Citizens provide electricity, road, security, water, among others, for themselves.
President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, has frowned on the situation where basic infrastructures are not provided for Nigerians despite paying huge taxes.
Nigerians do not have basic infrastructure despite paying taxes.
The AfDB spoke on Thursday at the first national tax dialogue organized by the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS).
Adesina noted that Nigerians were among top implicit taxpayers in the world. He explained that Implicit taxes are levies that are borne but are neither seen nor recorded.
He noted that in Nigeria, citizens provide electricity, road, security, water, among others, for themselves.
“Truth be told, Nigerians pay one of the highest implicit tax rates in the world — way higher than developed countries,” he said.
“Think of it: they provide electricity for themselves via generators; they repair roads to their neighbourhoods, if they can afford to; there are no social security systems; they provide security for their own safety, and they provide boreholes for drinking water with their own monies,” he added.
Adesina further described the borehole system as ridiculous, noting that boreholes are not the way to provide water in the 21st century, insisting that every household should have pipe-borne water.
The AfDB chief lamented that Governments, over time, have simply shifted their responsibility to citizens.
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