By Colif Isabor

My name is Colif Isabor, I am a Nigerian, I am a renewable energy entrepreneur, promoting the use of biomass for power generation and the production of biofuels and biochemical. I am a Cohort of The Tony Elumelu, Entrepreneurship Program 2015 pioneer class. I collocate in Lagos and Ondo State, Nigeria. Lagos the commercial capital of Nigeria, Ondo a major forestry State in Nigeria.

It has been stated and sometimes asserted that Nigeria has the capacity to lead Africa in almost every ramification of life, being as it is the most populous black nation in the World.

With this in mind, it is pertinent that Nigeria must play a leading role in the adoption of Bioenergy as the viable option in an emerging renewable energy mix to align the continent with the ambitious goal of the United Nations in reducing the carbon footprint of the universe. By this suggestion, I am not in any way putting down the other sources of renewable energy such as Solar, Wind (onshore, offshore) Geothermal, Tidal and Hydro.

Bioenergy is one of many diverse resources available to help meet our demand for energy. It is a form of renewable energy that is derived from recently living organic materials known as biomass, which can be used to produce transportation fuels, heat, electricity, and products.

The major concern is the fact that Africa, particularly Nigeria, has not really experienced a profound industrial revolution. This continent must experience industrial revolution to lay the solid foundation for the manufacturing sector. We must move from consumer of imported goods to a major exporter of processed goods. Almost every developed country in the World is taking advantage of Africa. How do we overcome this lapse with unreliable national power grid? Nigeria’s power problem is a national embarrassment. The manufacturers in Nigeria are very frustrated over the issue of power.

Bioenergy – yes, biomass is most viable option that Nigeria must adopt to overcome power shortage quickly.

Nigeria, should follow in the footsteps of Europe, in developing and depending on bioenergy.

The European Union is very bold and ambitious in its adoption of the use of bioenergy. In the last decade, the EU uses bioenergy solely for all its energy need for 41 days, from November 21^st to the end of the year. It has become an annual event called ‘The European Bioenergy Day’ campaign, powered by the European Biomass Association (AEBIOM), European Pellet Council (EPC), and the International Biomass Torrefaction Council (IBTC). Also, it is relayed across Europe by all the partners that are convinced that Bioenergy is more than a renewable energy source but also the reliable path Europe should take to achieve its energy transition in the shortest span of time.

I spoke about the consequences for Africa lagging behind in the energy transition and the fight against climate change, during a recent radio interview in Lagos, Nigeria. If we do nothing or very little to adopt renewable energy, while Europe and the rest of the World, especially Europe, is racing to meet set targets for CO2 reductions, Africa will be put under pressure, and may be faced with sanctions in the future.

I will quickly list some of the advantages of bioenergy below.

Economic: Provides affordable energy, strengthens industry competitiveness, drives innovation and supports new investments.

Local and Social: Increases the standard of living, revitalizes rural areas, reduces energy bills for households, drives job creation in rural areas.

Environmental: Reduces GHG emissions, facilitates forest management, valorizes by-products and residues, and restores degraded agricultural lands.

Greener Energy: Reduces dependence from fossil fuel, reduces imports from third countries, consolidates renewable energy consumption, and decarbonizes the energy sector.

Amongst the renewable energy options, bioenergy has the unique potential to deliver significant benefits to society and the environment.

Bioenergy is one of the most affordable renewable energy technologies. It is available in solid, liquid and gaseous forms and can be used for power, heating and transport. Sources of bioenergy are plentiful and can bring wealth and jobs to rural areas across the world and enable profit to be derived from marginal land.

Bioenergy projects can create markets for low-value round-wood and residues and therefore reduce waste. Bioenergy fuels are indispensable in that they can be easily stored so when demand is high they can be mobilized as soon as they are required. As a result of all this, bioenergy can meet needs not readily met by other renewables and provide grid stability on cloudy or windless days.

In Nigeria, we are happy to note that a cement manufacturing company is taking advantage of the viability and cheapness of biomass to power their factory.

My company C-Freedom Assets Management Limited, is actualizing the building of a biomass feedstock and fuel processing factory, (Energy Pellets & Biomass IndustryFZE) here in Lagos, Nigeria. Collaborating with the World leaders in biomass power generation, we are in a position to offer expert consultation to Manufacturing companies, Big hospitals, Universities, Communities, Airports, Stadium, State governments, Farm estates, that are interested in generating their own power as a standalone, mini grid, or micro grid system.

By Shoaib Aslam

What is that one thing that makes your head spin round and round? For me, it is that time of the year when I must file my annual tax returns. I consider it to be a dull, monotonous, and an extremely tedious task. It sucks, doesn’t it?

I am sure most of the people are in a similar boat. Data collected at the beginning of 2019 revealed that almost half of the taxpayers had not submitted their Self-Assessment. Most of them did not file on them and are likely to be fined. This confirms that filing annual tax returns is considered such a mundane task that most people delay doing it to the point when it becomes absolutely necessary to do so.

Fortunately, there is a way out of this misery. That is, looking after your taxes throughout the year. I have penned down several ways to do so below.

DOCUMENT THE INFORMATION AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE IT

It can basically be considered the first step in the right direction. One of the possible ways in which you can stop lazing around is by noting down the tax information as soon as you receive it. It is absolutely essential to do so because once a lot of information has been gathered, it becomes a tedious task to organize and enter it. Also, people like me who have poor memory tend to forget undocumented things easily.

You should know well enough what information needs to be documented. This can easily be found out by doing a bit of research. There is some crucial information that each and every taxpayer needs to enter. However, some taxpayers might be asked to provide some additional information depending on their circumstances.

INPUT THE INFORMATION ON-THE-GO

Most people wait to get back home to enter any information they have received for the Self-Assessment on-the-go. It is wrong to wait to enter information until you are in front of a computer screen. Instead, you should enter information from wherever you are.

Fantastic tax software allows you to do so. Using this software, you can enter the data no matter where you are and what you are doing. This makes you more efficient, and you do not get the chance to laze around.

KEEP YOUR NECESSARY DOCUMENTS AND FILES SAFE

No matter what way you adopt of submitting data, do keep the relevant records. People are often confused regarding how long they should retain their tax record. You can refer to HMRC to find guidance regarding this.

It is advised that you keep your accounts for at least 22 months for the relevant tax year. This requirement only holds true for those who are not self-employed and file their taxes on time. However, those who do not file their taxes on time need to keep hold of their necessary documents for a little longer.

Those who are self-employed should retain their accounts for at least five years after the specified tax return deadline.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR AN EVEN EASIER WAY OUT?

Even though I can personally vouch that if you follow all the guidelines mentioned above you can make this tedious process of tax filing at least a bit easier, there is an even easier and efficient way out.

That is to seek tax advice from a consultancy that specializes in providing business and tax advice services. These entities know the tax system inside out and way better than any of us do.

Hence, if you wish to get rid of your tax filing woes forever, contact any reliable tax advisory consultancy now!

Shoaib Aslam is the co-founder of Pearl Chartered Accountants, a UK-based chartered accountancy firm that has multiple locations across London.