Nigerian President Bola Tinubu told African business and political leaders Friday that citizens who avoid taxes without legal exemption are failing their most basic civic duty, framing compliance not as an optional contribution but as the minimum condition of citizenship itself.
Speaking on the final day of the 13th Africa Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Forum at the Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda, Tinubu challenged what he described as a widespread expectation gap: citizens demanding functioning hospitals, roads and public services while refusing to fund the state that is supposed to provide them.
“A citizen who pays taxes is a citizen,” he said. “If you are not a taxpayer and not exempted, then you are not a citizen.”
The statement carries sharper fiscal weight than it might appear. Tinubu acknowledged earlier in the week that Nigeria expects to spend $11.6 billion servicing its debt in 2026, a figure that could absorb close to half of the government’s projected revenue for the year. His administration has secured more than $9.35 billion in World Bank loans since May 2023, with a further $1.25 billion facility under negotiation. In that context, the appeal to tax compliance is as much a fiscal rescue strategy as a political argument.
Nigeria’s ratio of tax revenue to gross domestic product (GDP) remains among the lowest in Africa, and expanding the domestic revenue base has been a stated priority of the reform programme Tinubu has pursued since taking office.
The president used the forum to defend the core elements of that programme, including the removal of the fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market. He argued that Nigeria could not continue financing consumption at the expense of investment, and pointed to a period when state governments were unable to meet payroll obligations despite the country’s oil output. The subsidy regime, he said, actively encouraged corruption and cross-border smuggling while draining the public purse.
He acknowledged the reforms triggered genuine hardship and sustained public criticism but said early indicators showed the framework beginning to stabilise. A more predictable naira, he argued, had made planning possible for businesses and government institutions alike. Savings from the subsidy removal had been redirected toward direct assistance for vulnerable households and support for students unable to meet school fees.
The two-day forum, held under the theme “Scale or Fail: Why Africa Must Embrace Shared Ownership,” drew more than 2,000 executives, investors and policymakers from across the continent. Tinubu also addressed regional partnerships and security cooperation, describing isolation as an option no African country serious about development could afford.
The social contract argument he advanced in Kigali is not new in African political discourse. What distinguishes its delivery here is the combination of audience and timing. Spoken before the continent’s most concentrated gathering of private capital and policy influence, and three years into an administration heading toward the 2027 presidential election, the framing of taxation as the foundation of citizenship signals where the Tinubu government intends to press next on revenue.
