T5 (1)

IAF Mentorship Seminar

Join Taiwo Oyedele on Saturday 14 April 2018 and other eminent speakers - Darrell McGraw, Gina Oleghe and Africanfarmer Mogaji at Impact Africa Foundation Mentorship Seminar. We will discuss, share experiences and provide insights on practical life issues including:

  1. Becoming a person of your dream
  2.  Enhancing Your Leadership Capacity: How to lead yourself and others for result
  3. Developing Entrepreneurship Mindset: Recognizing opportunities and managing challenges of running a business 
  4.  Personal Development: Being the best version of yourself 
  5. Employability skills: Insights to make you stand out in the crowded labour market

Lead with Taiwo Oyedele is a quarterly mentorship seminar designed as a platform to bring youths together for the purpose of networking and to learn from seasoned professionals from different fields so as to help them build their capacity and to maximize their potential. The seminar focus on four major areas: leadership, entrepreneurship, employability skills and personal development.

Attendance is #FREE but subject to pre-registration as spaces are limited. Register here bit.ly/leadwithtaiwo to attend or join live on Facebook facebook.com/taiwo.oyedele

#LEADwithTaiwo
#Mentoring
#networking
#leadership
#impactinglives
#makingadifference

Job

Down But Not Out - How to Stay Safe When Searching for a Job

With Nigeria’s unemployment rate of 18.8% and underemployment at 21.2%, there is no shortage of active individuals desperately looking for jobs. This population sometimes feel frustrated by the lack of job opportunities and therefore become vulnerable. Fraudsters, social media opportunists, kidnappers, ritualists, traffickers, rapists and other evil people know it, so they do not hesitate to take advantage of this vulnerability.

I have seen an increase in online advertisements for fake job vacancies and recruitment opportunities often with very juicy packages including international travels or training, mouthwatering perks and scintillating benefits.

These very tempting opportunities are often shared by trusted people on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Facebook and other platforms with noble intentions to help others but inadvertently facilitating fraudsters.

Why would anyone create a fake employment vacancy you may ask? Well, the reasons are many ranging from getting more followers on social media, driving online traffic, harvesting personal details of applicants for sale or digital marketing, kidnapping for ransom, abduction for rituals or slavery, trafficking, rape, and so on.

In extreme cases, to fall victim to this evil is to lose the little faith one has left in society and any glimpse of hope for a bright future. Once the damage is done there is no amount of justice that can restore the loss even if the criminals are found and prosecuted so you are better off protecting yourself so you do not fall victim.

Before applying for that vacancy, here are some red flags to watch out for.

  1. Email for submission of applications is a private or personal account. Unless it is a direct recruitment through someone you know, organisations use dedicated official accounts rather than private emails, not even staff official mails.
  2. Job specifications, qualifications and experience where applicable are too broad. This is to ensure wider application and make the opening even more attractive.
  3. Timeframe or deadline for application is either too short, too long or not stated
  4. You are asked to provide very personal details before or during the recruitment
  5. Compensation is disclosed. While some genuine employers may give a pay range, other than casual jobs, most employers do not openly disclose salaries upfront. This is because salaries are usually based on skills, experience and grade level which is best determined after the selection of successful candidates.
  6. Typos and bad grammar - employers are generally mindful of their brand and the negative impact of bad external communications so vacancy announcements go through quality reviews before they are put out.
  7. You are asked to pay (in cash or kind) for forms, tests etc - this is a super red flag and a BIG No. Even if the vacancy is genuine, no real employer will ask you to pay. So it’s just someone trying to deprive you of your stipend.
  8. You are offered a foreign trip as part of the recruitment process or to resume your duties abroad - this is often disguised trafficking. It might be too late before you know it.
  9. The offer looks too good. Well, if it looks too good to be true then it’s probably a trap.

And here are some tips if you are suspicious

  1. Check official website or company social media accounts to see if the vacancies are there
  2. Google the individual’s contact details provided to see if the person is indeed associated with the organisation
  3. Don’t give too much personal details about yourself or your referees when submitting your CV
  4. Ask for a phone number, and check identity on Truecaller. You may be surprised at what you find.
  5. If you are invited for an interview, tell people who are close to you about it, check location and other details for suspicious signs and ask if someone can accompany you. Decline if you feel uncomfortable, it’s better to lose a job opportunity than lose your life
  6. Enquire about the organisation and make weird requests such as rescheduling of interview or ask if they’ll pay for your transport and see if they oblige
  7. Don’t go with anything precious like an expensive phone, jewelries or large sums of cash

I am a firm believer in hard work so by all means don’t stop exploring opportunities because of fear, rather keep hope alive and keep moving but exercise diligence. You may be down but definitely not out!

