Pastor TB Joshua: What Manner of Man?

During his lifetime, the founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), the Pastor Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua, popularly known as TB Joshua, fought many battles. He was called different names, and even rejected by his ‘brethren’ in Christendom. To them, he was a wolf in sheep’s skin. His miracles, which ultimately dragged many to his church and put Ikotun, Lagos, where his church is located, on the world map, were fake.

Despite Joshua‘s exploit, the Christian bodies in Nigeria — the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) — never accepted him. Joshua was simply an exorcist or a charmer.

Daily, newspaper pages were filled with stories of one attack or another from fellow pastors who never saw anything good in him. Notably was his clash with the founder of Household of God, Reverend Chris Okotie. The funky pastor once described Joshua as the vicar of the devil on earth.

Senior men of God like Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer, Redeemed Christian Church of Nigeria (RCCG), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Bishop David Oyedepo and many others refused to acknowledge him as one of them.

As reported then, Adeboye, in 2009, said he would never go to Joshua’s church to minister.

Also, Oritsejafor, the then President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN and Christian Association of Nigeria chairman, said the body would not admit Joshua into its fold because they were not convinced that he was a child of God.

Oritsdjafor explained that before Joshua could even qualify to be a PFN member, he should reveal who tutored him as a pastor in the first place.

In September 2014, the guest house of the church collapsed, killing more than 100 people, most of them foreigners who were in Nigeria to attend his services.

While authorities say the building collapsed because of structural defects, TB Joshua insisted the building was blown up by a small plane that he claimed flew over it shortly before it crashed.

Yet, Joshua rose above all the condemnations and tribulations to become widely known across Africa and Latin America. His large social media presence with 3,500,000 fans on Facebook and 1,000,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, Emmanuel TV, was the result of concerted efforts in the face of serious challenges.Joshua was awarded various accolades, notably receiving the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) by the Nigerian government in 2008.

As of 2011, according to Forbes, Joshua was Nigeria’s third-richest pastor, although the claim was immediately denied in a statement by the church.

His church, the SCOAN is described as “Nigeria’s biggest tourist attraction” and “the most visited destination by religious tourists in West Africa,” with thousands of foreigners flocking to attend the church’s weekly services.

But while many had hoped that the Ondo State-born pastor who died three years ago would rest peacefully, it seems he is rolling in his grave as many of his alleged atrocities have been unearthed by the BBC Africa in a three-part documentary titled: ‘Disciples: The Cult of TB Joshua.’ The documentary exposed the late man of God’s alleged instances of abuse, harassment, rape, fake and staged miracles.

Since the release of the documentary some described as head-shaking, and has set tongues wagging, his fans and admirers have come to his defence, claiming it was a plot to tarnish his hard-earned reputation.