Connect with us

Nigeria

SPECIAL REPORT: Outdated Textbooks, Dearth of Materials Crippling Teaching in Public Primary Schools

Published

4 years ago

on

Musa’s only teaching material is the curriculum, a flat rectangular book, given to him by the headmaster of the government primary school he was employed to teach. The curriculum is the only material he could use to carry his duty. But to give life to his basic science lessons, the primary four class teacher would need a variety of instructional materials, which currently are unavailable to him.

It’s been a year since Badamasi Musa resumed as a teacher at Presidential Lodge primary school. A small, dusty yard public school in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi state capital. Though the school was built in a metropolitan area, its building resembled those found in distant and ungoverned settlements.

Shortly after he resumed, Musa realized he had just three types of books at his disposal. The basic science curriculum, the teacher’s guide, and an outdated textbook. But the textbook is irrelevant to him because the topics outlined in the textbook are not inconsistent with the content of the current curriculum.

Instead of providing valuable information about the topics outlined in the current curriculum, the textbook cover topics found in the old one.

The book was lying on Musa’s table, he had sent a student to fetch it upon the request of the reporter. It smelt musty and its pages flipped hurriedly as though eager to be left alone again. The textbook was pristine and made of purples, the kind that welcomes the eyes and invites the hand to touch. But a textbook can only be considered relevant if it offers information and explanation about a subject or theme based on the standard sequence of the curriculum.

‘’The FG-UBE intervention textbook is the only option provided but it’s not useful because it doesn’t match with the curriculum. Since the curriculum is more important, I have to abandon the textbook and teach with the information outlined in the curriculum,’’ Musa told the West African Pilot News reporter.

Although for Muhammed, relying solely on the curriculum to teach was already customary, he knew the students at his workplace are been denied access to quality education.

A range of learning resources is needed to support students in the learning process, among which textbooks are most notable.

Poor quality teaching is damaging learning

Hauwa identified her favorite subject as English although she is unable to read or write and is unfamiliar with comprehension passages since she rarely reads one in school and does not have a textbook of her own. The 12-year-old is a Primary 6 student of Gwandu Emirates Model Primary School in Birnin Kebbi.

Hauwa cannot communicate in English but is regarded as one of the brightest students in her class. Her spoken English is often applauded by her teacher, Sadiq. An unsurprising gesture, considering that her proficiency is just as low as his.

The young girl is about to be shipped to post-primary after been tutored by teachers who do not know effective pedagogical practice and have little access to necessary teaching materials.

However, Sadiq, her class teacher, who can barely construct a simple sentence or tell a phrase from a clause, is certain he has mastered how to tackle the sticky situation in his school.

“Some textbooks do not match with the curriculum for several subjects but the way we are doing it, we can use just the curriculum to teach. You have to follow the curriculum before you start because it contains everything wey fits dey inside the textbook. You know, the curriculum contains pupils’ work, topic, sub-topic, and evaluation.  So, if you read the curriculum well you can teach the students. You can also use google for extra information,” he said.

Pedagogical practice in government-owned elementary schools is mostly tandem to distasteful conditions of service.

The National Personnel Audit (NPA) report released by the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEC) in 2018 listed Kebbi as one of the top states with unqualified teachers in public schools.

The study indicated that pupils’ ability to learn is being threatened by the presence of substandard teachers in the state.

While the situation persists, it is worsened by the lack of auxiliary teaching materials needed to make learning effective.

The philosophy of primary education under the 9-year Basic Education Curriculum (BEC), is that every learner that undergoes the program should acquire the appropriate level of literacy, numeracy, and communicative skill needed for laying the foundation of a life-long learning experience, but the resources to foster effective implementation of the curriculum are either inadequate or lacking in most schools.

It is not enough to produce a curriculum; it is even more important to produce useful types of machinery that will ensure that its ideals are realizable through effective classroom practice.

The universal basic education program

 The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) had procured 1.43 million textbooks in Mathematics, English, and social studies for pupils in primary 1-3 and 7.3 million textbooks for primary 4-6 in 2019, having disclosed that the process was ongoing the previous year.

