By Prince Dr. Christopher Odianarewo
In the rush to "modernize" our fiscal frameworks and aggressively expand the tax net, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has recently entered into a bilateral cooperation agreement with the French government's Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP). On the surface, this partnership is marketed with glossy buzzwords: digital transformation, capacity building, and technical assistance. However, as a sovereign nation grappling with economic fragility, we must look beyond the press releases.
When a foreign power, particularly one with a history of aggressive economic paternalism in West Africa, is invited into the inner sanctum of our national treasury, alarm bells should not just ring; they should deafen us. This agreement supports calls for serious suspicion and extreme caution for several critical reasons.
1. The Threat to Fiscal Sovereignty and "Digital Colonialism:"
Taxation is not merely an administrative function; it is the lifeblood of national sovereignty. By outsourcing the "digitalization" and "technical frameworks" of our tax collection to a foreign government, we risk inadvertently handing over the keys to our economic engine. B
The agreement reportedly involves the deployment of French technical experts and digital systems to "streamline" Nigerian tax administration. We must ask: Who owns the code? Who controls the servers? If the digital infrastructure of the FIRS becomes dependent on French proprietary software or technical goodwill, Nigeria risks falling into a trap of digital colonialism. We cannot afford a situation where our revenue generation capabilities are beholden to the diplomatic whims or technical licenses of a foreign capital.
2. Data Security and Economic Espionage:
Data is the new oil. The FIRS database contains the most sensitive financial secrets of every Nigerian citizen, every indigenous corporation, and every strategic government agency.
Allowing a foreign government entity unrestricted access to this data under the guise of "audit support" or "system upgrade" is a national security risk. France is a major economic competitor in Africa, its companies compete directly with Nigerian firms in oil and gas, telecommunications, construction, and logistics.
How can we guarantee that the sensitive financial data of Nigerian competitors will not be weaponized to favor French multinational interests? Is it prudent to expose the financial underbelly of our defense contractors and strategic industries to the scrutiny of foreign "consultants"?
This looks less like a partnership and more like economic espionage invited through the front door.
3. Conflict of Interest: The Fox Guarding the Henhouse:
It is a matter of public record that French conglomerates have historically had significant tax disputes with the Nigerian government. From the shipping sector to construction, there have been protracted legal battles regarding tax compliance and remittance.
It is logically inconsistent and strategically naive to invite the government representing these very companies to "help" us fix our tax system. There is an inherent conflict of interest. Can we trust French technical advisers to rigorously close loopholes that their own national champions have been accused of exploiting? Or are we witnessing the installation of a system designed to be permeable for specific foreign interests while being draconian on the average Nigerian SME?
4. Undermining Local Content and Nigerian Expertise:
Nigeria is home to some of the brightest tech minds and financial experts in the world. Our Fintech sector is the envy of the continent. Why, then, is the FIRS bypassing indigenous software developers, local data scientists, and Nigerian tax consultants to seek "capacity" from Paris?
This agreement is a vote of no confidence in Nigerian professionals. If we need to digitize tax collection, we should be empowering Nigerian firms to build these solutions. Relying on foreign aid for tax administration perpetuates a "dependency syndrome" that contradicts the very essence of national rebranding and self reliance. We are exporting jobs to France while our youth unemployment figures skyrocket.
5. The Neocolonial Undertones:
We cannot ignore the geopolitical context. France’s grip on the Francophone West African economies, through the CFA franc and fiscal pacts, has been widely criticized as a stranglehold that retards development. As Nigeria stands as the giant of Africa, we should be leading the charge for economic independence, not copying the dependency models of our neighbors.
Bringing French institutional influence into Nigeria's revenue service sends the wrong signal. It suggests that the current administration is drifting toward a policy of external validation rather than internal strengthening.
A Call for Transparency:
As the National Convener of the Progressive Youths for Makinde’s Presidency 2027 and a stakeholder in the PDP National Rebranding Forum, I call on the National Assembly to immediately summon the leadership of the FIRS to explain this treaty.
We demand to know:
The full terms of reference: What access level do French operatives have?
The data protection protocols: Where will Nigerian taxpayer data be hosted?
The exit clause: Can Nigeria unilaterally terminate this technology without crashing our revenue system?
We must modernize, yes. But we must not colonize our own treasury in the process. Nigeria is not a vassal state; our tax system must remain 100% Nigerian owned, controlled, and operated by Nigerians, for the benefit of Nigeria.
Prince Dr. Christopher Odianarewo Dis.FCILMMD MNIIA
National Secretary/Head Media Team, PDP National Rebranding Forum and National Convener, Progressive Youth's For Makinde's Presidency 2027.
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