‘I don’t believe churches should pay tax, but pastors should pay based on their earnings’

Alex Omokudu, senior pastor and founder, Victorious Pentecostal Assembly (VPA), a London-based Christian deliverance ministry, is in Nigeria to start a ministry in Lagos after 15 years of sojourn overseas. He held a media parley with some journalists in Lagos recently, where he spoke about his mission in Nigeria. SEYI JOHN SALAU was there.

You have been away from the country for about 15 years now, what prompted your decision to return home?
When God called me, if he had asked me where I would want to preach, I would have said in my village. Someone told me that God would take me to England to do his work but I did not believe him. I did not know how I got to England. I left this country in 2002 for the UK and I know Nigerians want to know what God has embedded in me. I just know that this is the time for Nigerians to know God in a different way. When God calls you he backs you up. I just got about 40 plots of land in Lekki; I tell you that I do not know how I got the land, it is just God working. I believe God wants to use me to affect my country positively because God knows how to use foolish things to calm down the wise and to prove himself, and I know this is the time for God to prove himself in Nigeria. If the miracles experienced in Britain are experienced here, then God is proving himself. It is also for the preachers here to humble themselves and see what God is doing.

How did you come about the name Victorious Pentecostal Assembly for the ministry?
When God called me into ministry, he showed me a plane with the inscription VPA on it and handed the key to me. Imagine someone who did not have a bicycle and never thought of having a car. When I wanted to register the church under charity in England, the accountant with me said there was no way it could go through because it sounded familiar and that I should write their names. I told him that if the name was altered, that means God has not called me. So he went further and the name was cleared and he was amazed.

Are you ready for the challenges that come with operating in this environment?
Which challenges? God who called me has been backing me up so I do not fear challenges. Without challenges I won’t be here. I love my country and I want to impact my country. Based on what has been happening in London, I am not afraid. A criminal case was forced on me and God proved himself that he is with me, so I am not afraid of whatever the challenges may be because God is on my side. It is time for Nigeria to see God in a different way. God has not changed, he is still working miracles, and I believe God can take over this country through signs and wonders.

People have argued that churches should pay taxes to the government, do you support that view?
I do not believe churches should pay taxes. However, every pastor should make self-assessment of themselves and pay tax based on that. A pastor should pay tax on the money he earns, it is called self-assessment and it is very important.

Nigeria has witnessed series of unrest in the recent past. What, in your view, is responsible for this?
It is already written in the Bible, this is part of the signs of the end time. What this does is that it brings to fore the need for us as Christians to stand strong in our walk with God. I believe God can take over this country and those who do not know him will come to the light.

The incessant unrest has resulted in calls for separation and restructuring by different agitators, what is your stand?
I do not believe we should separate because the country is better as one; our diversity makes the country interesting. Having the Igbo, Yoruba, Edo and other ethnic groups adds beauty to us as a nation. There is law to put those who want to divide the country where they belong. We all grew up to see Nigeria as a country, so why do we want it to divide? The north is known for producing a good number of the food we consume, while the Igbo are known for business and other regions too have their areas of specialisation. I am very proud of my country and I love my nation. We should pray that God touches the hearts of the president and the national leaders to look towards the poor. Let them listen to the cries of the poor who are dying. This is why I want to come back to Nigeria to affect lives.

There seems to have been an increase in domestic violence in the country, which has led some Christians to seek divorce. At what point and on what basis should a Christian seek for divorce?
You know one thing about me? I am very open because if I deceive you I am deceiving God. I just divorced and I am very happy, but believe me I am against divorce and I make sure there is no divorce, but when it comes to a case where a woman brings out knife to stab her husband, I will tell the man to run. Same applies to a woman. When a man is violent and carrying a knife to kill her, at that point the woman should run for her life. I have already remarried. Left for me, I did not want to remarry but God said I should get out of it and consoled me. One day a woman came to me during counselling, and God said. ‘Look at her.’ I asked, ‘Look at her for what?’ I told one of my pastors and he wanted to call her, but I said no, he should not, that if God was the one talking, he would talk to her. That was how she came later to tell me what God said to her. She said God told her to take care of me and I am still wondering if I am dreaming or if it is real.

How long can a Christian stay before remarrying?
I do not believe a person should stay for long before remarrying. Any man that stays two to three years before remarrying, watch it, he might be committing adultery.

Finally, what is your message to Nigerians?
The country needs God. People are battered and when I think of where God brought me from, my heart is broken for Nigeria. I see people and I cry in my heart because of suffering. People will suffer and go to school and end up not getting a job. I have come to my country to affect my country positively.