tribal sentiments, the cycle will never end. And the tragedy is, the receipt for this wickedness will always carry one word printed at the top: TAX.

The uproar seems unnecessary. It’s an open secret that Wike has significant influence over the PDP. If he views Jonathan as a potential threat to Tinubu’s chances by dividing southern votes, the logical strategy would be to quietly use the party structure to block Jonathan’s candidacy. Taking the matter online instead looks less like a genuine political move and more like a calculated game of perception and distraction.

chopnaira:
Obj did more.

Since you’ve decided to play the comparison game, why not put the achievements of both Presidents side by side?

chopnaira:
Other Countries that President Tinubu has visited:
France
United Kingdom
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya
Benin Republic
Saudi Arabia
Germany
United Arab Emirate (UAE)
United States (US)
India
Qatar
Senegal
Netherlands
Equatorial Guinea
South Africa
Ghana
China
Tanzania, and Ethiopia.

Over 18 countries in 2yrs? Hmmmmn!

Tayorshd87:
Lord lugard made a very big mistake and caused all the rubbish happening in Nigeria today for allowing or merging the north as part of Nigeria 😭😭 o

Where illiterate are dump daily in and out yet they are d most set back regions in Nigeria if today ....


North 😭😭😭

Let’s leave Lord Lugard out of this. The man has long gone and deserves his rest. At the time, he acted in what he believed was the best interest of the country. Nigeria is not unique in its diversity, many nations have far more ethnic groups and yet find ways to coexist. Even without amalgamation, the rivalries within our own ethnicities would still exist, and perhaps even more fiercely. The Yorubas are not entirely united, the Igbos are not entirely united, and the Hausa/Fulani are not without their own divisions. What we are witnessing today is less about Lugard’s decisions and more about how politicians exploit our differences for selfish gain. Blaming a man who lived and died decades ago distracts us from holding current leaders accountable.

You may want to read my previous article here

https://www.nairaland.com/8506435/nigeria-disunity-colonial-legacy-self-inflicted

tollyboy5:
Yes!
Lagos generates more than what Bayelsa gives to Nigeria and get almost nothing in return.

In 2023, Lagos contributed N815.86 billion (33.6% of total states’ IGR). So tell me where did over 3trillion naira approved for Lagos state come from? From Iragbiji I guess.

tollyboy5:
Lagos just a state?

Can you just listen to yourself.

By the way, what does your state bring to the table?

You think Lagos generates more than what Balyesa is generating for the country?

buygala:
It is Emilokan regime...Na our turn to do our own


When Buhari was doing his own and turning the country into a Fulani colony, nobody talk ...

At least Tinubu is pouring money into his state Lagos which is part of Nigeria, as opposed to Buhari who pumped trillions into a foreign railway, the Kano-Maradi Rail line

Charity begins at home...Asiwaju is doing perfectly fine...Buhari taught Nigerians a bitter lesson on nepotism they won't forget in a thousand years

Looks like this your Emilokan regime is finally making sense. Just as I’ve always said, it’s the story of Animal Farm all over again, “all animals are equal” until after the victory, when suddenly some become “more equal than others.” Now, the other Southwest states have been reduced to the neglected workhorses and forgotten hens of the farm used for the struggle, but sidelined once the feast began.

YORUBAs! You can now see that Tinubu is not fighting for any southwest agenda, but a selfish policy that would definitely affect the whole of southwest later. This I have seen.

The question for the “awalokan:

The[color=#000099][/color] N3.9 trillion was approved for the Southwest, but the real question is the distribution. How much of this allocation is going to Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, and Kwara States? Without a clear breakdown, it is difficult to measure whether Tinubu’s administration is genuinely pursuing a balanced Southwest agenda or simply concentrating resources to just one state.

I was at a conference last week, and while chatting with a friend I met at the venue; a die-hard Tinubu supporter. This guy had 101 reasons why Tinubu must return for a second term. Funny enough, he wasn’t even from Lagos, yet he was busy reeling out stories he had only heard about Tinubu’s so called achievements as governor of Lagos State.

