MY ENCOUNTERS WITH PROPHET TB JOSHUA

Thrice, I met Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua in his Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) splendid abode in Ikotun-Egbe, Lagos and All three visits were on my professional or journalistic assignments.

Before then, I had only seen him on television, first when I was a young student in my dear place of birth and home town of Jos.

My second encounter with this prophet of God was here in Lagos, when I started work for a textiles company called WATA Textiles Limited, we had gone to a sister textile company call Eurosport who were at that time neighbors with Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN). As we passed by I saw the man of God coming out of the church building, he was dressed in the simplest of all manners and I can say that on that day, I was looking more expensive than him.

My third encounter with him this time around was indeed what you will call the real one because it was more physical and this was when a part of the structure (then under construction) attached to the main building of the Synagogue collapsed. By this time, I was the judiciary correspondent of National Weekender newspaper, a general interest tabloid published weekly from the stable of SportsDay Printing and Publishing Company Limited.

My Editor, Boss and Mentor Desmond Ekwueme, had called me late Saturday night and told me to go to Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) for my Sunday service. My wife asks for what, and I gave her some explanation which she accepted.

When I arrived the church, I went in and joined the worship service, and also to feel the pulse of the members after the catastrophe that led to lives been lost, before joining other journalist who were waiting outside the church.

By the time we met Prophet T.B Joshua, it was late afternoon and the man was warm as he welcomes us and before we knew it the press conference was over. I was to meet him again during the week as events unfold.

The impression I had of him during those meeting was more of questions, wanting to find out the reason for all the unpalatable stories that had been told about him particularly as a section of the media was attacking the Prophet and his Church rather than focus on and address the issues.

Just as my Oga said tribute, in my encounters with Prophet T.B Joshua, I saw and met a man who was focused. A gentle man who dislikes controversies and does everything possible to stay away from any trouble. He was simple. He was kind. A very generous man. He was not and does not look materialistic nor self-centered, above all he believed in the Gospel.

He believes in healing people both spiritually and physically. By healing physically, he touched lives in diverse ways. He said, “The teaching of blessed is the hand that giveth than the one that taketh is key to Christianity and Heavenly race.”

Rest in peace Prophet T.B Joshua

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