The textbooks, stamped “UBEC/FG intervention textbooks”, were distributed under the 2015/2016 intervention by the commission.

In the same year, UBEC released N142.6 billion to states for the provision of necessary facilities in public primary and junior schools in the country.

The introduction of the UBE Act in 2004 ushered in policies that guaranteed the provision of instructional materials for all government-owned elementary schools across the country.

The UBE. a 9-year education program is a reform initiative designed to control, provide and improve education at the basic level. At the wheel of the initiative is the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), which coordinates the program and works to achieve the ambitious Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 by ensuring the adequate provision, appropriate management, maximum utilization of educational resources.

Mathematics, Basic Science, English, Social Studies, Library resources, and Early childhood development materials are prioritized in the instructional material intervention and as of 2016, over a hundred million of these books had been distributed to public schools nationwide.

The FG had proposed a 1:1 textbook ratio for all core subjects for students in public schools and had designated `15 percent of the 2 percent of the consolidated fund for the procurement of instructional materials while 70 percent of the fund is released to states on the condition that an equal contribution is presented as matching grants.

The commission, UBEC, is statutorily required to use 15 percent of the revenue to provide textbooks and other materials for all public primary schools in the country.

However, there is still no contending the deplorable state of education in the country.

Primary education is officially free and compulsory but one in every five out-of-school children is in Nigeria and about 10.5 million children age 5-14 years are not in school. Add this to the millions of half-educated children tutored under a decaying educational system.

Pupils, teachers grapple with ineffective teaching

The classes at Justice Umar Model Primary School, are also plagued by the same tragedy. Students have no choice but to take shabby lessons by substandard teachers in a harsh and inconducive environment. While the provision of quality education requires that instructional materials are not limited to textbooks, the total absence of these materials can make learning ineffective.

But the pupils at Justice Umar Model Primary School are not the only ones skating on thin ice, teachers here are also direly affected and Farouq Umar is keen on decrying the unpleasant situation. The teacher has taken to borrowing textbooks from neighbours who enrolled their children in private schools. According to him, teachers and students in private schools in the state are privy to the right materials and resources, unlike government schools where such access is a luxury.

“Only private primary school teachers have current textbooks at their disposal and this is because school owners buy directly from publishers who are quick to update materials whenever a curriculum is reviewed. Most times when I am planning for my lessons, I just borrow textbooks from private school pupils in the neigbourhood. Some of the materials in my possession were given to me by a neigbour whose son graduated from a private school two years ago,” he said with a smirk on his face.

Farouq had once considered buying books with his earnings but the sum the multiple subjects teacher needed was too heavy for his meager N19000 monthly salary to bear. His wife and children would have next-to-nothing if he made such a move, so he settled with lending from neigbours.

PICTURE 5: Abandoned UBEC/FG intervention textbooks

Textbooks play an important in the teaching and learning process of any subject. Access to specific choices of curriculum and textbooks matter for student achievement according to a study by Ed Reports, a non-profit that reports on school instructional materials.

“The quality of a textbook has a significant effect on student’s achievement, can determine the quality of education and is based on content format and appropriateness for the students. They are most effective when they serve the teacher’s creativity in delivering learning,” the study read.

And for Aminu, another school teacher, the supply of outdated textbooks coupled with many other inadequacies in the school system translates to the growing uninterest and indifference among teachers.

The absence of instructional materials in the school is make teaching tedious for Abubakar.  He says the challenge has long depleted his motivation took effectively and is certain other teachers share his sentiment.

Request for reviewed textbooks unanswered

When Aminu, the headmaster of Justice Umar school first requested that the UBEC-FG intervention textbooks supplied to public schools in the state be revised during a meeting with the Local Government Education Authority (LGEA) in his council, he anticipated a swift response.

The situation undermined the quality of teaching and learning in the state and of course, a quick response was imperative or so I thought,” he explained.