At some point, I knew there was no need to keep arguing, so I threw him a simple but direct question:

"If Nigeria were to break today, would you gladly accept Tinubu as the president of the Republic of Oodua?"

He froze for a few seconds, then quietly said “ah no oh”. When I pressed for a reason, he refused to answer. At that point, I understood his silence and saw no reason to drag the conversation any longer.

Now let me ask you all the same question:

If Nigeria were to break today, would you honestly want Tinubu to lead the Republic of Oodua?

Please share your reasons for either yes or no.

No responsible nation demands nearly 150% of its minimum wage from citizens for something as basic as an international passport. How does this government justify such an outrageous fee? The same way they excused fuel price hikes by blaming neighboring countries. Nigerians are not fooled, these policies are not only unfair, they expose a government more interested in punishing its people than protecting them.

Honestly this doesn’t make any sense anymore. I hope this is part of the achievements of this administration. I’m still expecting those praising this administration to come and defend this nonsense. How can a national passport be more than one and a half months minimum wage. This doesn’t make any more sense. Tell me one thing that this government hasn’t increased after reducing the minimum wage from $100 to $46.

Racoon:
Like Pastor Paul Adefarasin just said these few days, Nigeria is and remains a contraption of the British exploitation greed and wickedness

I find it deeply disappointing that a man who should be at the forefront of championing national unity has chosen instead to peddle divisive rhetoric. Sadly, his generation has left one of the darkest marks on our nation’s history.

Brendaniel:
You still don't understand, every ethnic group has their own issues, the bigger problem here is an ethnic group sees another ethic group as enemy and fights them in the same country, ethnic group internal fights can be managed because it more like family, but when it is taken out to another ethnic group in the same country, I doubt that country will ever make progress and that is the situation of Nigeria because it breeds injustice.

How do you want a progressive country with injustice?

I agree with you. You’re absolutely right.

Brendaniel:
With the type of behaviour Yorubas are dishing to other Nigerians?

Some of you don't really understand what having a country is, you can't be wishing a certain part of the country evil and expect your country to be good or doing injustice to a certain people in your country and expect your country to progress, some of you don't know what it is to have a country that will make progress....


Look, I was surprised when I started seeing this attribute of the Yorubas but after some study of their past I now understood, currently Yorubas are only united in hatred against Igbos whom they see as a threat, but somehow Tinubu's presidency has given some of them the mindset that the have won the Igbos, so what next as the article also said( they go back to default and start fighting each other)


I'm very sorry to say, Any Yoruba man who hates, despises or sees the Igbos as threat is not after a working country, is after only tribal supremacy.

I might still write a book about the Yorubas and Nigeria as a whole, apologies to Yorubas who do not involve themselves in these tribal/clannish supremacy battles.

I'm going to bookmark this page.

Ogbeni, shut the damn crap. The Igbo aren’t any better than the rest. Every ethnic group in Nigeria is soaked in divisions, and all those cracks are what built this messed-up country. So quit whining like the Igbo are saints, they’re just as flawed as everyone else.”

WhizdomXX:
Lol. Very very funny article. Anyways, Nigeria will be Great.

That is our earnest prayer: Nigeria shall rise and be great in our lifetime.

This statement in itself is corrupt.

I have been watching, with equal parts amusement and worry, the latest fuss between two of Yorubaland’s most respected thrones: the Ooni of Ife and the Alaafin of Oyo. This quarrel is anything but a new development; it is simply a replay of an old Yoruba truth: the Yoruba are often more divided among themselves than Nigeria as a whole.

What makes it even more troubling is how quickly people are picking sides, waving banners of allegiance. As expected, many Oyo sons and daughters stand solidly behind the Alaafin, while Ile-Ife and its sympathizers rally around the Ooni. Instead of speaking as one family of Odùduwà, loyalties are split along hometown pride and historical grudges. And is this not the same story we see in Nigeria at large? The Igbo instinctively back the Southeast, the Hausa-Fulani defend the North, and the Yoruba close ranks around the Southwest. Ethnic loyalty first, national identity later: if at all.

