Had he been brighter, his wile been milder and his approach to commerce without fault, this could have been a one-sentence story: Once upon a time, Olufolarin Ogunsanwo became Lagos’ god of tax and he lived happily ever after.
But Olufolarin is no god of commerce. He has boxed himself into a tough spot. His approach to tax matter has cost him his job. It is no longer a secret that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has sacked the Chairman of the money-spinning Lagos Inland Revenue Service (LIRS). Rumour has it that Olufolarin made a fortune at LIRS.
Although the rumour has been dismissed as the desperate ploy of the former chairman’s detractors to destroy him by sullying his name. Mischief makers allege that the rumour is true. They alleged that Folarin had been able to make very expensive luxury acquisitions because of his regular access to funds.
Folarin, mischief makers, further alleged, has flaunts a taste for the chic and prestigious informs, citing his alleged fascination with choice properties on Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos – a prestigious enclave of the super rich. In a bid to make his mansion on the island worthy of his stature, he was alleged to have painstakingly remodeled it into an Eldorado of sort; replete with trappings essential to a life of glamour and allure.
Eventually, like all man-made deities, Olufolarin stopped resembling a ‘god’ or something like one and he was forced to resign as the head honcho of LIRS and has been replaced.
