The church building that collapsed in Lagos last week,
killing dozens of people, was owned by one of Nigeria’s
best-known evangelists, TB Joshua. The BBC’s Tomi
Oladipo profiles the popular preacher who has claimed
to perform miracles, including curing blindness and
people with HIV.
From a country littered with burgeoning churches,
Temitope Balogun Joshua, or TB Joshua, as he’s
known, is one of the biggest exports of Nigerian
charismatic Christianity.
Prophet Joshua was born to a poor family on 12 June
1963, claiming to have been in his mother’s womb for
15 months.
Later in life he claims to have seen a vision in which
popular biblical figures commissioned him to preach
and perform miracles. It was then that he started The
Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN), with eight
members.
Rush for anointing water
Today, like other popular Nigerian preachers or “men of
God”, TB Joshua is wealthy, influential and highly
revered for the office he holds.
People come from around the world to the SCOAN
headquarters in the Ikotun district in Lagos to seek
healing and to witness prophecies.
When the Ebola outbreak began in West Africa, the
Lagos State government, recognising the vast reach
and influence of this preacher, asked that no victims of
the disease be brought to the church for healing so
that there was no threat to other members of the
congregation.
He agreed to suspend some of the church’s healing
programmes but he is said to have sent 4,000 bottles
of “anointing water” to Sierra Leone that he says could
cure the disease.
TB Joshua says this special water, delivered in small
bottles, positions users “for mercy, favour, healing,
deliverance, blessing, prosperity and fruitfulness”.
However, in 2013, the desire for the anointing water
led to the death of four people in a stampede in the
Ghanaian capital, Accra.
The deaths occurred when members of his church
rushed to the alter to receive the water. The preacher
was criticised following this incident but police in
Ghana said it was difficult to apportion blame.
Predictions
Best known for his prophecies, TB Joshua claims to
have predicted numerous events, from the death of
Michael Jackson, to the disappearance of the
Malaysian plane MH370.
In the case of Michael Jackson, TB Joshua said to his
congregation: “In his own area he is famous. He is
known everywhere. Great. Too great. Because I see
something will begin to happen to that star and that
will likely end in him to pack his load and go to the
journey of no return but I don’t know when that
journey [is].”
After Michael Jackson’s death, the preacher claimed
this was the subject he had spoken about six months
earlier.
His critics have described his predictions as vague and
able to be manipulated to suit any event. This has not
deterred the thousands of followers who throng his
church services seeking direction.
TV influence
The South African politician Julius Malema, Malawi’s
former President Joyce Banda, Zimbabwean politician
Morgan Tsvangirai and the former president of Ghana,
the late John Atta Mills, are among the prominent
Africans who have paid homage.
One arm of the SCOAN is Emmanuel TV, a television
station that broadcasts the preaching of TB Joshua
around the world, as well as the accounts of people
who say their lives were changed for the better because
of this ministry.
The testimonies include stories about financial
prosperity, inexplicable recoveries from illness and
even people being awakened from the dead.
Prophet Joshua is also known for his charity work –
and Nigeria’s former president, the late Umaru
Yar’Adua, awarded him the Order of the Federal
Republic, one of the country’s highest honours.
One of his prominent projects is My People FC, a
football academy which has produced at least two of
Nigeria’s bright prospects: Ogenyi Onazi, who plays for
Italy’s SS Lazio, and Sani Emmanuel.
Many Nigerians refrain from criticising preachers like
TB Joshua.
However, the growth of the internet and social media
has revealed increasing opposition to wealthy mega-
church pastors.