#LEADwithTaiwo

#IAFmentorship

fuel-scarcity

Different Shades of Subsidy and the Unending Fuel Crisis

In the past few days we have seen long queues returned to fuel stations across the country with the attendant hardship, and loss of productive man hours at a huge cost to the economy (financial and otherwise).

I don't speak for anyone, neither am I for nor against any government, past or present. I have no political affiliations so you should only read on if you will avoid those sentiments and focus on the facts presented without any bias. I will gladly change my views if you provide a superior argument with empirical data and also suggest other options apart from the status quo which is clearly unsustainable.

Fact #1 - You are not the poorest

If you are reading this article chances are that you are not one of the poorest people in our society, in fact you are most likely in the top 30% of richest people. About 70% of our people live on less than one dollar a day, that’s about N300 (or less than N10,000 a month). They can’t afford a smart phone or any gadget to enable them connect to the internet and many of those who have internet access can’t even afford a data plan or subscription. Nigeria has about 7 million registered vehicles and 5 million registered motorcycles, again the poorest people do not own any of these, at best they own bicycles.

Fact #2 - The poor sacrifices more for fuel subsidy than they benefit from it if at all

Almost everybody desires one form of subsidy or the other but those who really need it are the poorest and most vulnerable. Unfortunately the biggest beneficiaries of fuel subsidy in Nigeria are not the poor, they are the middle class, the rich and those who profit from the chaos. In fact the way the subsidy is being administered makes the poor people poorer. The poorest people don't own cars, they don't take taxis, they take general public transport like Molue, Danfo, Keke etc and they don’t own generator sets. Molues, trucks and large vehicles normally used for transporting goods and for intercity travels use diesel which is no longer subsidised. Even kerosene that is used by the poor more than the rich is also already deregulated.

Fact #3 - Yes, there is subsidy

The truth doesn’t change just because we disagree or don't want to hear it. If crude oil price goes up, the price of petroleum products will go up. The fact that we produce oil doesn’t change that fact. We can call it any name we want - under recovery by NNPC, operating losses or other connotations. Even if the CBN gives a concessionary dollar rate to fuel importers or government gives a tax break as being proposed in some quarters, we would only succeed in changing the agency that bears the subsidy on behalf of government. It seems like our smart way to avoid budgeting for subsidy since some persons in the current government had insisted in the past that there was no subsidy.

Here are some of the other misconceptions about the oil sector and fuel subsidy regime in Nigeria.

  • There will be a hike in the prices of goods and services if subsidy is removed. While this is largely true, the impact is exaggerated. Diesel is not subsidized and molues, intercity mass transit buses, BRT, truck vehicles etc use diesel but no longer increase transport fares arbitrarily and disproportionately whenever diesel price goes up. That needs to happen with petrol. Even factories and industries use diesel to power their operations but don’t increase prices of goods and services arbitrarily either. The reason we associate removal of petrol subsidy with hikes in fares and everything else is because oftentimes increase in petrol price is accompanied by scarcity leading to far more commuters than available public transport vehicles which of itself is a recipe for a price hike. So we need to isolate how much of the rise in price is due to increase in the price of petrol.
  • Refining locally will solve our problem. This is not entirely correct. Local refining will ensure steady supply of products if the refineries work but it will not guarantee a subsidized price. Refineries in Nigeria will have to operate like a proper business as is the case the world over and therefore must charge market price to cover their costs and make a decent profit. Even if we refine products locally, the freight cost component of imported petrol that we will avoid is not significant enough to compensate for subsidy or serve as a permanent buffer for regulated prices.
  • There is really no subsidy since we produce oil, we can allocate some at reduced rates for local consumption. Well, if you grow yams at a cost that is much lower than market price, allocating some to your family members and friends doesn’t mean it’s not subsidized. We prepare our budgets based on optimal oil production volume currently about 2.2 million barrels per day. To that extent, allocating some quantities at below market price effectively means allocating budgeted revenue for subsidy.
  • Nigeria is an oil rich country - compared to our population and infrastructure deficit, we do not qualify as a rich nation based on crude oil. Our gross receipt even at $60 per barrel and 2.2 million barrels per day is only about $48 billion per annum, that’s only about half of the 2018 Budget of New York City which has less than 50% of the population of Lagos. Bear in mind that there is production cost and we don’t own all the oil we produce, oil companies take a significant share. The total revenue that we generate from oil is less than what many non-oil producing countries make from merely taxing fuel products.
  • You can’t compare price of fuel in Nigeria with other countries because minimum wage and standard of living are different. Indeed no two countries are the same but certain principles have been proven to work anywhere in the world so Nigeria cannot be an exception. Market determined prices may inflict short term pains but will solve the fuel scarcity problem permanently. The incessant fuel crisis we face costs us more as a people than the sacrifice of giving up petrol subsidy. We have already done it with diesel so it can be done with petrol.
  • But subsidy was removed when petrol price was increased to N145. Well, subsidy removal and deregulation are not the same. A product can be subsidised whether or not the price is deregulated. Deregulation requires among other things that prices be determined by market forces. This provides the incentive to attract investors into the sector and overtime competition, efficiency and excess supply will moderate price.

