When conversations about Nigeria’s tax reforms began dominating social media, there was no shortage of information. Everyone seemed to have an opinion, rumours spread quickly, and technical explanations raised more questions than answers.
For Abidemi Adetula, this birthed TaxInfo, a platform designed to simplify tax information and make it accessible in multiple Nigerian languages.
In this edition of After Hours, Adetula talks about his journey from a fascination with file sharing via infrared and cybercafés in his childhood to a career in software engineering and civic technology, and how a confusing national conversation around taxation inspired him to create a platform now used by thousands of people.
Early interactions with technology
I’ve always been curious about how technology works. Long before I understood the technical details, I was fascinated by simple things many people took for granted. I remember when infrared was popular, and people could transfer files between phones. Later, Bluetooth arrived, and devices could communicate without even touching each other. At the time, it felt almost magical.
By the time the Internet came around, my curiosity had grown. Cybercafés were becoming popular, and suddenly there was access to information from all over the world. I kept asking questions on how computers communicated, how networks worked, and how all these technologies came together.
That curiosity eventually led me to study computer engineering at university, where I earned a Bachelor’s degree. During my undergraduate program, I realised that computing was far broader than I initially imagined. There were so many possible paths to take, and for a long time, I had to navigate them largely on my own.
One of the areas I encountered was web development. What caught my interest wasn’t just coding itself but the emergence of content management systems (CMS), which made building websites much easier through templates and reusable components. At the time, some traditional developers looked down on the approach, but I found it fascinating because it simplified much of the work.
Although I didn’t immediately put them into practice, I learned the fundamentals while still in school. Like many students, my focus was largely on academics and graduating with good grades. After graduating and completing the compulsory service year, I found myself facing the same question many young people eventually encounter: what exactly was I going to do with my life? I remembered the web development skills I had learned and decided to revisit them.
In 2015, I built my first website. The inspiration came largely from platforms like Linda Ikeji’s blog and Nairaland. I admired how information was shared and how communities were built online. Using that inspiration, I launched a small blog of my own. Life happened, though, and I stepped away from the project for a while to focus on other responsibilities.
Victoria Fakiya – Senior Writer
Techpoint Digest
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My professional breakthrough came in 2019, when I had the opportunity to work for an international client. Interestingly, they seemed to have more confidence in my abilities than I did. At the time, I felt that what I knew wasn’t enough, but the client disagreed. They had seen my work and believed I could deliver.
Not only did I successfully complete the work, but I also got paid for it. That experience changed how I viewed myself as a developer. It gave me confidence to take on more projects, and over time, I worked on e-commerce websites, social media management projects, and numerous web development engagements for different clients. Each project expanded my skills and showed me new ways technology could solve real-world problems.
Building TaxInfo from a national problem
The idea for TaxInfo came from confusion. When discussions around Nigeria’s tax reforms began gaining attention, I followed them closely because taxation affects everyone. It affects businesses, households, and ultimately how money moves through the economy.
The more I listened, the more confused people seemed to become. There were rumours everywhere, technical terms were flying around, and different interpretations of the proposed policies were circulating online and offline. Even as someone with a technical background, I found it difficult to separate facts from speculation.
One day, I was speaking with a woman at a local store, and she mentioned a rumoured fuel tax. I decided to investigate the claim properly. As I searched for information, I realised how difficult it was for ordinary Nigerians to find clear, understandable explanations of what was actually happening. That was where the idea for TaxInfo came from.
If I was struggling to understand these reforms, how much harder would it be for millions of Nigerians who weren’t spending hours researching tax policy? I decided to build a platform that could make tax information easier to understand.
TaxInfo was launched in November 2025 with the clear objective to simplify taxation for everyday Nigerians.
The platform breaks down tax policies in plain language and makes information available in English, Pidgin, Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo. Beyond educational content, it includes tax calculators, frequently asked questions, policy explanations, tax news, business news, and an AI assistant.
One feature I am particularly proud of is the translation effort. Tax policies are often filled with technical language that can be difficult for many people to understand. By simplifying and translating this information into multiple Nigerian languages, we created a platform that is accessible to a much wider audience.
Today, TaxInfo serves thousands of users and has achieved meaningful growth without significant paid advertising.
How technology shapes every part of my life
Technology isn’t just what I build, it’s how I live. I work as a network operations (NOC) engineer and operator and my work environment is surrounded by monitors, network equipment, alerts, and systems that require constant attention.
Outside work, technology remains central to almost everything I do. I learn, research, and build products using technology. Continuous learning is a requirement in this field. New technologies emerge constantly, and staying relevant means constantly adapting.
Artificial intelligence has become a significant part of my workflow. I use tools like Gemini for quick research and exploration, while Grok is often my choice when I want responses that feel more direct and less filtered.
My days are usually divided between research, organising information, planning projects, and building solutions. Whether I’m working on web development, civic technology, or new product ideas, technology remains at the centre of the process.
One issue I think about frequently is technology adoption in Nigeria. I believe Nigeria has talented builders and developers. But many technology professionals have become discouraged because the pace at which new technologies are embraced locally can be slow. Meanwhile, the rest of the world continues moving forward rapidly.
A major concern is the limited amount of technology education available in Nigerian languages. Most technology content is produced in English, while some Nigerians might be more comfortable learning in local languages or even in Pidgin English. If people cannot easily access information in languages they understand, adoption naturally becomes slower. This was one of the motivations behind making TaxInfo available in multiple local languages —accessibility is just as important as innovation.
One project I’m particularly excited about is a personal AI assistant that I’ve been building for myself. I deal with a large amount of information, ideas, tasks, reminders, and projects. While existing tools solve parts of the problem, I wanted something tailored specifically to my workflow.
The assistant is designed to help organise tasks, manage reminders, track priorities, and provide motivation when needed. Rather than being a generic assistant, it’s built around how I personally work. At the moment, the project is still in the works.
Looking ahead
When I think about Africa’s technological future, I am optimistic. We’re already seeing signs of progress through digital government services, automation, artificial intelligence, and emerging technology infrastructure.
Over the next decade, I believe technology adoption across Africa will increase significantly. The question is not whether adoption will happen but how quickly it will happen.
That speed will depend largely on governance, infrastructure, education, and the willingness of institutions to embrace change. The builders and idea are already here. The opportunity now is to create the conditions that allow those ideas to scale.
For me, that’s what technology has always been about: identifying problems, finding solutions, and making information and opportunities more accessible to the people who need them.
