The plan by the Federal Government to tax phone calls is still generating uproar.Until it is forever buried, we will not stop resisting it. Even the current rumble in the judiciary would not deter us.
Actually, this column could not make it last week. The message cannot be ignored, because it is our collective plight. The very reason it is appearing today. It is for your take:
Help, our leaders are angry: And this is taking great toll on us, especially the “lesser” Nigerians. It is visible everywhere we smell it, we feel it.
Okay, what else do we make of the crude and cruel Communications Service Tax Bill, (aka Call Tax)? Of course, it is simply deep-rooted hatred. That is how we perceive it, and we cannot be faulted.
These leaders are forever annoyed. We are their ultimate targets. They are wickedly turning us to preys. They are irked and are not ashamed to display it. They showcase it with the highest impunity.
Their body language arrogantly exhibits the annoyance. They flaunt their irritation at the slightest opportunity to our detriment. It is boldly written all over them. It cannot be concealed. Wisely enough, we are not pretending not to know. We refused to be deceived this time around.
Their wicked intention came to light last Thursday. It is abundantly reflected in the bill from the Presidency to the National Assembly. It is the brainchild of the Presidency, the author and the finisher of the evil bill.
The bill is the most unfriendly one in recent times. That is why we vehemently detest it with everything in us. For us, it was an exposé. They want to rib us open and strip us bare:
“The bill seeks to make provisions for certain compulsory payments from communications consumers.” In other words: “Under the bill, telecoms users would pay more.” That is how Daily Sun reported it.
Strangely, we have a good ally in the senators. They promptly rose against the weird bill. Its chairman, Committee on Communications, Gilbert Nnaji, opted to speak for his colleagues:
“There has been strident outcry by consumer rights groups and industry stakeholders against the Communications Service Tax Bill (CST) 2015 before the National Assembly. It is argued that the bill will limit access to communication as it will affect the lower income consumers.”
Yes, Nnaji you are on the right track: “It is important to state unequivocally here that, as elected representatives of the Nigerian people, while we recognise the current administration’s effort to widen its revenue base, conscious efforts must be made to ensure that the socio-economic well-being of the citizenry remains sacrosanct.”
Unfortunately, that is what the Call Tax ignores. It fails to address the issue with sincerity. Thet notwithstanding, Nnaji would not rest on his oars:
“We assure Nigerians that this committee will engage in wide consultations with all concerned stakeholders in considering this bill if it is referred to the committee.” Kudos Nnaji! We are on the same page on this matter, using the same template.
The committee cautioned the Federal Government to tread carefully over the CST bill. This is because the bill has the inherent capacity to make life more miserable for majority of Nigerians. That is the home truth and it is bitter to swallow.
He vowed: “While the committee will in no way support any draconian regulation, it will not also fold its arms to witness any disrespect and disregard for the directive of constituted authorities by any operator under its regulatory oversight.”
From all indications, intensions and purposes, this Call Tax Bill is unthinkable. It is laughable and heartless. Are our leaders running amok? It is a question to ask.
This CST is completely blind, deaf and dumb to our feelings. It is absolutely without regards to our sensibilities. We honestly wonder aloud what it is meant to achieve in the first place, to punish us? We are lost.
The only reasonable thing Nigerians now do to relieve tension is to talk. And they talk more than ever before. They earnestly pour our their troubled minds to one another. Perhaps, somebody, somewhere would care to listen and care for their needs.
Yet, the government is piqued and furious at the same time. It swears, that “careless” talk must not continue. We must be deprived of that “privilege.” That “useless” talk must be heavily taxed. That is the awkward reasoning of government.
They are resolute in taxing our talk. That would stop us from discussing our collective plight, pain and agony. That is a warped thinking.
But we are poised to resist this with all the strength and blood in us. We abhor it and we are not going to key into it. This Call Tax is killing and should be frustrated and thwarted.
Our income shrinks by the day with the consistent fall of the Naira. And the government is perpetually confused on how to rescue it. Yet, it is committed to suffocate us with its obnoxious Call Tax.
Where is the transparency? Where is the sincerity? Most of the calls of our leaders and the rich make are essentially toll-free. They enjoy free calls at our expense. They do not pay for their calls. Some of them, may be, do not even know how a recharge card looks like.
But, they are determined to tax the rest of us, who toil to buy recharge card as low as N100. Government and its officials pretend a lot. Our leaders are deceit. They are cheats.
They arrogantly ride on our back to power and feed fat on us. Their phones are ever loaded. No dull moment for them in talking. The Call Tax has no effect on them. They are as free as the air.
That luxury they reserve for themselves all alone, we are not worthy of it. They are as greedy as ever. They do not want a change in that direction. By their twisted reasoning, it is dangerous and injurious allowing us that opulence. We will talk endlessly. We will become more critical of their actions and inactions. We will be less productive. That is their distorted reason for the Call Tax.
We are forced to ask: Why do we keep on jumping from one policy to the other? We have never made meaningful headway with any. We keep on abandoning and at the same speed churning out new policies. When will this mess stop?
When the sale of public assets is hitting the rock; government is trying its hand on Call Tax. Our leaders are wobbling, fumbling, floundering and stumbling all the way. We pray they don’t go berserk.
This is certainly not how to begin a change with us. Our fervent prayer remains: No weapon fashioned against us shall prosper. Amen! And it is divine!