For many years, former tax czar, Dr Babatunde Fowler was like an adonis with incredible magnetic ability. As it is known, money is an unpretentious magnet. Wherever it is in abundance, like ants to honey is the sweet attraction. That’s the reality and seems the present situation of Fowler, the former Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). As it is accustomed to many past public figures either replaced or sacked from their prestigious positions, the party seems to be over for the one-time popular and gregarious man. Fowler has finally recoiled into his cocoon. He has been missing in many ceremonies that ordinarily he will be on the VVIP guests list. Since he left the FIRS seat, the only time the accomplished taxman has featured on major headlines was when he was invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to assist the anti-graft agency in clearing the air on a certain inquiry that happened between 2005 and 2014 when he was the head of Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue, LIRS. Of course, Fowler was said to have assisted the anti-graft agency in their search for the truth. He set the records straight and left to return to his new lonely lifestyle ever since.
Fowler was the darling of Nigeria’s entertainment industry. Under his watch, FIRS was busy sponsoring events, the same thing he did at LIRS. But that really helped that industry grow, looking back those years and see the progress and the growth in that sector. The gentleman who will be 65 in August is also keeping to his new lifestyle, as it is gathered he will be making his birthday a strictly private affair limited to his immediate family and very close friends.