T.B JOSHUA: THE LIES,THE GREED AND THE FARCE

On Friday the 12^th of September 2014 a tragedy happened in Lagos state and the man at the centre of controversy is none other than Prophet T.B Joshua. The prophet is the founder of synagogue church of all nations (SCOAN) located in ikotun area of the state.  The church receives the highest number of visitors into Nigeria every year and has about 15000 to 20000 people attending their services every Sunday.

The church has come under severe criticism since the recent collapse. I did a bit of fact-finding and I learnt a lot of things about the so called man of God or better still ‘god of men’.  Members are made to pledge a fraction of their earnings to support the growth of the church, and blessings from the prophet aren’t free as people think. I learnt he appears to them in dreams and through different revelations offering members a direction for their lives.

A young man called Nicholas Ibekwe which I have come to admire so much was the first to blow the whistle. He released an audio recording of how T.B Joshua offered journalists 50000 naira each to fuel their car and in turn asking them what they will write. The Lagos state government has also told us that SCOAN didn’t have the necessary documents to erect the building let alone put additional floors.

In spate of recent happenings SCOAN has released two CCTV footage claiming the collapse happened as a result of an attack on the building and an aircraft hovering above the building. First they claimed it was a terrorist attack, a bomb explosion and a demolition. A lot of gullible Christians have rushed to take side with their religious leader claiming ‘touch not my anointed’.  It’s been more than two weeks and T.B Joshua hasn't been made to answer for the death of 115 people instead he claims it was an attack on him and his ministry.

The young man who first exposed the bribe incident has come under attack from a lot of Nigerians.  He has been called many names for daring to expose a ‘god of men’ and I wonder are Nigerians truly gullible that we can’t demand for fairness, equity and justice from even our religious leaders. Instead the incident has been used to play politics with the governor of Lagos state visiting and also the president of Nigeria. Also the ruling party who  released a statement and didn't even offer any word of consolation for the families of the dead rather to T.B Joshua and we cannot but tell the dead to rest in peace while the ‘god of men’ responsible for these deaths walks free.

Now to the questions begging for answers:

It’s been proved that T.B Joshua added additional 4 floors to a building whose foundation was supposed to carry 2 floors. Who gave the approval?

Why has T.B Joshua not been tried for involuntary manslaughter or culpable homicide as the case maybe?

Why is the government keeping silent or is Joshua’s life worth more than the lives of the 115 dead?

Why haven’t journalists interviewed survivors from the collapse site or the money meant for fuel is also meant to keep them from reporting the story as fair as possible?

I have observed that SCOAN is trying so hard to make sure the matter is swept under the carpet and forgotten as much as possible. Enough of the videos and statements afterall we are Nigerians and matters indicting our ‘god of men’ are forgiven and forgotten so easily.  When will justice be served?

When will our ‘god of men’ truly become men of God?