Prophet T.B. Joshua, influential leader and founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN). A man with such a large number of diehard followers, yet somehow, found himself largely ostracised by his immediate constituency, the body of Christ in Nigeria. As news of his death continue to filter into town, some of us eagerly await to see how the leadership of faith-based organisations in Nigeria would react to the shocking news of his sudden demise.

For some of us though, controversies aside, there are definitely many interesting sides to the Akoko born prophet.

Arguably the best known teleevangelist out of Africa, he revolutionised teleevangelism in Nigeria and fully embraced the use of the new media to propagate the works of his ministry, thus resulting in being one of the most viewed Christian ministries in the world, especially through the online activities of Emmanuel TV, a Christian television network outfit that has become a reference point of sort considering its well-acclaimed success.

Despite his church being located in the suburb part of Lagos, Ikotun, he took religious tourism to another enviable level in the country by making his synagogue a top destination point for foreigners seeking miracles and deliverance. At some point, statistics released by the Nigerian Immigration Service suggested that six out of every ten foreign travellers coming into Nigeria are bound for The SCOAN. No doubt, his church is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Nigeria. If you ask me, that's a plus for an economy badly in need of little drops of earnings here and there.

He courted the powers that be in nearly all fields of life including governance and sports across continents; courted not a few controversies too, such that he was loathed by many of his peers within the leadership of the body of Christ in Nigeria, notably within CAN and PFN. These two bodies never really reckoned with him, with PFN refusing to admit the SCOAN into its fold. Yet, he remained unwavering in his quest for relevance and global acceptance and he surely was anyway.

He leveraged on the use of international diplomacy and foreign relations to promote his ministry in a manner yet to be matched by any faith leader in Nigeria. A charismatic leader with a cult-like followership, grew his mission, SCOAN, from that local church to the global fame and reach it has today. Obviously, there must be something he was doing right in that regard.

More significantly, TB Joshua made philanthropy an integral part of his ministry and on this lane, he made lots of giant strides. This could be seen in his many humanitarian acts, the SCOAN Scholarship, the education support, the disaster reliefs eg to Haiti after the devastating earthquake 2010, the support for migrants and deportees, etc. He also saw to the rehabilitation of some repentant Niger Delta militants. His humanitarian gestures did not go unnoticed as the Nigerian government of the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, in recognition of the humanitarian contributions of the SCOAN to the Nigerian society, awarded him a national honour, OFR, in 2008. In addition to this, he got even greater awards outside the shores of the country, notably in the Dominica Republic where he was given the highest honour in the land.

For all the many controversies around him and his ministry, the story of pentecostalism in Nigeria, especially as it relates to the use of television and the new media, won't be complete without the mentioning of the name TB Joshua. Same can also be said of the role of the church in the act of philanthropy, always a contentious issue as many believe the Nigerian church can be more charitable in its deeds. TB Joshua's SCOAN is a reference point as to how impactful activities of faith based organisations can be on the society.

May his soul rest in peace.

False Prophet

GreenFarmsNG:
False Prophet

Why did you call him a false prophet? Can you prove it?

Rest in peace sir

Am still surprise at the death of this man, it's still sound unbelievable to me..
But why him of all people
Dead where is thy sting

GreenFarmsNG:
False Prophet

Thunder fire that ur rubbish mouth