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Chief Executive Officer of Cubical Vertex Solutions Limited, Abdullahi Hashim, has disclosed that the new tax reforms regime was already reshaping global perceptions of the country’s economy, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting that Nigeria would contribute 1.5 percent to global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2026.
Hashim, who is also a member of Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), said the IMF’s outlook reflects growing international confidence in Nigeria’s economic direction, provided that the reforms were properly implemented.
The Harvard University alumnus disclosed this during an interview with journalists in Abuja yesterday.
He further explained that the projection was directly linked to the new tax reforms, which had signalled to the international community that Nigeria was attempting to fix long-standing structural weaknesses.
Hashim said: “And the issue now is that the IMF also puts Nigeria as a real global GDP contributor of 1.5 percent. Do you know the reason? It’s based on this particular new tax reform law. It’s projected that in 2026, Nigeria will contribute to the global GDP with 1.5 percent.”
The former top official on Public Private Partnerships (PPP) under the former late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and former President Goodluck Jonathan, further disclosed that beyond the global recognition, the potential domestic gains could be significant, especially in employment creation and foreign direct investment inflows.
When asked about the advantages and disadvantages of the new tax reforms, Hashim said: “Yeah, there are certain disadvantages. But the main advantage is if truly implemented and the factors put in place are realistically adhered to.
“So, the matter is that the system is supposed to provide the country with employment that will boost foreign direct investment, because it is shown that Nigeria is doing good. So, that is what that means.”
But Hashim warned that Nigeria’s long-standing habit of copying foreign laws without adapting them to local realities could undermine the success of the tax reforms and other major policies.
He also argued that many Nigerian laws fail not because they are poorly drafted, but because they are rushed through the legislative process without proper contextualisation.
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“But the issue is that some of the laws we have are supposed to be contextualized. We go to Australia, we bring laws, we just want to push them at the National Assembly, we rush them and we put our interests,” he said.
Expanding on the point, Hashim noted that Nigeria’s social and cultural complexity makes it fundamentally different from many countries whose laws are often adopted wholesale.
“So, that is where we have the problem. We don’t contextualize them for our realities, because, maybe, the country that you brought this law from has, maybe, only one language, while we have more than 500 languages.
“Those countries have, maybe, three ethnic groups, you have more than 50 ethnic groups in Nigeria. Then, it is different from yours. That law was emanated based on their realities.”
He stressed that failure to adapt such laws inevitably leads to implementation crises, no matter how well-intentioned the policy may be.
Hashim said, “So, when you bring them into Nigeria, you have to situate them to suit realities. Exactly. So, this is what we call contextualization.
“And without situating the bill in the right context or direction, we rush it, we pass it, we smuggle the bill to the National Assembly, we make sure that they pass the bill, you know, from the first reading, second reading, third reading, and then it has become law. Implementation will be very difficult. That is what we call implementation challenges. So, we will have difficulties. Implementation of some of the laws are very difficult.”
He also faulted the tendency to ignore Nigeria’s internal intellectual resources, despite the availability of globally trained experts who could strengthen policy formulation, saying that the country is blessed with a team of Harvard trained people in Nigeria”
He further advised Nigeria’s political leaders to shift their focus from narrow or parochial interests to people-centred governance for positive impact for better tomorrow.
“My candid advice is that people shouldn’t engage in narrow interests. They should concentrate on dynamic governance. Instead of politics, they should do governance. Governance is about people. So, these are the kind of things we should look into,” he added.
