World Cup-bound Nigeria conceded a late penalty and were held to a 1-1 draw by the Democratic Republic of Congo in a friendly in Port Harcourt planned to give them a fitting send-off to next month's tournament in Russia.
Nigeria, who head to Europe to continue their preparations with a game against England on Saturday, took a 15th-minute lead through Dutch-born defender William Troost Ekong.
But they gave away a spot-kick in the 78th minute which striker Ben Malomgo converted for the equaliser.
Nigeria will also play a friendly against the Czech Republic before they head to Russia, where they face Croatia, Iceland and Argentina in Group D.
One of Nigeria's biggest music stars, Falz, released a video this weekend as a cover version of Childish Gambino's viral video, 'This is America.'
The new version is titled 'This is Nigeria,' and it has generated a storm online, including a reaction from hip-hop musician and entrepreneur Diddy, who shared it on his Instagram page, propelling the video to worldwide recognition.
Falz, (real name Folarin Falana) has gained plaudits for tackling social ills in a country where pop stars rarely get political. Musicians tend to avoid political commentary, partly due to an ingrained fear of persecution from the powerful political class.
Revolutionary spirit
Falz's 'This is Nigeria,' embodies the revolutionary and rebel spirit of Fela Anikulapo Kuti before him. Fela Kuti, the pioneer of the Afrobeat genre, was famous for his political activism during the country's era of military dictatorships.
From his records 'International Thief Thief' (ITT) to 'Zombie,' Kuti exhibited a bold defiance against the Nigerian government and other corrupt officials of his time. Fela was a raging supporter of human rights, and his records, - often filled with verbal attacks - were against Nigeria's military government in the 70's.
It came at a great personal cost to him; he was frequently imprisoned and his mother was thrown off a balcony by an unknown Nigerian soldier during a raid.
After the passing of Fela, his sons Femi and Seun Kuti have carried on some of his activism in their individual music careers, but Afrobeat, as a genre of music has largely become niche.
Falz is known globally for his comedy-flavored hip hop hits but could he take on the political music mantle and fill the gap left by Fela?
The singer has a law degree and is the son of prominent Nigerian lawyer and human rights activist, Femi Falana, so this suggestion is not as far-fetched as it sounds.
It is also not the first time that the rapper has included social commentary in his music with previous hits 'Confirm' and 'Child of the World,' so it would appear that the apple does not fall far from the tree, as the saying goes.
Complacent slumber
While the concept for the 'This is Nigeria,' video isn't original, what Falz did was internalize the message, pass it through his own artistic filter and bring it home to Nigeria to highlight the country's numerous social ills.
Almost as if to awaken Nigerians from their complacent slumber of acceptance.
"The primary motivation was to trigger an awakening among the Nigerian people about the numerous political and social ills that we constantly face as a country. And more importantly to spark a reaction in the positive direction," says Falz via email.
With the help of stuntmen and extras, Falz walks us step by step through Nigeria's major problems, central to this is what many perceive to be inefficient leadership by the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Many believe he has failed to deliver on its promises of improving Nigerian lives and fixing the economy. which slid into a recession two years ago and is slowly starting to emerge out of it.
Nigeria is awash with petrodollars but much of this money does not trickle down to the average man and woman on the street. According to the World Poverty Clock, 82 million of the 180 million population (42.4 percent), live in extreme poverty.
Other problems include the country's opioid crisis, normalization of insecurity such as frequent Boko Haram bombings and kidnapping of schoolgirls such as the Chibok girls.
Added to this incendiary mix is the country's strained ethnic and tribal relations, a lack of dependable power supply, poor infrastructure, a trigger-happy police force, the popularity of advance fee fraud, (locally known as Yahoo boys) and exploitation of the citizenry by some clergymen.
A national mirror
The first thing you notice when you watch Falz's 'This is Nigeria,' video is the strongest message contained in the video; Nigeria is a lawless country, guided by a constitution that is treated like an honorary document.
That's why the first man, dressed in traditional Fulani attire would switch from being a happy musician minding his business, to a murderer in an instant. He abandons his Goje (popularly known as the 'Hausa Guitar) for a machete, and instantly moves towards another helpless citizen who he kills without mercy.
It is this type of imagery that makes the video so powerful.
This is the first time in the recent history of the local pop scene that an artist with the influence and credibility of Falz has released such material.
While many commentators in the local space have been quick to dismiss it on the basis of it being a cover version, it doesn't take away from the core message; Nigeria is a flawed country, with multi-faceted problems.
Falz captures this using cinematic techniques and concludes, just like the source material, by failing to proffer a solution.
Perhaps that is the point he's trying to make. It is a national mirror, created to make Nigeria stare at itself and its problems, one more time.
Falz's 'This is Nigeria' video and its impact has generated conversations around the world, and acts as a reminder of the power behind music, and how it can be used more effectively to inspire change.
It shows that contrary to popular opinion among local talents, there is a demand for conscious music.
