Nigerian Polio Survivor/Ambassador, Human Rights Activist, Tilte Holder (the Makaman Langai) and Executive Director of the Beautiful Gate Handicapped People’s Center Jos, Chief Ayuba Burki Gufwan (Esq) has called on Nigerian Lawmakers to amend the country’s Tax Laws to allow for a fraction of the taxes being collected to go to charity.

This according to him was already in practice in countries across the world where taxable individuals and entities were allowed to contribute a fraction of their taxes due directly to charity and humanitarian activities – an enabling environment he averred was created by government in those countries to guarantee the sustainability of support to those in need, apart from government donations.

Chief Gufwan made this known when he appeared on an Breakfast Show on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) ‘Rock City’ in Jos during the week. According to him, the government in Nigeria has not made enough effort to create a conducive environment for humanitarian efforts and charity to thrive outside of foreign donations and foreign aid.

Chief Burki also also expressing concern that when foreign policies that support humanitarian interventions in Nigeria change, the foreign humanitarian support being enjoyed may be at risk, with very little local interventions from spirited individuals and entities.

In his own words Chief Gufwan add “Let me tell you, the biggest problem in Nigeria about funding and supporting humanitarian aid generally is that the government of Nigeria has not created the enabling environment for citizens to contribute. You see in the United States of America for example, there is a lot of stimulus that government provides if you contribute. You know there are like the government of America has allowed american citizens to donate a certain percentage of their taxable income to charities locally or internationally.”

“So I don’t know how much is your tax. For example if your tax per annum is 100,000 or 1 million naira the government has allowed you as a citizen to donate 15% or 10% to charity, any charity of your choice. So you just donate and you submit the paper. So during tax accreditation or tax assessment the tax agency will calculate whatever you have given to charity as part of your tax and that way every american citizen if they choose to they can fund humanitarian activity.”

“We don’t do this in Nigeria so government takes our taxes 100% and they do whatever they want to do with it. So it is not helping a lot. I believe that one thing I will appeal to our lawmakers is to pass a law that allows nigerian citizens, taxable Nigerians, individuals, corporate organizations and societies to commit a certain percentage of their income to any charity of their choice. And I can tell you, if we do that, humanitarianism will blossom in Nigeria because there will be a lot of funding. A lot of people who have ideas to get involved in one humanitarian activity or the other are stalled because of the absence of funding .” he posted.

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Chief Ayuba Burki Gufwan calls on Lawmakers to amend Nigerian Tax Laws to create a conducive environment for Local Funding of Charity and Humanitarian Interventions