The Lagos State Internal Revenue Services (LIRS) has partnered DKK Nigeria, to host a debate competition aimed at educating children on the importance of paying taxes.
The chief operating officer of DKK Nigeria, Bukola Thomas, speaking on the sidelines of the debate held in Lagos recently said, the event would specifically ensure children get educated on tax matters while also raising awareness among the youths in the society.
To her, “This is the maiden edition of our Tax Trybe, where we use a debate to address tax issues. We wanted something that would help young children get educated on tax and be interested. So, what we are hoping is that by next year, by the time we are doing this again, we have a larger number of schools.
The Tax Trybe, she stressed, is a club created to instil tax culture in secondary school students, explaining that, out of the 20 schools that started the programme, only 12 were able to come for the competition.
“We are planning to expand the number of schools from 20 to 60 by the end of next year and then we would have more people participate in this competition so that we can now go global and expand to other cities around us,” Thomas explained.
She maintained that the programme also aimed at raising better adults who are more consciously and socially aware of the right way to do things.
“We think that a lot of us might have given them a wrong impression. We are trying to make Lagos start to own responsibilities within Nigeria. The children here will go to other States so they will be able to leave Nigeria with a good name and good reputation all around,” she stated.
Also, the director of Informal Sector and Special Duties, LIRS, Dr Folashade Coker, expressed delight with the Tax Trybe initiative, noting that it would help to catch and educate those children at a young age.
“I am very impressed with what Tax Trybe is doing because we have to catch these children early. We want to ensure that as they grow up, they must inculcate those characters and habits,” she remarked.
Coker maintained that the programme was laudable, adding that, it would enlighten the students and at the same time, their parents.
“The schools also will be able to appreciate what the state government is doing and the efforts of their teachers while their teachers will also apply to the tax laws. The impact it would have on the educational sector is to see the children thrive. A lot of children have decided what their careers would be and even beyond that, it will help them, form them and mould them to help them in public speaking,” she added.
Expressing her joy, the winner of the debate competition, Ishola Damilola, from Majidun Senior Grammar School, Ikorodu, said the competition had broadened her horizon on the need to pay taxes as a good citizen.
“I am so happy to be here and I want to use this medium to thank the LIRS and Tax Trybe for allowing me to show my talent. I want to thank my teachers for giving me the courage,” Damilola said.
Other winners included Lagos Senior College and Wesley Girls Senior Secondary School, which emerged first and second runners-up, respectively.
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