But his hopes were dashed after he made similar requests in many other meetings and nothing changed. To the headmaster, educational bodies in the state are unintentional about the quality of education in public schools.  Aminu believes that is the only way to explain why after several complaints from school headmasters, most materials are either unavailable or outdated.

And to fan the flames, subjects recently introduced are without teaching materials.

While some were clustered under a curriculum, others left independent but instructional materials for these subjects are unavailable.

PICTURE 7: History and Islamic studies curriculum issued without teaching materials

I think some two, three years back, some subjects were merged into one such as Basic Education which comprises Basic Science, Basic technology, ICT and Agriculture. And also Religious and national values which comprise security education, social studies, Civic Education, IRK, and CRK. These are independent subjects that were merged under one curriculum. But we never received any instructional materials for these subjects save for Social studies.

I also received the curriculum and teachers’ guide for history as a new subject but I had to ignore the subject because I couldn’t even find a textbook for that subject in the market.

“The curriculum for new subjects was issued with teachers’ guide but without any instructional material. I couldn’t assign anyone to teach the subjects because of that. We can’t teach these subjects with just teachers’ guides.

I even asked the LGEA in numerous meetings. I have asked over and over why textbooks for the new subjects weren’t supplied with the curriculums and guides,’’ he said in an irritating tone.

Expert speaks

An Education expert, Mr. Awopetu Olajide, who is specialized in special education and curriculum studies, blamed the situation on the floppiness of the government.

According to him, such problems are more likely to surface when policymakers leave classroom teachers out of the curriculum planning process. He also indicated that teaching cannot be effective without the use of auxiliary materials like textbooks.

“There is a curriculum and textbooks relationship which have to do with the textbook showcasing what is enshrined in the curriculum. So, there is no way a teacher can teach effectively without access to auxiliary materials like textbooks. And when you talk about effective teaching, learning is embedded. Effective teaching will bring about the effectiveness of learning. So ordinarily, when a textbook is been prepared, the author must follow what is written in the curriculum. Because the curriculum has topics that have been preselected for each session.

“Topics in the textbook must tally with the topics in the curriculum. Sadly, the supply of outdated textbooks is a result of laxity on the part of the government. This is a problem that occurs when the policymakers leave out classroom teachers when selecting topics for the curriculum. Teachers should not be left out but carried along in both curriculum planning and the distribution of teaching materials

Mr. Awopetu also posited that to ensure quality education, textbooks, and other teaching materials must be reviewed regularly so that updated information will be considered.

He stated that quality primary education has a major impact on the lifelong learning experience of school children, noting that if teaching materials are adequately prepared, effective teaching will be achieved.

“In most public schools, there are materials but these materials are mostly outdated. And teachers in these schools have a lukewarm attitude to their job for reasons best known to them. But if things are adequately prepared or provided by the government, definitely the teachers will teach effectively,” he added.

“If there is the effectiveness of teaching there will be quality learning. This will affect the lifelong learning experience of the students because the quality of teaching and learning they receive now will make in the future and if the students are adequately prepared now, the future of the country will be guaranteed. And if the case is otherwise, then definitely, the future of the country is at stake.”

UBEC hijacked procurement of instructional materials – SUBEB

When WAP contacted the state’s Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), the body claimed the challenge exist because procurement of instructional materials is directed and coordinated at the national level and not the state.

According to SUBEB’s executive secretary, Umar Hassan, the procurement and distribution of textbooks by UBEC denies states the liberty to approve textbooks based on their needs and peculiarities.

“The mandate to supply instructional materials is rested with UBEC and the commission in charge of this supply to all the states in the country. But this problem exists because UBEC hijacked the responsibility of supplying textbooks from SUBEB. If states are at liberty to decide what and how the textbooks will be designed and supplied based on their environment and reality, then we won’t be in this mess,” he said.

Mr. Hassan indicated that the board has trained teachers on how to source alternative instructional materials in situations where textbooks and other materials are unavailable.

He also noted that primary school teachers have been advised to source for information on the internet to aid teaching.