Capturing their pain
Many musicians should follow his lead, and create art to reflect the times and the pulse of the people. While there are valid opinions against chasing activism as the sole focus of African music, the ability to balance it out, and create conscious music, while also feeding the people's desire to escape is a crucial skill.
Falz's video suggests that, as Nigeria moves forward, its musicians have a huge responsibility on their shoulders to create art that amplifies the state of the nation, and ultimately improves the society that nurtured them.
Their music is created for communities that are massively affected by these problems.
Ultimately, it shouldn't only provide leisurely relief. It should capture their pain too.
The Nigerian Super Eagles will be taking on the Democratic Republic of Congo in a friendly match on Monday in the southern Nigerian city of Port Harcourt. The match will help Nigeria prepare for the 2018 World Cup, being held in Russia in a few weeks time. It will also afford Coach, Gernort Rhor, the opportunity to prune down his provisional squad for the global tournament.
Paying income tax used to be a joke in Nigeria which, no wonder, has the worst tax to GDP ratio in sub-Saharan Africa.
As one banking executive put it: “In Nigeria, the government pretends to tax people and people pretend to pay. That’s the Nigerian social contract.” But these days it’s no laughing matter, as an ambitious government scheme designed to make the executive class pay up draws to a close.
Millions of people for the first time are now coughing up taxes as President Muhammadu Buhari’s government conducts one of the country’s most vigorous collection drives in years. The money is desperately needed. Widening Nigeria’s tax base will help boost non-oil revenue in Africa’s largest economy, which is limping out of its worst recession in 25 years. And Nigeria has a long way to go. Its current tax-to-gross domestic product ratio is just 5.9%, according to the International Monetary Fund.
In Lagos alone, there are 6,800 millionaires and 360 multi-millionaires, according to a 2017 report by AfrAsia Bank. But top earners hardly lead by example.
In 2016, just 241 people paid more than 20 million naira ($55,600, 47,400 euros) in personal income taxes, the Nigerian finance ministry reported.
It’s not hard to see why Nigerians would be reluctant to pay tax to fund public services, when there has been no visible return.
Infrastructure in most cities is disintegrating. Roads between states are crumbling. People pay for their own electricity and water.
Endemic corruption is partly to blame, said the Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II, one of Nigeria’s leading Islamic figures who served as central bank governor in the previous administration.
“Improving transparency and public financial management is critical to improving revenues,” he said this week at a meeting of the African Development Bank Group in South Korea. “Make sure the taxes actually get into the government’s pockets and you don’t have all these leakages.”
Though difficult, tax reform isn’t impossible in Nigeria.
Lagos state, home to the country’s commercial capital, has successfully mobilised a tax base whose contributions represent over a third of internally generated revenue collected in all Nigeria’s 36 states, said transparency organisation BudgIT. That has allowed it to finance a growing number of projects, including a cable-stayed bridge linking the upmarket neighbourhoods of Ikoyi and Lekki that is now a city landmark. Buhari, who is seeking re-election at polls next February, wants to double the tax-to-GDP ratio by 2020.
To do that, his finance minister Kemi Adeosun has followed in the footsteps of Turkey and Indonesia and launched a tax amnesty programme.
The Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) has a two-part strategy.
First, it offers Nigerians a period of grace to regularise their tax affairs or else face a prison term of up to five years, financial penalties and possible forfeiture of assets. Second, it uses data to link land registry records and tax receipts to root out defaulters.
The government enlisted the help of international asset recovery firm Kroll to troll bureau de change networks, WikiLeaks and even the Panama Papers to identify negligent high net worth individuals.
The programme was launched in June last year, with the government declaring every Thursday “tax awareness day“.
Tax officers were stationed at airports and a massive digital billboard advertising of the scheme flashed over the Lekki bridge toll gate in Lagos — a not-so-subtle threat to the denizens of the affluent suburb. In May, Adeosun — a former chartered accountant and auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers in London — said Nigeria’s tax base had risen from 14-million people in 2016 to 19 million in 2018.
But Adeosun’s promise to “name, shame and prosecute” defaulters lost some bite after the government pushed back the closing date by three months, from March 31 to June 30.
Still, those familiar with the programme say that it is well on track to deliver on its target of more than one billion dollars.
That amount may be modest but it’s a step in the right direction, said Yomi Olugbenro, West Africa tax specialist at Deloitte in Lagos. There’s something to be said for launching the scheme, which “definitely has more people talking about taxation“, he said. The key is to make sure the amnesty programme is built upon in the future and isn’t just a once-off windfall. Otherwise Nigerians will revert to old habits.
“It’s a chicken and egg thing,” Olugbenro said. “The government will tell you, ‘We need the money to provide all things that aren’t there’. “Taxpayers are saying, ‘I need to be convinced’.”
It may be Africa's most populous country, and home to its one of its largest economies, but the global shoemaker Bata is not keen on investing in local manufacturing plant in Nigeria. That's according to the company's Chief Marketing Officer, Thomas Bata. The company had production hubs in Kenya and South Africa, which can produce at least 30 million pairs of shoes, each year. Here he is explaining the firm's approach to the West African economy.
