The Widening Divide and the ‘Work-Chop’ Syndrome: Attitudinal Behaviour in Nigeria’s MDAs -By Odebola Taiwo James

As much as people are still complaining of rising cost of living not matching with qualitative standards of living in this present administration, more importantly is that the polity has been concerned but coping hardly with the condition ex post facto, the minimum wage and the tax policy have been a gap widener than possible succour or soothing relief to the pool of citizenry. Much of the reason why I have posited on my twitter, now X, at the start of the chaotic policy, and precisely, because of visiting home last December 2025, it confirmed my stand and demystified the yet-unrealized, that using minimum wage as a cushion effect for removal of subsidy is not an efficient measure or policy as it only widens the gap between existing rich and the poor, and now, precisely between the working and non-working class. Going to Nigeria in December 2025 from studying in Central Europe to visit family, I saw that those who are working in government departments, agencies and parastatals are living fine relatively. While those who are not working or self-employed are struggling to survive.

The fact remains that everyone is affected by removal of subsidy, but only few are paying for the consequences of subsidy removal. Everyone uses petroleum products, but only few are benefiting from the cushion effect for removal of subsidy. This is the ex-ante and causal factor for the gap widener.

Just as it is with the tax issues and the income tax implementation, increasing tax in the face of high cost of living and inflation is like doubling the pain of the polity like an uncaring leader or administration, and this is a portrayal of lackadaisical attitude on the part of the administrators who seem unbothered about the suffering of the masses.

The government removed subsidy on petroleum products. And then proposed increased tax to diversify its income from the petroleum-reliant revenues. However, as many experts and scholars have juxtaposed, I have also posited, that there is need to shift from reliance on income from petroleum even as a prominent OPEC member. And tax is one of the solutions. However, not at the time it was introduced.

Now, the government has set up the possibility to get your tax number online, nevertheless, for you to get just your tax number (TIN) and access, you have to pay your way through, this is the obtainable. They are sabotaging government’s efforts for the interests of their personal pockets. The same vein made me to tweet on my account that, I am certainly sure that since the government set up Remita as the means of payment gateway to the administrative coffers for all government services rather than through the hands of individuals, it is certain the internal revenue and income of the Nigerian government would have doubled if not tripled.

In many circumstances, the government is trying. They are setting up several online portals and websites to make government services available to the public and functional, but the workers know that when the websites are working, they will not get the daily take-home they envisage and which they are used to, therefore, they ensure the websites are not functional and all the specified email addresses for communication and complaints are not responsive. When the websites are non-functioning and emails are not replied, you are frustrated and end up going to their offices to give them money to achieve your intention.

Advertently, this tax number and credentials are what you get easily in other countries that we have lived even as a foreigner. You get your tax number easily and within few days of entry and residence, because they want you to pay tax to sustain the economic structure. Even though, as it is in Nigeria, there are few benefits of paying taxes for the payers, most of the benefits accrue to the payee if not the looters, very few emerging personal benefits to the payer, yet the tax workers make it look like there is a huge benefit for paying taxes, hence, make people pay a lot for getting their tax credentials. Whereas tax-office workers in Nigeria are not interested in you paying taxes to government but to their own pockets. This never happens in industrialized societies, because the workers prioritize the government coffers to their personal pockets.

How will the government have sufficient income, when all the revenues meant for them goes to personal worker’s pockets. And these are income that they do not pay tax on. They make money off the government, yet collect salaries and benefits. If you go to ask for your tax number (TIN), you will be billed large sum of money, just to get your tax credentials and you would then be like I want to pay tax to Government, but had to first pay lump sum to the workers, some are discouraged, then leave, the reason while those who need it would be forced to pay or haggle if they have the energy to vie for reduction. Imagine that Nigeria presently does not have much benefits for tax payers like tax refund, what if there are concrete refund and benefits for tax payers, these tax offices and officers will axe people’s pockets just for their daily take-home, that they refer to as “workchop”; “where you work, there you chop”.

A friend told me he needed TIN for his newly registered company, to open a business account and his neighbour working in tax department billed him a lumpsum amount of N70,000 to get TIN, not until when his distant cousin who works in a bank came to his rescue for free.

In the prevalent situation, only private organizations where workers are on strict targets reply to emails for enquiries and complaints, no public and government agency or parastatal reply emails, when you go to their offices, they are more interested in the money they make daily apart from their salaries, than rendering the services which is core part of their official obligations. It is ServiCom that has been rescuing me from reaching many agencies, even after sending several emails, they will not reply unless you write ServiCom, what if the government has not set up ServiCom which was instituted to ensure efficient and effective service delivery in government MDAs (Ministries, Departments and Agencies) to enhance customer satisfaction and promote performance-expectation.

The same paradigm exists with the application and renewal of international passports, precisely at Ikoyi Office, this does not happen at Ikeja, a state office, whereas it does in Ikoyi which is a Federal Passport office, with assumed higher workers’ benefits. As much as the government has set up an online do-it-yourself (DIY) passport application, if you do not pay, it will take 4-6 months for your passports to come out, while it takes exactly two weeks to come out at Ikeja Passport Department. This is not hearsay or fabricated circumstances, I experienced it with Ikoyi Passport Office with friends and family member’s online applications, while it was not the case with a cousin who did it at Ikeja Passport Office, who collected hers at exactly two weeks after biometric capturing.

Inadvertently, no tax refund welfarism attendant in the polity, even the banks that are constantly charging value added tax on every transaction does not provide incentives to the pool of their customers. Fraudulent activities are on the rise because of the sufferings of the non-working class which can be seen in the non-availment curb of internet fraud cases and cultism for financial gains which are prevalent on university campuses and in the societies.

Now, the paradigm is that the administration is considering return of subsidy, either for political interest or the interest of the masses, it is yet to be unraveled. Factually, I am surprised that the present government is planning to bring back subsidy because most of the presidential candidates, including Peter Obi posited removal of subsidy as the solution to petroleum’s prices and benefits sabotage in Nigeria. However, the price of petrol and attendant products remain high, and the widened gap remains, while the paid-workers continue to live a largesse life with daily take-home apart from their salaries, and the non-working class continue to find survival through any means.