“SUBEB has trained teachers to find an alternative source of instructional materials. In some cases, it’s just some topics that are missing because new concepts have been inserted into the curriculum and we advise them to use the Internet.

“Headteachers have been instructed to make sure they have a phone with internet access, to support class teachers without such access.  We have been training teachers on how to improvise instructional materials, government alone cannot provide all. We have trained them in activity-based teaching approaches which requires them to improvise instructional materials using low or no-cost materials. We are not asking them to buy materials with their money,” he added.

He stated that the board has notified UBEC of the challenge with instructional materials in the state, and can only hope that the problem is rectified.

 

 

 

 

Texas Guardian News
Latest posts by Texas Guardian News (see all)
Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Books

The Pioneer’s Burden: Building the First Private Network in a Vacuum of Power

Published

3 days ago

on

November 4, 2025

By

  • Book Title: The Making of Bourdex Telecom
  • Author: David Ogba Onuoha Bourdex
  • Publishers: Bourdex
  • Reviewer: Emeaba Emeaba
  • Pages: 127

In the history of Nigerian entrepreneurship, stories of audacity often begin with frustration. A man waits hours in a dimly lit government office to place a single overseas call, his ambitions held hostage by bureaucracy. From that moment of exasperation, an empire begins. Such is the animating pulse of The Making of Bourdex Telecom, David Ogba Onuoha Bourdex’s sweeping autobiographical account of one man’s effort to connect the disconnected and to rewrite the telecommunications map of Eastern Nigeria.

At once memoir, corporate history, and national parable, the book reconstructs the emergence of Bourdex Telecommunications Limited—the first indigenous private telecom provider in Nigeria’s South-East and South-South regions—against a backdrop of inefficiency, corruption, and infrastructural neglect. Its author, a businessman turned visionary, narrates not merely how a company was built but how a new horizon of possibility was forced open in a society long accustomed to closed doors.

Bourdex begins with a stark diagnosis of pre-deregulation Nigeria: a nation of over 120 million people served by fewer than a million telephone lines. Through a mix of statistical precision and personal recollection, he paints a portrait of communication as privilege, not right—of entire regions condemned to silence by state monopoly. His storytelling thrives in such contrasts: the entrepreneur sleeping upright in Lagos’s NET building to place an international call; the Italian businessman in Milan conducting deals with two sleek mobile phones. That juxtaposition—between deprivation and effortless connectivity—serves as the book’s moral axis.

From these moments of contrast, Bourdex constructs the founding myth of his enterprise. What began as an irritation became a revelation, then a crusade. “I saw a people left behind,” he writes, “a region cut off while others dialed into the future.” His insistence on framing technology as a means of liberation rather than profit underscores the moral ambition that threads through the book. The Making of Bourdex Telecom reads not like a manual of business success but like an ethical manifesto: to build not simply for gain, but for dignity.

As the chapters unfold, Bourdex’s narrative oscillates between vivid personal storytelling and granular technical detail. He recounts his early business dealings in the 1980s and ’90s, the bureaucratic mazes of NITEL, and the daring pursuit of a telecommunications license under General Sani Abacha’s military government. There is a cinematic quality to his recollections—the tense midnight meetings in Abuja, the coded alliances with military officers, the improbable friendships that turned policy into possibility.

These sections recall Chinua Achebe’s The Trouble with Nigeria in tone and intention: both works diagnose the systemic failures of governance but find redemption in individual initiative. Yet Bourdex’s narrative differs in form. Where Achebe offered moral critique, Bourdex offers demonstration—an anatomy of perseverance in motion. He documents the letters, negotiations, and international correspondences with Harris Canada, showing how an indigenous company emerged through sheer force of will and global collaboration.

Such passages risk overwhelming the reader with acronyms, specifications, and telecom jargon—R2 signaling, SS7 interconnection, E1 circuits—but they also lend the book an authenticity rare in corporate memoirs. What might have been opaque technicalities become, under Bourdex’s hand, instruments of drama. The machinery of communication becomes metaphor: wires and waves as extensions of faith and tenacity.

