Trouble makers per excellence

Sometimes last year, I bumped into an old friend on my way back from an event. Seeing her after a very long time was really a delight. We talked about this and that for sometime until she suggested that we proceed to her shop that was nearby. There, we could sit down comfortably and talk for as long as we wanted.

As soon as we had arrived, we met her apprentice in a serious argument with three young men and we immediately inquired what the fuss was about. One of them boys who looked very unkempt from head to toe, with a cigarette dangling from his battered lips introduced himself and his companions as messengers from the government. Lol

They were actually " revenue collectors" who threatened that to lock up her shop if she defaulted. I and my friend couldn't help but laughed at thier threat. My friend told them that would be impossible as she had already paid her business tax to some of their members who had visited her just a week ago. But they insisted that the previous payment was for state government. Now they are here to collect the local council's levy.

The young lady protested thst no notice of payment was issued to her . But the thugs maintained that it was an insignificant levy that doesnt require a notice. Other trader usually paid with little or no pressure, they said.

No doubt the money was a very paltry sum, but I insisted they give us a payment notice and a receipt too. From the look of their faces, they felt very uncomfortable with what I had just said, but they had no choice than to issue us the evidence of payment since we were ready to pay.

It's very possible that these thugs might squander all the revenue collected without remitting a single panny to the government. Another group of such youngmen might return the following week and start harrasing you again . So, it's very important for a business owner to demand for a proof of payment which shouldn't be just an ordinary paper with a random signature but an authentic document with the government logo and stamp. These people could be very smart you know.

Actually, they are not actually government officials per se, but thugs who had been recruited by the government from the streets so that they don't fall back to the criminal life due to idleness. Needless to say, these "revenue collectors" lack decorum and ethics as they go about harassing hardworking traders on the streets and drivers in a bus station. Their job is more of extortion than revenue generation. They are popularly called agbero in the local language.

In Lagos State, the government had delegated alot of powers to these nuisances and the citizens have come to see them as an arm of the government. An unemployed youth could even decide to take this up as a career. Lol

There's this story of a notorious thug who gained massive political fortune due to his loyalty to his political godfather in the state. Whenever an election is approaching, his exclusive responsibility was to mobilize the disciples who would go at different polling units bullying and alienating voters who are loyal to the opposition party. In some cases, lives are lost and properties are damaged.

Sometimes, a fierce and bigger competitor might decide to bribe their leader who would in turn send the boys to go intimidate a new or smaller business rival in the vicinity on a regular basis. This could be in the form of demanding a very high and outrageous tax which would definitely crumble an infant business even before getting started. In such a case, the victim would have no choice than to move to a less competitive and more friendly business environment since he lacked the financial muscle to hire a tax attorney neither does he know anyone in the government who could help him.

Even though I have limited knowledge on how tax system works, I think it should be determined according to the business size and gains and payments should be transparent according to acceptable international standards.

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