But I’m happy about the new tax reform. It’s going to really help a lot of people who are in the low-income bracket.
EXCESS TAX IS A BURDEN ON US
I don’t have a problem with paying, but this is becoming unbearable. Four different people come for four different things.
I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO ADJUST PRICES
These requests are usually verbal. Nobody gives you a written document for such payments. They just tell you, “Oga, settle us.”
YOU JUST PAY AND MOVE ON
Some identify themselves as local government officials, some as sanitation task force officers, while others simply say they are “in charge of the street.”
THE STRESS OF UNCERTAINTY
You are selling, attending to customers, arranging your goods, and suddenly someone appears asking for money.
GETTING A BUSINESS LOAN IS A BIG PROBLEM
When the government collects taxes from us, the question is: what do we get back?
WE DON’T KNOW HOW THE TAXES ARE CALCULATED
We don’t have a formula — like this is what we are earning and this is what we are required to pay.
SURVIVING AREA BOYS IN OSHODI
When you are taking your goods from the market to the bus stop or taxi, they will stop you at several points.
THE ART OF TAXING POVERTY
Postcards from Nigeria’s business owners suffocating under the weight of arbitrary and excessive taxation.
NOT YOUR LAGOS
Revisiting encounters with ethnic profiling, violence, and disenfranchisement in Nigeria’s 2023 elections.