To situate The Making of Bourdex Telecom within Nigeria’s socio-political history is to confront the paradox of private enterprise under public decay. The book chronicles the twilight of NITEL’s monopoly, the hesitant dawn of deregulation, and the emergence of entrepreneurial actors who filled the void left by government paralysis. In this sense, Bourdex’s story parallels that of other indigenous pioneers—figures such as Mike Adenuga and Jim Ovia—whose ventures in telecommunications and banking transformed the national economy from the late 1990s onward.

Yet Bourdex’s tone is less triumphant than reflective. He does not romanticize deregulation; he portrays it as both opportunity and ordeal. The government’s inertia, the labyrinthine licensing process, and the outright extortion by state agencies form the darker undertones of his tale. His clash with NITEL’s leadership—recounted with controlled indignation—stands as one of the book’s most gripping sequences. When a senior official demanded an illegal payment of ₦20.8 million for interconnection rights, Bourdex’s defiant reply, “You are not God,” rang out like an act of civil disobedience. In such moments, the narrative transcends the genre of business autobiography and enters the moral theatre of national reform. The entrepreneur becomes citizen-prophet, challenging a corrupt establishment with the rhetoric of justice and self-belief. That blending of economic narrative with civic conscience is perhaps the book’s most compelling feature.

Stylistically, The Making of Bourdex Telecom occupies an intriguing space between oral history and polished memoir. The prose is direct, rhythmic, and often sermonic, reflecting its author’s background as both businessman and public speaker. Anecdotes unfold with the cadences of storytelling; sentences sometimes pulse with the energy of spoken word: “Amateurs built the Ark. Professionals built the Titanic.” The repetition of such aphorisms imbues the work with a sense of conviction, though occasionally at the expense of subtlety.

Where the book excels is in its evocation of atmosphere—the dusty highways between Aba and Lagos, the sterile corridors of power in Abuja, the crisp air of Calgary where the author first glimpsed technological modernity. These scenes transform what could have been a linear corporate chronicle into a textured work of memory.

Still, the narrative structure is not without flaws. The absence of an external editor’s restraint is occasionally felt in the pacing; digressions into technical exposition or moral reflection sometimes interrupt narrative flow. Readers accustomed to the concise storytelling of international business memoirs—Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog or Elon Musk’s authorized biography—may find the prose dense in places. Yet such density mirrors the complexity of the terrain Bourdex navigated. His sentences, like his towers, are built from layers of persistence.

Beyond its entrepreneurial chronicle, the book doubles as social history—a record of Eastern Nigeria’s encounter with modernization. The chapters on “The FUTO Boys,” a cadre of young engineers recruited from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, offer a microcosm of the new Nigerian professional class emerging in the late 1990s: educated, idealistic, and determined to prove that technical expertise could thrive outside the state. Their improvisations—installing antennas by candlelight, building networks amid power outages—embody the collective grit that sustained Bourdex’s vision.

The narrative’s cumulative effect is generational. Through the story of one company, we glimpse a society in transition—from analogue isolation to digital awakening. The book captures that liminal moment when the sound of a dial tone became a symbol of freedom.

Running through The Making of Bourdex Telecom is a persistent theology of success. Bourdex attributes every turn in his journey to divine orchestration: friendships “placed by the Invisible Hand,” setbacks reinterpreted as “divine redirections.” Such language, while characteristic of Nigerian entrepreneurial spirituality, acquires here an almost literary force. It recasts corporate history as providential narrative, where the invisible infrastructure of grace mirrors the visible architecture of towers and transmitters.

For some readers, this piety may feel excessive; yet it provides the emotional coherence of the book. The author’s faith is not ornamental—it is constitutive. Without it, the story of Bourdex Telecom would read as mere ambition. With it, it becomes vocation.

The foreword by Abia State Governor Alex Otti and the preface by former Anambra Governor Peter Obi frame the book as both inspiration and instruction. They read Bourdex’s career as parable: the triumph of private initiative over public inertia. Yet their presence also situates the work within Nigeria’s broader discourse on nation-building. The Making of Bourdex Telecom is not only the autobiography of an entrepreneur; it is a treatise on indigenous agency—on what happens when Africans cease to wait for imported solutions and begin to engineer their own.

