Convert Religious Houses In Nigeria To Industries And Watch Unemployment Die a Natural Death — Okey

In every street across Nigeria today, you must count not less than six different churches and mosques. Some are even ten and above.


If these religious houses are converted to manufacturing industries, we shouldn't be complaining of unemployment and lack of job. Imaging where we have ten manufacturing industries in all the streets of Nigeria producing so many things for export, countries like China and Germany would be wallowing in envy. Whereas, China and Germany does not possess these type of religious houses but manufacturing industries across their landscape.

Interestingly, these churches and mosques proudly boast that they all worship the same God. Yet all we have as a result is depraciation of our moral values, escalating crimes, hunger and unemployment. If the spread of churches and mosques in our streets should be the solution, why do this god they all claim to worship 'in different ways' not give them solution to our economic and social problems?

To worsen matters, churches and mosques don't pay tax. Corporate Affairs Commission register them for free. And the government grants them protection under charity outfits.

The irony of it is that, government would rather wield the instrument of the law on small scale industries and start-ups trying to help the economy and employment by heaping heavy tax charges on their operation. These start-ups would pay heavy tax to government without electricity and other social services. When pressed down under these heavy taxes, the start-ups will run to the churches and mosques to seek spiritual solution to their problem, where they will fall into the hands of the predator church and mosque owners who would in turn extort them of the little they have in the name of tithes, offerings and donations.

The church and mosque owners will smile to the bank while the start-ups and small scales go down or fold up. The church and mosque owners would then take some of the money they extorted from the start-ups to go for a pilgrimage tour of Saudi Arabia, the Vatican and Jerusalem to invest in their tourism sector and grow their economies. The consequence of this is that we have millions of jobless youths roaming the streets and small scale industries and retail shops folding up everyday while the churches and mosques keep multiplying and expanding and growing the economies of Israel, Vatican and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia and the Vatican do not produce anything they consume or export for profit. They make their money with the money Nigeria mosque owners, churches and the government robbed off poor start-ups and retailers in the name of tax and donations.

China did not become the largest economy on earth today with multiplication of mosques and churches. They grow with spread of manufacturing industries and good tax environment for start-ups.

To develop African economy, curb the incessant spread of churches/mosques and religious houses. Create a friendly tax environment to encourage start-ups and small scales.