For internally generated resources to be equitably allocated towards development of the country, there is need for robust commitment by the leadership.
Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed of Kwara State stated this in his speech delivered at the public presentation of a book titled “Taxpreneurship” launched in his honour to mark his 55th birthday, held in Ilorin, the state capital.
The book was written by Muritala Awodun, the executive chairman of Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS).
According to the governor, the biggest challenge Nigeria has is optimal resources allocation, saying, “We must learn how to earnestly harness resources that we have internally and it should be optimally allocated.”
On way forward, the Governor said: “If we have a very good and robust internal revenue programme on paper, it only requires a strong leadership to convert the statement on paper into action”.
“We must realise the fact that our thoughts and actions must be articulated; put into writing so that the incoming generation will build on such information and by learning from history, our environment will continue to be better and progress,” he said.
The governor lamented that Nigeria was where it was today because “we didn’t learn our lessons”.
“We must recognise that taking our destiny into our hands. Indians developed their country themselves, Europeans developed Europe and Americans did as such. We must articulate these facts and develop Africa, Nigeria”.
He pointed out that development of a given society centered on taxes and the ability to raise taxes, deploy taxes appropriately and utilize revenue efficiently.
Governance, he said,is about social commitment between government and the people, adding,”Government should ensure responsibility of articulating resources effectively for the betterment of people’s lives”.
“We need better schools, better roads, better health care services and security. To fill this gap, we need to redouble our efforts in economic diversification, rediscover ourselves through serious research and ability to convert speech into writing”.
The governor,therefore, thanked Awodun for documenting the activities and achievements of the agency in the past three years.
In his review of the book, Abiola Sanni, a professor of Taxation and Law, said the author discussed issues surrounding taxation in Nigeria, models of entrepreneurship, how tax application can be applied efficiently for the benefit of the society, strategies to address challenges confronting tax administrators in Nigeria, among others.
“I recommend that His Excellency, Governor Ahmed organise a retreat for all MDAs and ensure that they all read and digest information in the book for effective service delivery.
“The ‘Taxpreneurship’ is not only good for business communities, it is also useful for researchers, historians, academia and students,” he said.
In his remarks, the KWIRS boss appreciated Governor Ahmed for trusting management and staff of the agency with his vision.
He noted, “The vision of establishing Kwara Internal Revenue Service is not ours, it is yours. In the search to actualise the vision, you trusted us and gave us all the required support, that is why we are celebrating the success today.”