In this respect, the book extends its influence beyond its immediate industry. Its lessons—about courage, timing, friendship, and faith—extend to any field where innovation must contend with adversity.

Judged as a work of literature, The Making of Bourdex Telecom is direct and sincere. Its prose favors clarity over ornament, and its authenticity gives the story a compelling sense of truth. Bourdex writes not to embellish, but to bear witness—to a time, a struggle, and a conviction that technology could serve humanity. The result is a hybrid work: part documentary, part sermon, part memoir of enterprise.

As a contribution to Nigerian business literature, it deserves serious attention. Few firsthand accounts capture with such detail the messy birth of private telecommunications in the 1990s—a revolution that reshaped the country’s economic and social fabric. In its pages, we hear both the crackle of the first connected call and the larger resonance of a people finding their voice.

Bourdex’s central message endures: progress begins when frustration becomes purpose. His journey from the backrooms of NITEL to the boardrooms of international telecoms is not merely personal triumph; it is a chapter in Nigeria’s unfinished story of modernization.

In the end, The Making of Bourdex Telecom stands as more than the history of a company. It is an ode to enterprise as nation-building, and to the stubborn optimism of those who refuse to let silence define them.

See the book on Amazon: >>>>>

_________

♦ Dr. Emeaba, the author of “A Dictionary of Literature,” writes dime novels in the style of the Onitsha Market Literature sub-genre.

Texas Guardian News
Latest posts by Texas Guardian News (see all)
Continue Reading

Houston

Houston and Owerri Community Mourn the Passing of Beloved Icon, Lawrence Mike Obinna Anozie

Published

1 month ago

on

October 3, 2025

By

Houston was thrown into mourning on September 19, 2025, following the sudden passing of businessman and community advocate Lawrence Mike Obinna Anozie, who peacefully joined his ancestors. Immediate family member in Houston, Nick Anozie, confirmed his untimely death and expressed gratitude for the outpouring of love and condolences from both the Houston and Owerri communities.

Lawrence was born to Chief Alexander and Lolo Ether Anozie of Owerri in Imo State, Nigeria, and will be dearly remembered by family members, friends, and the entire Houston community.

An accomplished accountant, the late Lawrence incorporated and successfully managed three major companies: Universal Insurance Company, LLC, Universal Mortgage LLC, and Universal Financial Services. Through these enterprises, he not only built a thriving business career but also created opportunities for countless individuals to achieve financial stability. His contributions to entrepreneurship and community development will remain a lasting legacy.

According to the family, arrangements for his final funeral rites are in progress and will be announced in due course.

Lawrence will forever be remembered as a loving and compassionate man who dedicated much of his life to uplifting others. He helped countless young Nigerians and African Americans overcome economic challenges by providing mentorship, financial guidance, and career opportunities. His generosity touched the lives of many who otherwise might not have found their footing. A devout Catholic, he was unwavering in his faith and never missed Mass, drawing strength and inspiration from his church community. To those who knew him, Lawrence was not only a successful businessman but also a pillar of kindness, humility, and faith whose legacy of service and compassion will continue to inspire generations.

For more information, please contact Nick Anozie – 832-891-2213

Texas Guardian News
Latest posts by Texas Guardian News (see all)
Continue Reading

News

Enugu Revenue Leader Details Tax Plans, Commits to Responsible Fund Management

Published

3 months ago

on

August 8, 2025

By

In a bid to address rising public concerns and social media speculations about taxation in Enugu State, the Executive Chairman of the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS), Emmanuel Nnamani, has provided clarifications on the government’s tax policies. During a press briefing in Enugu, Nnamani dismissed what he described as “false and misleading claims” and reassured residents that the government’s fiscal operations are firmly rooted in law, transparency, and public good.

