Nigeria’s development story is often told through policies. However, the harder truth is this: people, not policies, determine outcomes. When character fails, even good reforms collapse. When integrity holds, institutions grow.

This reality has become clearer following two seemingly unrelated events. One involves disputed changes to Nigeria’s tax laws. The other is the commissioning of a major teaching hospital in Osun State. Together, they tell a deeper story about trust, power, and individual responsibility.

The Tax Law Controversy: When Process Breaks Trust

In late 2025, Nigeria’s tax reform debate took a troubling turn. Members of the National Assembly publicly stated that the version of the tax laws gazetted and released differed from what they voted for.

This was not a minor clerical issue. However, the differences were substantial.

According to lawmakers, the gazetted version introduced:

• Expanded arrest powers through law enforcement
• Garnishee powers without prior court orders
• Lower financial reporting thresholds
• A mandatory 20% deposit before tax appeals
• Reduced National Assembly oversight

This situation echoes earlier concerns raised in public discourse about Dr. Raheem Oluwafunminiyi, a former NEC member of the UNIOSUN Alumni Association. In a previous investigation, his name was linked to allegations of quietly inserting a constitutional clause during a review process, one that altered the balance of power between the NEC and the Board of Trustees.

The parallel is uncomfortable but necessary. In both cases, the issue is not reform itself. Instead, it is the character of individuals operating inside critical processes.

Why Character Matters More Than Credentials

Nigeria’s academic, political, and civic spaces are not immune to internal politics. Whispers of backroom deals, covered-up misconduct, and quietly managed scandals are common.

Therefore, when individuals with unresolved integrity questions in one arena later enjoy smooth, controversy-free progress in another, people ask valid questions. Did advancement occur in a transparent system? Or was it facilitated by protective networks?

These are not accusations. Rather, they are logical questions. In governance and academia alike, integrity must be consistent, not selective.

A Sharp Contrast: The Alakija Hospital at UNIOSUN

Against this backdrop of contested processes stands a contrasting story.

In December 2025, the Modupe and Folorunso Alakija Medical Research and Training Hospital was officially handed over to Osun State University (UNIOSUN). The ₦34 billion, 250-bed facility was donated by Folorunso Alakija and Modupe Alakija.

Commissioned by Yemi Osinbajo, the hospital is designed to:

• Reduce Nigeria’s dependence on medical tourism
• Train medical students and specialists locally
• Strengthen research and advanced diagnostics
• Support long-term healthcare capacity at Osun State University

Unlike contested policies, this project followed a clear arc. There was vision, funding, construction, and transparent handover. Consequently, public confidence and admiration follows naturally without need for stretched and twisted narratives.

The Difference Is the Individual

Both stories involve institutions. However, only one inspires confidence.

The tax law controversy shows how opaque actions by a few individuals can destabilize entire systems. In contrast, the Alakija Hospital demonstrates how clear intent and accountable execution by individuals can strengthen public institutions.

Therefore, Nigeria’s challenge is not a lack of ideas. It is not even a lack of money. Rather, it is the repeated failure to place people of unquestionable character at the center of sensitive processes.

The Bigger Lesson for Nigeria

Reforms are necessary. Investment is critical. Infrastructure matters. However, none of these survive without trust.

Trust is built when:

• Laws passed are the same laws enforced
• Reviews are transparent, not convenient
• Power is exercised openly, not quietly expanded
• Contributions to public good are documented and accountable

When integrity collapses, the poor suffer first. When trust disappears, capital leaves. When character is weak, institutions decay.

What This Means for the UNIOSUN Alumni Association

For the Osun State University Alumni Association, these developments are not peripheral issues. They go to the very core of what an alumni body represents: stewardship, credibility, and institutional memory.

Alumni associations are more than social networks or fundraising platforms. They are guardians of legacy. Therefore, when questions of integrity arise around constitutional processes, leadership conduct, or the quiet alteration of foundational documents, the impact is profound. It shapes how members engage, how donors commit, and how the wider public perceives the institution the alumni claim to serve.

The contrast is instructive. On one hand, the Alakija Hospital demonstrates what clarity of purpose and transparent execution can achieve when individuals act in good faith. On the other hand, unresolved concerns within alumni governance highlight how character failures at the association level can erode trust faster than any external attack.

Silence, selective storytelling, or celebratory profiles that omit uncomfortable episodes do not strengthen an association. Instead, they deepen suspicion. Alumni bodies thrive on openness, debate, and accountability—not managed narratives.

At this moment, the UNIOSUN Alumni Association faces a defining choice. It can either confront its past honestly, clarify disputed actions, and rebuild trust across its membership. Or it can allow unresolved questions to harden into permanent fractures.

Ultimately, the strength of an alumni association is not measured by how loudly it celebrates its leaders, but by how transparently it examines its own conduct. Trust, once lost, is difficult to recover. However, when rebuilt deliberately, it becomes the strongest foundation any institution can have.

Final Thought

In similar light, Nigeria does not just need better policies. Nigeria needs better custodians of power.

The difference between hidden clauses and healing hospitals is not complexity. It is character.

And until integrity becomes non-negotiable, development will remain fragile—no matter how ambitious the reform.