The way forward

We will never resolve this embarrassing fuel crisis problem unless and until the sector is fully deregulated. What we have done over the years is to increase the price of petrol to market price level once in a while to eliminate or reduce subsidy as at the time of the increase. What we haven’t done but need to do is allow market forces to determine price while government sets standards and regulate excesses.

Whether you are rich, middle class or poor, these are tough times for everyone and more so for the poor but it is a necessary pain to address one of our biggest challenges once and for all. The option is not easy but so is doing nothing. Like Jean Rostand, the French writer once said “Far too often the choices reality proposes are such as to take away one’s taste for choosing”. But we have to make a choice anyway!

#LEADwithTaiwo

Taiwo Oyedele

2017 Tax Events Review

"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." - George Santayana 

2017 is now history but the tax events that shaped the year live on. Read Taiwo Oyedele's article published in the Guardian Newspaper for a quick overview of the major tax events of the year 2017. click link to download article goo.gl/DBWEqc

VAIDS Celeb

Celebrities, Perception Management and Tax

I was invited last Thursday to speak at an event organized for entertainers. The aim was to encourage celebrities to pay tax and embrace the ongoing voluntary assets and income declaration scheme (VAIDS).

Interestingly many of the entertainers opened up about the myriad of challenges they face ranging from piracy, to lack of access to finance, society’s expectations of them often involving maintenance of expensive lifestyles while living on handouts. While some of the celebrities may be financially buoyant, the vast majority of them are really struggling to stay afloat.

I know that nobody is excited paying taxes and so people will find any excuse to avoid paying taxes but here are some of the key lessons I took away from the event which I thought to share as some of them affect everyone, whether you are a celeb, self-employed, high-networth or just a regular individual.

  1. Documentation is key - No matter how compelling your story may be, nobody will believe you without proper evidence or documentation and it’s almost impossible to get finance or attract investors to your business. You may not even have tax to pay if you haven’t made a profit but even then you have the obligation to file returns. Wesley Snipes went to jail for failure to file returns. As much as possible get receipts for your purchases, use credit/debit cards and online banking instead of cash. Make sure you know your income and expenses and you can substantiate if required.
  2. Tax is a legal matter - Society agrees that tax is important for there to be a government but most people wish they don’t have to pay. You can say all you want about whether government deserves your money but make sure you are on the right side of the law. The fact that other people are not compliant is not an excuse neither is ignorance.
  3. You can do something about the Law, Tax and Governance - Some of our laws are clearly obsolete and unfit for modern day realities such as the stamp duty act which was enacted in 1939 but being applied to electronic banking when in fact there was no internet at the time. But the good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way, you and I can change it for good. We can hold government to account and ensure that only credible people who have paid the right amount of tax get elected or appointed into office to manage our collective resources - taxpayers money!
  4. Perception management inflicts pain - You don’t have to live up to society’s expectation even if you can afford it. Some people share their pictures on social media regularly but don’t ever want to wear the same outfit twice (check the richest people in the world, they can’t be bothered). If you are trying to prove a point by showing off (flying business or first class, expensive jewelries and accessories, gadgets, luxury cars etc), you may unknowingly be exposing yourself to not only kidnappers, robbers but also the taxman - it’s like blowing the whistle on yourself, there is everything to lose and nothing to gain
taiwo-pics

Setting The Right Goals

For many people, it is customary to set goals (or new year resolutions) at the beginning of every year. However only a few really pay attention to how their goals are set. It is true that setting goals doesn’t guarantee success but not setting any makes failure almost certain.

