joseph1013:
“Tax Compliance, Transferred Hope and Agaciro”
by Jekwu Ozoemene

I remember early this year when a friend noted in a presentation that the regional offices of Nigeria’s major Pentecostals remit a minimum of N200 Million per week to the centre while the smaller Pentecostal churches generate about N30 Million per week. He had gone beyond that slide when I called his attention to it, noting that he probably meant N200 Million and N30 Million per month respectively (both still very handsome figures), but he insisted that his numbers are correct.

It turns out that Nigeria’s 5 major Pentecostal churches alone generate between N5 Billion to N7 Billion in collections every week; N28 Billion / N20 Billion per month (if you opt for either the upper or lower figures) or N336 Billion / N240 Billion per annum.

To put this in further perspective, Lagos State with the highest Internally Generated Revenue capacity in the country managed N302.5 Billion IGR in the whole of 2016, Rivers State came in second at N85.28 Billion, Ogun N72.98 Billion, and Delta N44.045 Billion. In all, 35 States in Nigeria generated N801.9 Billion in IGR in 2016 (2016 IGR figures for Anambra and the Abuja FCT are unavailable).

And I get the argument that the funds received by these churches are “Free Will” gifts. I even understand when congregants argue that investment by the Church is not determined by the Daddy GO / Papa / Prophet / Pastor, and point to schools, football teams, hospitals, old people’s homes etc being run by these institutions.

It just scares me that the most populous and viable State in Nigeria, being Lagos, with all its responsibilities to 26 million citizens, generates considerably less revenue than the 5 major Pentecostal churches in Nigeria.

For a nation, this is a lot of “Free Will” donations that cannot be systematically and professionally channeled to strategic infrastructure needs (and yes, I know that we already have corruption in public service). The why, if you ask me, could be that there appears to exist a trust deficit (moral rule, sentiments, fairness and relationship between taxpayers and government) between the Nigeria sovereign and her people leading to low “Tax Morale” (the intrinsic motivation to pay tax).

This is further accentuated when you note that the country has one of the lowest Tax Revenue to GDP ratios in the world of 6.1%, ahead of only 11 countries; DRC at 5.9%, Angola at 5.7%, Saudi Arabia at 5.3%, Burma at 4.9%, Bahrain at 4.8%, Chad at 4.2%, Libya at 2.7%, Qatar at 2.2%, Equatorial Guinea at 1.7%, Kuwait at 1.5% and UAE at 1.4% (note the number of laggards that are emerging markets oil producing countries?). Citizens will rather give to the Church and other religious bodies (transfer all hopes and aspirations to God) than voluntarily or mandatorily contribute to government and infrastructure development.

And I hear the argument that we already provide infrastructure through various self-help initiatives; boreholes, private security, generators, even roads, schools and health care, however, all this silo resolutions will ultimately be more effective and less expensive if aggregated.

The Rwanda Government preaches the spirit of “Kwigira” – “Self-Reliance” and “Dignity” on the basis of which they have set up various investment platforms and an Infrastructure fund based simply on citizens “Free Will” contributions. So you see individual or corporate citizens who make free will contributions of up to 10% of their monthly or annual income to the fund (and I agree that there appears to be social pressure to comply), much in the same way that Christians engage in Tithing. The RNIT Iterambere Fund as well as Agaciro Development Fund, a Solidarity Fund (Agaciro is the Kinyarwanda word for “Dignity”, implying that Rwandans lost Dignity from the erstwhile reliance on foreign aid).

But that will be asking for too much from Nigerians. So for now, let us just accept that in Nigeria, “Believing God” and “Sowing a Seed” generates more revenue than taxes. Or (and I say this with all sense of responsibility, conscious of how sensitive religion is to us as a people) we tax the Churches and religious bodies. Should religious bodies act as quasi tax aggregators?

Which way Nigeria?

Kenerd:
just 5 major churches oh. I'm stunned...

joseph1013:
MISSING FATHER & SON

We are told Jesus was a man who was seen by thousands, yet it's not possible to show beyond reasonable doubt that he ever existed.

What then, are the chances of showing that his invisible, immaterial dad (who was seen by no one) ever existed?

Pretty slim, I'd say. Might explain why no one has ever managed it.

Nice article but I will not go as far as disputing the existence of God because it is just too evident to suggest otherwise. But let's leave that for another debate.

Religion and Christianity in particular only flourished till today because they used torture, fear and superstition to deter their members from leaving the fold. In the middle ages, to question any Christian doctrine or priest was to invite either prison, death or exile and so freedom of expression was not permitted. Many who dared to flow against the tide were brutally oppressed or killed.

