Some months ago, The Patriots—led by a former Commonwealth Secretary-General—paid a visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa. Their mission was straightforward but urgent: to demand immediate political restructuring of Nigeria as a necessary step to prevent the country from drifting toward systemic collapse. Their position reflected a long-standing concern shared by many Nigerians—that the country’s political architecture is fundamentally flawed and no longer fit for purpose.
President Tinubu, however, reportedly informed the delegation that his immediate priority was economic reform. Since then, the administration has introduced a series of far-reaching economic and fiscal measures, including tax reforms, subsidy removals, and revenue-enhancement strategies aimed at stabilizing public finance and attracting investment.
While economic reform is undoubtedly important, attempting to reform taxation and the economy without first addressing Nigeria’s defective political structure is akin to building a house on a cracked foundation. The danger is not abstract; it is real and growing.
Nigeria operates a highly centralized political system that concentrates power and resources at the federal level, leaving states and local governments weak, dependent, and often unaccountable. This structure breeds inefficiency, corruption, and waste, while discouraging productivity and innovation at subnational levels. In such a system, tax reforms risk becoming punitive rather than developmental—extracting more from citizens without corresponding improvements in governance, infrastructure, or public services.
Moreover, public trust in state institutions remains dangerously low. The credibility of elections, governance processes, and accountability mechanisms has been repeatedly questioned. Many Nigerians still recall controversies surrounding recent elections, including reports of technological failures and procedural lapses that deepened public cynicism about leadership legitimacy. In this context, asking citizens and businesses to shoulder heavier tax burdens without addressing governance deficits is likely to fuel resistance, evasion, and social unrest.
Taxation thrives where there is trust—trust that collected revenues will be judiciously managed, transparently accounted for, and fairly redistributed. In Nigeria’s current political arrangement, that trust is severely eroded. Citizens see little connection between the taxes they pay and the quality of services they receive. Roads remain dilapidated, electricity unreliable, education underfunded, and healthcare inaccessible to the majority.
Political restructuring—whether through true federalism, devolution of powers, fiscal autonomy for states, or electoral reforms—is not a distraction from economic reform; it is its prerequisite. Without restructuring, tax reform risks becoming a time bomb: socially explosive, economically counterproductive, and politically destabilizing.
History offers sobering lessons. States that overburden citizens in the absence of representation, accountability, and inclusion often face backlash—sometimes gradual, sometimes sudden. Nigeria, already grappling with insecurity, unemployment, and widening inequality, cannot afford such an outcome.
In conclusion, economic reform without political reform is incomplete and unsustainable. If Nigeria is truly to be rescued from collapse, fiscal measures must go hand in hand with structural political transformation. Anything less is not reform—it is postponement of an inevitable crisis.
Ndubuisi Anaenugwu is the Ambassador General of Good Governance Ministry ( GGM)
Email : ggovernanceministry@gmail.com