Common goals include financial security or freedom, career growth, health & fitness, spiritual, education, family, vacation, self-development and so on. Here are my top 10 tips to help you achieve desired outcome.

  1. Determine what really matter to you (not to society, friends or anyone else) and focus on them. As a guide, ask yourself if it will matter in 5 years' time. If it won't then it's probably not worth it.
  2. Set life goals (not just annual goals), review and monitor regularly not just at the start of a new year. Your life may be measured in years but your achievements are measured over your lifetime.
  3. Be in control - Take full responsibility for your destiny, don't anchor your goals on other people or events that are totally outside your control.
  4. Be realistically optimistic – Okay to be ambitious but be reasonable. Don't commit to an impossible list, keep it simple, few and “SMART”.
  5. Pursue your goals each day as if it is your last opportunity to accomplish it.
  6. Help others achieve their goals. You will need people to help you too.
  7. Share your goals with someone you trust and respect to keep some level of pressure on yourself and to be accountable.
  8. Avoid relativity, it limits you. Don't just aim to be the best in your class, your village or workplace, rather aim to be the best that you can be or that is humanly possible.
  9. Stay focused but be adaptive. Think about what to start doing, things to do more or less of, and things to stop doing.
  10. Celebrate the process as much as the final outcome. Even if you don't succeed learn from the process, review, reflect and re-set your goals.

Your goals should make you want to wake up in the morning, keep you going during the day, make you reflect at the end of the day, and give you something to dream about when you sleep.

Life is not fair so things may not exactly work out as you planned. Success is not always determined based on how well you diligently implement your plan but how prepared you are for events you didn't plan for and how you respond to those you couldn't have planned for.

In the end, how well you achieve your goals is not a function of your academic and professional qualifications, who you know or those who know you, where you come from, your religion or faith, neither is it about how hard you pray but your WILL to succeed.

As you set your goals, like Nelson Mandela once said, may your choices (and goals) reflect your hopes, not your fears.

#LEADwithTaiwo

#Mentorshipseries

IMG-20170619-WA0003

IMPACT AFRICA FOUNDATION APPOINTS ANOTHER EDUCATION AMBASSADOR

The Board of Trustees of Impact Africa Foundation (IAF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Kehinde Fadare as a volunteer Education Ambassador for the Foundation. This is in line with our determination to support the education of indigent children across Africa.

Kehinde Fadare is a graduate of History and International Studies from the Lagos State University, Ojo. He is a member of Toastmasters international and also a student member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations. He was the 2016 KOLIP fellow of Nigerian Leadership Initiative.

Kehinde was among the young people selected across eight West African Countries in March 2016 for the president Barack Obama West Africa Young African Leadership Initiative. He was awarded the most creative participant. During his NYSC, Kehinde initiated and executed "Give a wheelchair Lagos" project through which he presented 15 wheelchairs and clothes to 15 randomly selected physically challenged people in Lagos. He also led a team of seven individuals to donate 20 chairs and 20 desks to pupil of Shogunle Nursery and Primary School, Ikeja, Lagos. He is a recipient of Lagos state honourary award for contribution to development.

In further pursuance to make impact, Kehinde voluntarily trained 400 students of Babs Fafunwa Senior Secondary School, Ojodu, Lagos on Public Speaking Skills.

His duties as an ambassador of the Foundation include, representing the Foundation at public engagements, Identification of projects and providing input into the Foundation's programmes.

 

Congratulations Kehinde Fadare!

DSC_8210

IAF PARTNERS WITH OBA ADEDOKUN ABOLARIN, ORANGUN OKE-ILA FOR FREE QUALITY EDUCATION TO INDIGENT CHILDREN.

In line with our vision to support the education of financially disadvantaged children, last Friday, the Impact Africa Foundation team visited The Abolarin College, Oke-Ila Orangun, Osun State.

Abolarin College was founded by the 'Kabiyesi' Orangun of Oke-Ila Orangun, Oba Adedokun Omoniyi Abolarin. His mission is to use his royal stool to redefine the face of education in Nigeria.

The school is completely free including the boarding facilities. The school was founded with the vision of providing free world class quality education to children picked from the streets and those from poor homes whose parents cannot afford their education.

The school presently has 74 students who are learning in a conducive academic environment and have access to necessary education materials which include personal laptops, library, textbooks, school bags, uniforms, writing materials and others. All the students are in the boarding house and eat quality meals daily.

