We're so cooked
It could take Nigeria three decades to become poverty-free
Good morning, Big Brains. Did I offend NEPA or is the grid still down? Actually, never mind. Just enjoy today’s edition.
- Margaret
Word count: ~ 1,000
Reading time ~3 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
The world is far from being poverty-free but Nigeria is farther
Nigeria wants to make it easier for you to pay your taxes
Kamala wants to win, Trump wants to dance
The Big Deal
The world is far from being poverty-free but Nigeria is farther
The conspiracy theorists predicting the second coming of Jesus Christ might be on to something because why is everything going wrong in the world? If you’re a Nigerian who’s passionate about the first sustainable goal of the United Nations (SDG1- No Poverty), the World Bank has some not-so-great news.
Apparently, the world is not anywhere close to achieving the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030. As if this weren’t enough bad news, the World Bank said also, that it’s mostly Sub-Saharan African countries with weak economies and high instability that are stopping the rest of the world from achieving this goal. According to them, there’s no universe where the entire world would become poverty-free in 6 years because it might take another 30 years or more to end poverty in Sub-Saharan African countries.
Why is this a big deal?
The SDGs, (which are a bunch of ambitious goals that the United Nations wants the world to achieve by 2030), are kind of like the KPIs of every country. As you can already tell, Nigeria is barely meeting its own targets. With about 63% of its citizens living in multidimensional poverty, it could take the country even more than 30 years to fully eradicate poverty, longer than the World Bank’s prediction.
Debt and climate crises were listed as the two major drivers of poverty in the world and you can’t exactly spell Nigeria without a little bit of both factors. The country’s total debt is now over ₦121.67 trillion and it's ranked as the 13th least prepared country in the world to handle climate change.
These figures are bad enough but they are not even the worst ones we’ve got. The World Bank also added that the naira has lost 43% of its value compared to the beginning of the year, making it one of the weakest currencies in the region, thanks to President Tinubu who swore on his life that floating the naira was exactly what Nigerian’s failing economy needed.
If you’ve not figured out where we’re going with all of this data, let’s do some Tinubu math for you. Debt + Climate Crisis + Depreciating Currency = A cooked country.
Nigeria wants to make it easier for you to pay your taxes
You’re going to be seeing a lot of tax conversations on your social media timeline in the coming weeks and the worst part of being an adult is that you have to care.
Yesterday, we talked about how Taiwo Oyedele, the Chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, is pushing for a new bill. This bill would make Nigerians who earn over ₦100 million a month pay up to 25% of their income in taxes, while those who earn less wouldn’t have to pay personal income taxes anymore. It turns out that the bill is just one of several other tax reforms the government wants to implement.
The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, explained that the reforms are focused on making the tax system simpler and more efficient. He also said that no new taxes would be added to what Nigerians currently pay, and existing taxes wouldn't be increased.
To formalize these changes, four bills have been sent to the National Assembly, including the Nigeria Tax Bill and the Nigeria Tax Administration Act (Amendment) Bill. These bills are going to change Nigeria’s tax laws to fit global standards and increase transparency in how taxes are collected and spent.
What happens when these bills take effect?
Even though these bills have been sent to the National Assembly, they’re not taking effect till January 2025. If you’re keen on wrapping your pretty head around all the details now though here are the facts:, the bills that Oyedele and Adedeji are pushing for are working towards a common goal – to reduce the number of taxes average and low-earning Nigerians have to pay.
If Oyedele’s bill is passed, personal taxes will mostly come out of the pockets of rich Nigerians but mid and low-income earners will still have to pay other taxes like Value Added Tax (VAT) which is unavoidable for everyone because it applies to consumer goods and services.
Ayodeji’s bills on the other hand will make sure that it’s easy to pay these taxes and track what the government is doing with them. If these bills are as good as they look on paper, Nigerian taxpayers will be the ones benefiting.
Kamala wants to win, Trump wants to dance
American politics is the only thing that’s reasonably better than American reality TV. On Monday, 73-year-old Donald Trump paused discussions about his plans for the American people, to dance. DANCE! We can’t even make this shit up.
“Don’t politicians dance during rallies?” They do but it wasn’t that kind of rally. Trump was actually in the middle of a serious question-and-answer session when he stopped the discussions to “sway awkwardly” for at least 39 minutes.
Kamala Harris, his running mate, is now using this unexplainable dance session as the new talking point of her campaign, insinuating that Trump’s old age has made him “weak and unfit”. She is also raising conversations about his mental health, calling him “lost, confused, and frozen on stage.”
Trump, on the other hand, has been avoiding the whole drama like a plague and is yet to release a report addressing concerns about his state of health which is a bit sus. If Harris manages to dig up enough dirt, there’s a chance that Trump would have the same political ending as Joe Biden who stepped down from the presidential race in July after questions about his health became controversial.
This Week’s Big Question
“What’s one random thing you wish you could tell President Tinubu?”
Bimbo’s response - “Since he doesn’t want to take a hint, someone needs to tell him that the evil he has done is enough.”
You can also share your response here and if it’s as interesting as Bimbo’s response, we’ll feature it in the next edition.
The Big Picks
A Senator Earns What You Won’t in a Century – and Then Some: According to a study published by Oxfam, a nonprofit focused on ending inequality and poverty, a Nigerian civil servant would have to work nonstop for 207 years before they can earn the yearly salary of a Senator in the country.
FG Meets With Labour Leaders Over Petrol Price Hike: On Wednesday, the Federal Government met with the leaders of the Organised Labour at the office of George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, in Abuja.
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You seem to be Pro Kamala and your reports are always bias. Also, that was the only time Trump has stopped the campaign halfway to dance. You didn't even give context on why he stopped.
I believe your bias is based on Trump's wanting to secure the border and that might prevent people from "japa-ing". That's a lie. Get your fact straight.
Please limit your biases, you don't have to share your opinion every time. I respect you, I really do. I like your jokes but you don't have to make people see things your way(perspective). There are ways you can share news by inserting your normal humor without being subjective. Allow people to think for themselves. Let them form their own opinions.
Thanks