Sometimes, the equitable rule that assumes as done what ought to be done takes preeminence in our lives against all odds, forcing us to console ourselves over things that should have been done but were left undone for reasons best known to us. It is sometimes our different commitments, indispensables, and issues that go to the core of our leadership in different strata. I have been burdened with the intentional responsibility of producing a reflection on a sudden but powerful light that suddenly sparked, shone through my life in a moment of intellectual and economic transformation. This sudden spark of light is unstoppable; it tracked me in my most vulnerable moment and pierced open my psyche, igniting a revolution that left me better liberated and empowered than it met me. This shining light and star is the Chartered egghead and tax guru, Mr. Rotimi Cyrus Jones.
Mr. Rotimi Cyrus Jones can be critically examined from two prisms: first, he embodies the mental alertness of Cyrus the Great; and the wits of professional tax collectors and Controllers, otherwise called “Agbowo Ode” in Yoruba parlance. Cyrus the Great was the originator of the Achaemenide Persian Empire, a vast empire which saw to the collection of taxes and tributes. The name Cyrus is synonymous with “conqueror”, “liberator”, “ruler”, who inspired the return of Jewish people to Jerusalem, including the rebuilding of the temple. Apart from Matthew, otherwise called Levi, a tax collector in Capernaum, invited to follow Jesus while he was sitting at his tax booth, many of the tax collectors recorded by the Bible were noted to be men of means, smartness, and sometimes corrupt, owing to their extreme knowledge of the numbers. From the dwarf Zacchaeus, a wealthy chief who climbed by mounting a Sycamore tree to see Jesus, to the anonymous tax collector in the parable who, despite being praised for his humility, voiced this emotional appeal, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner!”
While I am proud of Rotimi Cyrus Jones, I can also boldly swim in the pool of his integrity, since it is as white as crimson and without blemish. I attest on my own honour that he thinks in a spark of light and reeks of Accounting and tax management values. Having had serious conversations that spoke to his childhood, I am not only wowed at his grasp of history but the times. Though a son of a roadside mechanic, it was not difficult for him to spot what he wanted from life. He wasn’t one of those young people who can make do with what life throws at them. In fact, he was presented with a bouquet of options from which he confidently picked one. Having followed his philosophical dad closely and participated in mechanic trade, he prepared himself informally and blended his education, which he started in the primaries before he proceeded to Unity Secondary School, Ado Ekiti, a school with a boarding facility. On his rare visits to Idanre during the holidays, he is most times glued to the beautiful sights of successful Idanre indigenes, many of whom are successful Chartered Accountants, captains of industries, lawyers, and more, who are most times secured by Police. He was particularly inspired by the appearance of Chief Pius Akinyelure, a former Treasurer in Mobil and later national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Rotimi Akinkuowo (Banana), Professor Jejelola Olafusi, and many more. He claimed to have learnt how to read with the aid of a treasure trove of newspapers owned by Professor Jejelola Jones. It was in the course of his reflections in his dad’s small shop and world that he discovered his passion for Accountancy. Armed with the will to make this happen, he proceeded to the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti, where he graduated with Distinction in Accountancy. He further boosted his resume by proceeding to Achiever’s College, Owo, where he also bagged First Class Honours in Accounting.
As indispensable as tax is in the consolidation of the Social Contract Theory, so also Rotimi Cyrus Jones, its specialist and virtuoso. The historical “Free Education Policy” that was introduced by Obafemi Awolowo in the year 1955 in the Western Region would not have been impossible without the aid of the education tax paid by parents and collected by proficient tax collectors like Jones. Looking critically at Rotimi’s academic trajectory, leadership, and exploits, it is apt and apposite to position him in the ilk of world-renowned tax engineers like Jun Azumi, former Japan Finance Minister renowned for corporate tax rate reforms; Krister Andersson, the Head of the tax policy department at BusinessEurope; Joseph Andrus, a renowned influencer of international tax audit matters and Head of OECD transfer pricing unit; Robert Hart, Head of Imperial Chinese Customs Service; Miguel de Cervantes, a renowned Spanish author of Don Quixote and collector of unpaid tax debts; Samuel Adams, a tax collector in Boston and later leader of the American Revolution. Though Rotimi Jones is a Tax Controller at Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Yaba, Lagos Division.
I commend you to this article as an advance intellectual appraisal of the unique, cerebral, bright, and iconic legend in Mr. Rotimi Cyrus Jones, and in the spirit of his birthday which held some days earlier. I hope this serves its purpose by projecting him better—as a man of means and potentials. I hope this better spotlights his undying legacies in the tax world and that it exposes him as a family man with the excess milk of human kindness. May he continue to soar higher; and live long.
At The Legal Observer, we wish you a happy birthday.
Tunde Akingbondere, LL.B, BL (in view), writes from Kano.