This school isn’t a run of the mill regular school, students at the Abolarin College speaks at least 3 languages fluently English, French and Yoruba. They are groomed to approach the future without fear or trepidation.With a specially designed and regulated curriculum, students receive all round education that extends beyond the walls of the classroom. They are not only intellectually sound, they are trained to be independent, entrepreneurs and equally excellent agriculturists. They spend 1 hour daily on the school farm to produce part of the food they eat.

Impact Africa Foundation identifies with the vision of the founder of the school and joined efforts with him to continue the noble work of giving quality education to the disadvantaged students.

The academic and mentorship seminar organised for the students had Taiwo Oyedele, Head of Tax and Regulatory Services, PwC Nigeria who is also the Founder and President of Impact Africa Foundation as the guest speaker. He shared his story to inspire the students to dream big and not to allow their humble backgrounds to limit their aspirations but rather to be an inspiration to dream big with a 'can-do' spirit that is unstoppable.

IAF also donated foodstuffs, school bags, books and 'scholarships' funds to the school. We do not want this to be a one-off event, so please join us in sustaining the dream of making the indigent students 'leaders of tomorrow'. See details for donation in our profile.

Remember, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" - Edmund Burke.

Below are the some pictures from the event:

The School Library

The students working on the school farm

IAF team and the foodstuff donated to the school

Oba Adedokun Abolarin and the president of IAF, Taiwo Oyedele with the school's senior prefects

The students having their lunch

IAF President, Taiwo Oyedele addressing the students

IAF President, Taiwo Oyedele addressing the students

Taiwo Oyedele presenting scholarship certificate to 'kabiyesi' to support Free Quality Education in the school.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taiwo Oyedele presenting books donated to the school library to Oba Abolarin

Taiwo Oyedele with the senior prefects carrying the bags donated by IAF

The IAF team with Oba Adedokun and the senior prefects of the school

The IAF team and the Oba Adedokun Abolarin with the students and some teachers of the school

Cross section of the students at the seminar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oba Abolarin addressing the students on the assembly ground

The female students in their dormitory

A corp member teaching the students

Oba Abolarin teaching the students civic education.

Oba Adedokun showing the IAF team around the school farm

National Tax Policy

NIGERIA REVIEWS ITS NATIONAL TAX POLICY

A sound and dynamic tax system is a critical factor for economic development including job creation, social welfare, better standard of living. At the heart of this is the need for a clear and robust tax policy framework which must be properly implemented.

Nigeria's current National Tax Policy was approved in 2010 but has barely been implemented . To address this, the Minister of Finance recently set up a committee to review the Policy and make recommendations for effective implementation.

Areas of focus include key policy considerations regarding the following:

Review of the National Tax Policy document;
Enactment and amendment of the tax laws;
Effective implementation of the National Tax Policy;
Ensuring inter-agencies cooperation between revenue agencies toward enhancing the revenue of the Federation;
Review and expansion of Nigeria treaty network and Double Taxation Agreement regime;
Regular review of tax policy, legislation and administration; and
Any other issue.
Below is a copy of the invitation for input from all stakeholders for your action. I have also attached a copy of the existing tax policy for your reference.

Join the conversation, participate and contribute. Together we can make Nigeria great!

DOWNLOAD NATIONAL TAX POLICY

IAF APPOINTS EDUCATION AMBASSADOR

VINCENT ADEOBA IAF Education Ambassador

VINCENT ADEOBA
IAF Education Ambassador

In furtherance of its objectives to support the education of less privileged children in the society, the Board of Trustees of Impact Africa Foundation (IAF) are pleased to announce the appointment of the first volunteer ambassador for the Foundation in person of Vincent Adeoba.

A graduate of Management and Accounting from Obafemi Awolowo University, Vincent was born without a silver spoon. Having gone through personal challenges in his education which ignited his passion in supporting less privileged children, he has demonstrated an unrivalled passion in supporting the education of under-privileged persons in Nigeria. From visiting waning schools in different states across the country to drawing attention to the plight of many students amid decaying educational infrastructure and total neglect as well as soliciting public support on behalf of many schools, he is without a doubt a worthy ambassador that we are proud to be associated with.

His duties include representing the Foundation at public engagements, identification of projects and obtaining input and feedback to the Foundation's programmes.

Please join us in welcoming our first ambassador, Vincent Adeoba.

Congratulations!

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