Nigerian govt wants more revenue without minding its consequences on tax payers – Mahdi Shehu

Public commentator, Mahdi Shehu, has blamed what he described as anti-people government policies for the worsening economic hardship in Nigeria.

Shehu made the remarks in a post he shared with DAILY POST on Tuesday, where he criticised what he called policies driven mainly by revenue generation without considering their impact on citizens.

According to him, such policies cannot lead to meaningful progress in any society.

“It’s all about bad government policies, unpopular government policies, anti-people government policies, anti-progress government policies,” he said.

He argued that when government policies focus more on revenue rather than the welfare of citizens, the economy and society suffer.

“Anywhere policies are tilted towards getting more revenue without minding the consequences and the burden of those taxes on the lives of citizens, there will be no progress,” he added.

Shehu also faulted what he described as a growing culture of excessive consumption and borrowing among citizens, saying it weakens economic stability.

He said a society cannot develop when people spend beyond their income and fall into debt.

“There is no way you can build a healthy society where people are aspiring to spend ostentatiously, spending more than they earn, pushing themselves into debt trap,” he said.

The commentator further noted that Nigeria’s heavy reliance on imports is also affecting economic growth.

“Any country whose consumption is based on importation, there is no way that country will grow,” he said.

He warned that a society with little or no savings and investment capacity cannot achieve sustainable development.

“Where you cannot save, where you cannot invest, where you consume everything, your name is a spectator,” he said.

Shehu called for a shift in economic thinking, urging policies that encourage production, savings, and investment rather than overdependence on consumption and imports.