Ecclesiastical evidence affirms that God does not look at people or issues through the same prism through which human beings perceive matters. As mortals, we give primacy to mundane parameters such as appearance or outward adornments, height or whether the person is oozing opulence or look at the nobility of a person’s birth before ascribing value or judgment to such a person. 

The story of David’s ascension to the throne of Israel summarises how God made His choices. Prophet Samuel beheld the firstborn of Jesse named Eliab and, looking at his outward qualities, concluded, “Here comes the Lord’s anointed king who will govern over Israel.” But before that thought could settle in the prophet’s mind, God told him he was not the man for the job.  

The story of Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), is the story of a young, wise and brilliant man who has enjoyed the exceptional grace of God. His father (of blessed memory) was a cocoa farmer from the mainly agrarian Iwo Ate town in Ogo Oluwa Local Government Area of Oyo State. His mother is a trader-cum-farmer. Thanks to Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s matchless leadership and quality governance, the town at that time boasted some basic municipal amenities like a school and a dispensary. 

I can imagine the joy on his father’s face when the news was broken to him that his wife was delivering a bouncing baby boy, later christened Zacchaeus Adelabu Adedeji. While his father desired functional education for Zacch, the family’s first child, the greater joy for the cocoa farmer would be that the birth of Baby Zacch means an extra hand on the farm, heir apparent to the cocoa farming business. This perception perhaps prevented Zacch’s father from noticing the unique stars in the sky that heralded the arrival of a special child to the family, the humble background notwithstanding. The family did not realise they had been gifted a global talent whose brilliance and expertise would be acknowledged beyond the shores of Nigeria. 

While his father was looking at a child who would grow to become a helping hand on the farms, God was looking at a precious gift that would bring honour to the family name. 

Growing up for Zacch was difficult, as no silver spoon was in his mouth at birth. But with the grace of God upon his life, he was determined never to allow the circumstances of his birth to dictate how far he could go in life. While going to school, he also assisted his father in his cocoa farming. Zacch could not have chosen any other course besides accountancy in his post-secondary educational pursuit. He was his father’s bookkeeper for the sale of cocoa produce. 

At the Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State, where he studied accountancy for his ordinary national diploma, Zacch came out flying with a distinction. Rather than return for his HND, he opted to further his studies at the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, where he read management and accounting and finished with first-class honours. He did not allow the death of his father at about the time he was starting at Ife to extinguish his hope of having a functional university education. 

Zacch’s special talent as a brilliant accountant quickly singled out from the recruits at P&G. He saved the company hundreds of millions of dollars in needless expenditure and deploys his financial wizardry to catapult the company’s profit to new heights. For this exceptional display, the company dispatched him to one of the best business schools in Switzerland to share his experience. This feat earned him a seat in the management cadre of the American goods company earlier than any young recruit by the firm. He rose to become the Corporate Finance Manager for West Africa. 

While making his mark at the firm, he met a great leader, Senator Abiola Ajimobi (of blessed memory), sometime in 2009. When they met, He was attending to what he would ordinarily consider a routine payment query. Ajimobi was happy to meet a young chap from Oyo State who was making waves at such a company. From that time, a journey of mentoring, love and support that would remain with Zacch for a lifetime started. The meeting also changed his trajectory from the private sector to the public sector. Ajimobi appointed him Finance Commissioner for Oyo State at age 33. Notable among his achievements include raising Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from about N600m monthly to about N2 billion in a short period, blocking leakages by streamlining government bank accounts through which a lot of money was haemorrhaged from about 100 to about 10. 

As executive secretary of the National Sugar Development Council, Zacch left an indelible mark, raising standards and re-engineering processes to deliver better quality service and increased productivity. When President Bola Tinubu tapped President Bola Tinubu as Special Adviser on Revenue, many people speculated he would ultimately head the country’s tax agency, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). 

As an evangelist in the Anglican Communion, Zacch believes in the scripture that the power of life and death is the tongue. As the one whose duty was to interface with FIRS tax officers while at P&G, he had said during one of his frequent visits to the Agidingbi office of the agency that “someday, I would like to work in this organisation and contribute to its transformation.” Today, not only is Zacch the executive chairman of FIRS, but he has brought unprecedented transformation to the agency within a short period. FIRS, under Zacch, surpassed the tax revenue target in 2023, leading to a higher revenue benchmark of N19.4 trillion set by the government for 2024. Later this month, Adedeji will announce to Nigerians what the agency was able to collect in the year just ended. The agency has done well again and has exceeded the target from available information. 

To all who know Zacch and have interacted with him, one special attribute is his humility. He relates with the young and the old quite well, and the big success God has given him does not get into his head. Many people have spoken so glowingly about this character trait in Zacch. In 2017, he and I returned to Nigeria from a trip to the United States. He had gone on holiday, and I had gone to cover the annual meetings of the World Bank/IMF. We were to lodge at a popular hotel in Ikeja on arrival. After dinner, the receptionist said only one room was left. “Give it to us. Dare, and I will share it,” said Zacch. That was how we slept on the same bed that night. 

If there are so many positive things to say about Zacch at 47. The future holds even brighter for the number one tax man in the country, as in Simon Sinek’s submission that leadership is not just about being in charge but also about taking care of those in your charge. I join admirers and well-wishers in wishing ZA many more years of his trademark brilliance and wisdom. May God continue to strengthen him and keep him in good health. 

Dare Adekanmbi is the Special Adviser on Media to the Federal Inland Revenue Service chairman.