Clarifying Misinformation and Affirming Legality

Nnamani opened the session by stressing that no taxes or levies in Enugu State are imposed outside the provisions of the law. “Taxes and revenues in Enugu State remain within the limits of the law. We do not impose any levies outside what the law permits,” he stated, pointing to the Personal Income Tax Act (as amended) as the guiding legal framework.

He explained that the ESIRS collects personal income tax through two lawful means: Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) for those in formal employment, and Direct Assessment for informal sector workers. While compliance among salaried workers has been largely smooth, the agency sometimes employs legal enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance among self-employed individuals.

Formalising the Informal Sector

A key challenge, he noted, has been bringing the informal sector—especially market traders and transport operators—into the formal tax net. Upon assuming office, his administration discovered that an overwhelming 99% of informal sector actors were not remitting taxes to the state, largely due to the disruptive influence of non-state actors engaged in illegal collections.

In response, the government introduced a consolidated ₦36,000 annual levy for market traders. This amount, payable between January and March, covers all relevant state-level charges, including those by the Enugu State Waste Management Agency (ESWAMA), Enugu State Structures for Signage and Advertisement Agency (ENSSAA), storage fees, and business premises levies. “Once this amount is paid between January and March, the trader owes nothing else for that year,” Nnamani clarified. Traders who fail to pay by March 31 are subject to enforcement.

For street vendors operating outside structured markets, an annual levy of ₦30,000 applies, with ESWAMA charges handled separately. Transport operators such as Okada riders, Keke drivers, minibuses, tankers, and trucks pay via a daily ticketing system.

A Human-Faced Approach to Enforcement

Although the law allows for a 10% penalty on unpaid tax and an interest charge tied to the Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Rate of 27.5%, Nnamani disclosed that the state has adopted a softer, pro-business approach. Instead of the full punitive charges, a flat ₦3,000 penalty is applied in most informal sector cases to promote ease of doing business and encourage voluntary compliance.

Taxation and the Cost of Rent

Addressing growing concerns over rising rent, Nnamani rejected claims linking the trend to state tax policies. He described the issue as a national challenge influenced by supply and demand, rather than fiscal policy.

Citing personal experiences dating back to 2015, he observed that a shift in private development preference – from rental apartments to gated residential estates – has contributed to the housing squeeze. “If we had more high-rise buildings, rent would drop,” he noted. The state government, he added, is taking proactive steps through the Ministry of Housing and Housing Development Corporation to build mass housing and student hostels near institutions like ESUT and IMT, freeing up central city housing and helping moderate rents.

Technology, Transparency, and Trust

In line with its commitment to transparency and digital innovation, the ESIRS has launched a tax calculator on its official portal – www.irs.en.gov.ng – allowing residents to compute their taxes with ease and clarity. “This is about transparency and giving our people confidence,” he said, inviting residents to compare Enugu’s tools with those in more advanced states like Lagos.

Understanding the Cost of Development

Responding to concerns that Enugu has become one of Nigeria’s most expensive states, Nnamani acknowledged the perception but clarified that the temporary inflation is largely demand-driven. With Enugu undertaking widespread infrastructural renewal – including smart schools, primary health centres, and hospitality infrastructure – the surge in construction activity has led to increased demand for building materials like granite and rods, which are sourced from other states.

“Once these projects are completed, demand will drop, and prices will stabilise,” he assured. He emphasised that the projects are visible testaments to what taxpayers’ money can achieve when properly managed.

A Call for Mutual Understanding and Civic Partnership

More than a tax clarification, Nnamani’s address served as a reminder of the symbiotic relationship between citizens and government. He appealed for public understanding, noting that when citizens fulfil their tax obligations, the government can, in turn, provide essential services and infrastructure that uplift everyone.

His message was clear: responsible taxation, managed transparently and invested wisely, is the bedrock of sustainable development. From roads to schools and healthcare to housing, Enugu State is demonstrating how taxpayers’ money, when efficiently deployed, can improve lives and build the future.

Texas Guardian News
Latest posts by Texas Guardian News (see all)
Continue Reading

Trending