The actions of the Federal Government in recent months have made it increasingly clear that those in power assume Nigerians will tolerate anything thrown at them.
Just a short while ago, the country was embroiled in heated discussions over the new tax reform introduced by the “APC” led administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This is a reform whose consequences will be felt most deeply by ordinary citizens, especially the poor, the unemployed, and those whose daily struggles already push them to the edge.
While some financial experts argue that the new tax system is necessary, especially for a nation that earns almost 70 percent of its revenue from crude oil, my goal here is not to debate the economics behind the reform. Instead, I want to highlight a few troubling observations and ask questions that go beyond political noise or emotional reactions.
the Content Creator Distraction
A particular issue that caught nationwide attention was the Federal Government’s decision to hire social media content creators to “sensitise” the public about the new tax bill.
This move instantly triggered another wave of controversy not about the policy itself, but about the identity and region of the influencers selected.
Many Nigerians, especially in the North, expressed anger that none of the chosen content creators came from the “core North,” as if having a Northern TikToker in the lineup would somehow reduce the tax burden waiting for Northern households.
This reaction exposed something more concerning than the tax reform itself: such a tendency to miss the real issue. Instead of interrogating a policy that will raise the cost of living, reduce disposable income, and affect businesses, we drifted into arguments about representation in a government PR campaign.
the Content Creator Distraction
The debate became emotional, not logical. Distractive, not constructive. And this, unfortunately, is one of the reasons Nigeria often struggles to hold leaders accountable, and citizens get dragged into side conversations that have nothing to do with the substance of government action.
To be clear, with or without content creators, this tax reform is already here. It will be implemented. The influencers themselves may not even fully understand the policy they were hired to promote.
This is the moment to question why taxes are rising in a country where public infrastructure remains poor, where security challenges persist, where unemployment is high, and where corruption continues to drain national resources.
Many Nigerians will learn about the reform not through their skits and videos, but through its impact on their pockets. And yet, we have spent more energy debating who “qualified” to be on the sensitisation team than understanding the law that will shape our economic reality.
In my view, this entire episode was an unnecessary distraction and perhaps even a deliberate one. It perfectly shifted national attention away from the weight of the policy itself, allowing the government to enjoy reduced scrutiny while citizens argued about irrelevant details.
This distraction is even more unfortunate considering the crossroads Nigeria stands at in 2025. We are 111 years old as an amalgamated country, 65 years as an independent nation, and over 25 years into uninterrupted democracy. One would expect maturity, unity, and collective focus on national issues.
Instead, we often operate like a country still struggling to understand its own identity. At such a critical time of insecurity, that devastated Northern communities through banditry, insurgency, kidnapping, and farmer-herders regional conflict that quarrels over content creators. This should be the least of our worries, to be precise.
At the heart of that, not so long ago, under President Donald Trump, Nigeria was labelled a “country of particular concern” due to religious and ethnic conflicts.
the Content Creator Distraction
That alone should remind us how fragile our unity is. It should also caution those in power to avoid steps that worsen tension rather than promote togetherness.
Policies that affect everyone must be implemented with sensitivity, fairness, and proper communication. Yet the decision by FIRS and the Federal Government to ignore Nigeria’s linguistic diversity is puzzling.
Looking at the multilingual grounding of our nation, where Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba remain essential communication tools, any nationwide sensitisation campaign that fails to include these languages raises legitimate questions.
For a tax reform expected to shape national life, messaging should have been robust, inclusive, and linguistically diverse.
However, even with this oversight, it is not too late for correction, authorities can still widen their communication strategy to reach all sections of the country.
The truth is this: Nigerians, irrespective of religion, ethnicity, or region, must brace themselves for what lies ahead. January 2026 is only months away. The policy will be implemented fully.
Its impact will be real. And citizens will feel it directly in their daily expenses, rent, food prices, small business operations, and transportation costs.
We must therefore resist the habit of allowing emotional narratives to overshadow critical national conversations. The government must be held accountable not over who promotes their policies on social media, but over how those policies affect millions of families already struggling to survive.
This is not the moment to quarrel about content creators. This is the moment to question why taxes are rising in a country where public infrastructure remains poor, where security challenges persist, where unemployment is high, and where corruption continues to drain national resources.
Ultimately, what Nigeria needs today is not regional competition but collective vigilance. Not tribal arguments, but national consciousness. Not emotional reactions, but clarity of thought.
