6th April, 2024
Critic, Reno Omokri says if Nigeria must progress, Nigerians must stop paying tithes in churches and start paying taxes to the government.
He said Nigerians preferred paying tithes to their churches and then demanding for roads and proper infrastructure from their government to whom they hardly pay taxes.
“No matter how corrupt and inept you think the Nigerian government is, they are far more open and transparent about what they do with the little taxes you pay than any church in Nigeria. Do you see that guy who probed Emefiele? Jim Obazee.
“If President Tinubu should ask him to probe Nigerian mega-churches, some GOs would be in jail. Nigerian churches are some of the least regulated entities on planet earth,” Omokri said on his X page.
He added: “Okay, which church in Nigeria has given you, as a member, a breakdown of what they do with your tithes? Yet, you see their General Overseers and Senior Pastors living extravagant lives, even where there is extreme poverty in their congregations. They build schools, often with members tithes, that the children of those members cannot attend.
“In contrast, the Nigerian government publishes an annual budget of what they will do with your tax Naira. A budget that can and is often scrutinised and criticised by the public and media, because it is a public document. And when they spend the appropriated monies, the Freedom of Information Act allows you to get information on who was paid what, when and how.
“That is how the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation was exposed. But can you dare ask your pastors what they do with your tithes?”
Omokri stated that Nigeria would never reach its full potential if Nigerians did not pay taxes, saying “It works both ways. Taxes give the government more funds, and make the citizens more vigilant over how their government spends their money.
“According to the World Bank, taxes account for 39% of the GDP of Germany, 46.3% in Denmark, 45.4% in France, 42.9% in Sweden and Belgium, 34.1% in Japan, and 23.7% in South Africa. But in Nigeria, it is an abysmally low rate of less than 10%.
“Despite the above, no citizen of any country is as entitled as a Nigerian. Our government earns about $30 billion a year from oil and gas to a population of 220 million people. And on that basis, we want cheap fuel, electricity, and high minimum wages, as well as free education and pipe-borne water.
“Yet, according to Statistica, Nigeria has a higher rate of paying tithes than the above listed countries. Why are we not individually and collectively prospering more than those countries?
“The statistics are clear: countries with high tax payments and low tithe payments prosper individually and collectively more than nations with low tax payment and high tithe payment.
“Yeshua said “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” Money belongs to Caesar (government). Pay your taxes. Tithes in Scripture were ONLY agricultural. They were NEVER monetary. And they were only requested by God from Jews and paid ONLY to Levites-Numbers 18:24.
And tithes were agricultural only. The reason for this was that the Levites were not allowed to farm. The modern payment of tithes in Christendom (as opposed to Christianity) cannot be supported by ANY Scripture.
“These preachers will use a verse from Malachi 3:10, which states: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.”
“However, note that a storehouse refers to a barn, where only food and other agricultural produce were kept. The Jews were never asked to bring money.
“Additionally, there are multiple other laws in Malachi and the laws of Mosaic, which include laws allowing polygamy. If they take that law from Malachi, why do they not observe the other 612 or so other laws? Because it is all about the Benjamins, baby!”