France, FIRS and Nigeria’s Red Lines

Few issues strike at the heart of sovereignty, trust and national memory as sharply as control over data. This is why the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on December 10 between Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and France’s tax authority, the Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP), has ignited widespread unease far beyond the technical language of digital tax administration.

Despite official reassurances, the controversy has refused to fade, largely because it resonates with long-standing Nigerian anxieties about foreign intrusion, weak transparency in governance and a historically uneasy relationship with France.

Nigerians are instinctively alarmed by any arrangement that appears to expose sensitive tax information to a foreign power. This concern is neither new nor irrational. Over the years, critical Nigerian data in sectors such as telecommunications, elections, identity management and finance has been processed or influenced by foreign entities, often amid assurances of strong safeguards that failed to fully convince the public.

Tax data is particularly sensitive. Beyond personal income, it reveals corporate structures, investment flows and the true state of the economy—information that constitutes strategic national intelligence. When such data is discussed alongside terms like “AI-powered audits,” “real-time analytics” and “automated compliance,” public suspicion is inevitable, regardless of assurances about anonymisation.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the MoU is the lack of transparency surrounding it. While FIRS maintains that the agreement is limited to technical assistance, capacity building and knowledge exchange—and that no raw taxpayer data or core digital systems are accessible to France—the full text of the MoU has not been made public.

In a democracy already struggling with trust deficits, opacity is a dangerous choice. If there is nothing to conceal, full disclosure should not be controversial. Citizens deserve clarity on what data categories are involved, who controls the systems, where servers are hosted and what legal remedies exist in the event of breaches. Reassurance without transparency is no reassurance at all.

Although President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is acting within his constitutional authority in shaping Nigeria’s foreign policy, his perceived closeness to France has unsettled many Nigerians. This discomfort is heightened by regional developments.

Across West Africa, countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have forcefully rejected French influence, framing it as neo-colonial and destabilising. While opinions differ on the legitimacy of the military regimes leading these shifts, the underlying popular resentment they reflect is undeniable. Against this backdrop, Nigeria’s warm engagement with France stands out sharply and risks appearing tone-deaf to both domestic and regional sentiment.

Equally concerning is the apparent absence of National Assembly scrutiny. Agreements touching on national data infrastructure, economic intelligence and digital governance should not be treated as routine bureaucratic instruments.

While not all MoUs require legislative ratification, those with far-reaching implications for sovereignty, data protection and national security demand oversight, debate and legitimacy. The silence of the legislature raises uncomfortable questions about institutional exclusion or complacency.

No matter how friendly bilateral relations may be, allowing even the perception of unrestricted data access to another country is inherently risky. In the age of big data and artificial intelligence, aggregated or anonymised information can still reveal patterns, vulnerabilities and strategic insights.

Economic data is geopolitical power. It shapes negotiations, investment decisions, sanctions and diplomatic leverage. Nigeria must draw a clear red line between cooperation and dependency—between learning from partners and surrendering strategic control.

This debate is ultimately about more than a tax MoU. It is about whether Nigeria fully appreciates the value of its sovereignty in an era where data—not territory—is the ultimate prize.

At Daily Trust, we believe the Federal Government must choose between calming public fears through openness and restraint or deepening them through silence and defensiveness. History suggests which path is wiser.