Yes, we all love to declare with pride, “Awa omo Odùduwà!” as if that chant alone makes us united. But scratch beneath the agbada and beads, and what you’ll see is not a smooth family tree, it’s one where the branches keep poking each other in the eye.

People love to blame Lord Lugard for everything that is wrong with Nigeria: Traffic in Lagos? Blame Lugard. Dollar rise? Blame Lugard. Bad governance? Lugard again. But the truth is, Lugard did not invent the quarrels. He only helped package them into a colonial gift box called Nigeria.

In fact, the word “Yoruba” itself is relatively new. Historically, people identified as Oyo, Ijebu, Egba, Ekiti, Ife, Ondo, etc. It was Samuel Johnson, a 19th-century Yoruba clergyman and historian (from Oyo), who helped popularize “Yoruba” as a collective identity in his “History of the Yorubas” (published in 1921, though written earlier). Before then, it wasn’t unusual for an Egba man to insist he wasn’t the same as an Ijebu man, even though they both descended from Oduduwa.

So, if today you see Yoruba leaders dragging chairs over who is more senior, don’t blame Nigeria alone. The quarrels pre-date Nigeria itself.

The Kiriji War; when Cousins Fought each other is a good example (1877–1893). That war lasted sixteen years; longer than Nigeria’s entire civil war (1967–1970). And who fought it? Yorubas against Yorubas.

On one side: Ibadan. On the other side: Ekiti Parapo (an alliance of Ekiti, Ijesa, Egba, and others). Why the fight? Power, land, and who should control who. By the time it ended (through British intervention, by the way), thousands were dead, towns destroyed, and family ties permanently strained.

So, when I hear people say, “If Nigeria breaks today, Yorubaland will automatically become peaceful,” I just shake my head. If Nigeria breaks, you might need a new Google Map just to locate all the “mini-republics” that will emerge in Yorubaland.

Yoruba unity is a bit like party rice. It only shows up during big occasions. During colonial times, Yoruba united against British taxes. In the 1950s, under Obafemi Awolowo, Yoruba rallied behind free education and regional development. During June 12 (1993), Yorubas spoke with one voice in defending democracy.
But after each “big occasion,” the usual quarrels resume: Who is the rightful heir to which throne? Who should lead the political party? Which town’s jollof rice is superior? Even in religion, Yoruba Muslims and Christians sometimes argue like eternal rivals, despite attending each other’s naming ceremonies.

Let us be frank: if Nigeria breaks today, don’t expect a single united “Oduduwa Republic.” We might have:

Ife Kingdom (capital of spirituality and “source” of creation).

Oyo Federal Republic (with a strong constitution, but Alaafin will still be supreme commander).

Ijebu National Bank Republic (their anthem will start with “Money stops nonsense…”)

Ekiti Democratic Republic (where every family produces a professor and a governor).

Egba Confederation (they will insist they are different from Ijebu, again).

Lagos International Airport City-State (where nobody will even admit they are Yoruba, they will just say, “We are global citizens”).

Each will have its own flag, currency, and probably an embassy in the next town.

The Yoruba problem, like Nigeria’s, is not ethnicity. It is the inability to accept one another fully, beyond convenience. Yoruba unity shines when there’s an external threat, but fades when it’s time to build internal strength. This is not just a Yoruba issue. It is a Nigerian issue. The Igbo have their internal rivalries. The Hausa-Fulani are not monolithic either. The so-called “Middle Belt” is itself a patchwork of dozens of ethnic nations.

If the Yoruba want to be taken seriously as a model for Nigeria, then unity should not just be about “banding together against outsiders.” It must also mean genuine acceptance of one another inside the same family.

Until then, if Nigeria collapses tomorrow, the Yoruba will likely collapse faster into smaller units. And in the distance, Lord Lugard will still be laughing from his grave, sipping palm wine, whispering: “I told you they weren’t ready.”