Now that we are in the information and freedom age, we have tons and tons of material at our immediate disposal to carry out research into previously held truths or beliefs.

Like you I am an avid reader, reviewer and researcher into Christianity and the can I opened from my due diligence on this religion has so many worms that some times I just have to take some time off to bask in multiple phews !!!

For example, when I discovered that a lot of the prophecies in the gospel of Matthew were either wrongly applied or fabricated, that shook me. Then the trinity, hell fire and many other doctrines I found to be false and this triggered a zeal for more study.

My question to all of us and you the OP is, when you find one LIE in a book you begin to wonder how many more lies may lie therein. When you discover that most of the doctrines you once cherished were pagan in origin and mostly myths you ask yourself how much of the bible is truth, myth and fables.

It can get scary for a new believer or younger person especially when their pastors warn them to avoid further research with the consequence of hell or excommunication and other threats to stifle knowledge acquisition and application.

My stance is this, any religion or GOD that discourages reason , logic and investigation into TRUTH is not REAL.

So while we have similar stories , I just want to say that despite the flaws in the bible, my belief in God still stands, but my trust in Christianity and churches in general is weak.

joseph1013:

I'll bet, at some point, almost every new atheist called themselves an idiot for not seeing the blindingly obvious. So there is no need for us to call theists idiots--when eventually their lights go on, they will do that for themselves.

Elparaiso:

TL;DR Theists are idiots

Elparaiso:

TL;DR Theists are idiots

joseph1013:


Finally decided to find out what TL;DR means. LOL

joseph1013:

But there is another issue here. The issue of honesty.

Theists often present this argument as the real reason they believe. So ask them if they will stop believing in their god now that they know their reason for believing is flawed. If they will not they are not only logically challenged, they are dishonest too.

Elparaiso:


I love this paragraph because it reminds me of what I ask my Christian colleagues(We don't have Muslims at my place of work). "With all the rules and regulations governing the life of a Christian, would you still choose to be a Christian if the concept of hell was removed?" If there was no eternal punishment awaiting "unbelievers", would we still have "believers"?

adepeter2027:
lol

So what was his/her response?

Elparaiso:


I've asked a lot of people and there have been two types of answers so far.

1. Person claims to have transcended the fear of hell and is now in a loving relationship with God. So without hell, they would remain in Christianity. You know, the BS you should expect from a typical BSer.

2. Silence or stuttering. These ones know the truth, they know they've been bound by something.

Olajide Abiola

Whether you're single, married or divorced, be happy. Happiness is not defined by relationship status, it is a personal decision. There are happy singles, married and divorced people as there are equally unhappy ones. Happiness is a personal responsibility. I was a happy bachelor and I remain a happy married man. No! Marriage did not make me happy, it only multiplied it because my spouse brought her own happiness too.

Whether you own a car, bike or you have none, be happy. There are many jet owners who are unhappy. In fact, statistics has shown higher rates of depression amongst the haves. I mean, it is a miserable existence when one's happiness is anchored on such material things. Oh yes, material things, money being the fountainhead provide comfort and conveniences but many are unhappily comfortable. Use money and material things for what they are: means and resources. No more, no less.

Now, be wary of many prophetic declarations that puts you under pressure to acquire this or that to signify that you are 'blessed', leading you into unnecessary depression. You will buy a car and own a house when you need to and have the means. Not having one doesn't mean you aren't blessed. If owning cars and houses were the yardstick of measuring being blessed, just imagine how blessed so many Nigerians are. If we had good transportation and mortgage systems in the country, most of the things we display as tokens of blessings would have been made nonsense of.

Religion has taught many to feel cursed when they go through normal life challenges in varied forms, and to feel blessed only when there is money in their pockets. If people you know buy cars or build houses, genuinely be happy for them. Rejoice with them with sincerity but STOP using it to measure your life.

There is no specific year designated for you to buy a car, own a house or become financially rich. These things happen largely by what you do with a sense of good timing. So, don't let any prayer or prophecy put unnecessary pressure on you. Many challenges you will face are meant to strengthen, enrich and bless you. Stop running away from them or binding and casting them. Though many of them too can be as a result of stupidity, folly, pride, greed or procrastination.

You will be fine, but first, be happy.

joseph1013:
Nwobodo Fortune Chukwuemeka

There's something to be said for an Omniscient God credited with the words "And God regretted" twice.

There's something to be said for a God who made man with freewill only to regret that freewill didn't make them do his will and then allegedly end that world to restart another one that seems very much like the one he ended all those years ago.

Is this his third regret?
Does the one who knows the end from the beginning still make mistakes and regret it subsequently like mortal men?

What then is omniscience because right now, it doesn't sound so special...