By Adesina Soyooye
It sounds almost unbelievable, but it is true.
Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua, the charismatic Televangelist and Founder of the Synagogue Church Of All Nations, SCOAN, is dead. He was popularly known as T,B Joshua.
A native of Ondo State, Nigeria, this Magazine gathered that he passed on Saturday, after a programme in his Church.
The Prophet was, unarguably, one of the most controversial and influential Clerics in Africa and the world. He was as revered as he was scorned.
He made a name and became both famous and very wealthy from his prophesies and predictions.
A number of African Presidents believed in his prophesies and predictions, and were visiting him in his Church at Ikotun, Lagos. He was very famous for his predictions, most of which allegedly came true.
He claimed many miracles, including making the cripple to walk, the deaf to hear, the dumb to talk, the blind to see. And he claimed to cure all kinds of illnesses and afflictions, ranging from heart diseases, to HIV/AIDS, to Cancer, to COVID 19.
He was the Founder of Emmanuel TV, where he showcased most of his miraculous feats. A number of countries banned the TV Station, but it was, also, a hit in some countries. He was especially a hit in Israel, a country he recently said he wanted to relocate to.
Arguably, TB Joshua was one of Nigeria’s highest foreign exchange earners, as thousands of people visited his Church seeking for miracles from all over the world. They came on religious tourism.
Even footballers and their Clubs visited him for blessings to score goals and win matches. He was also a well-known philanthropist.
In 2014, however, a tragedy befell him and his Church. A Guest House in the Church premises where he lodged foreigners, mostly, from South Africa, collapsed and killed over 100 people, mostly South Africans.
He was to inexplicably claim that a strange aircraft flew over his Church, and allegedly brought the Guest House down using chemicals. For that, he really never visited South Africa again.
The case is still in court. He and the Church and those involved in the construction of the Guest are being prosecuted.
At the time of writing this, it was not quite clear the circumstances which surrounded his passing, but a source close to him said he never showed any sign of ill-health, and died after a Church programme. He, allegedly, complained of weakness, and gave up on his way to hospital.
His body has been deposited in a mortuary.
He was preparing for his 58th birthday on June 12, 2021, a birthday he had said he would not celebrate elaborately because of the state of the Nation. He said he would spend the day praying.
TB Joshua to Evelyn, with whom he had three children – Sarah, Joshua and Promise.
Details, later…
