After 20-month shutdown, Synagogue reopens today

• How church closure affected shop owners, hawkers

Thirty-eight-year-old graduate of business administration identified only as Chris woke up from his bed with a renewed vigour at 5:30am on October 17. He didn’t have enough sleep the previous day, having returned late from a social function he coordinated as an event planner. But he did not worry. Though a resident of Akure in Ondo State, he had always wanted to attend the mega Sunday service of the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos. The 57-year-old church’s founder, T. B. Joshua, died on June 5, 2021 and his remains were interred on the church premises on July 9, 2021.

Constrained by distance and time, he only managed to watch clips of the church’s activities via the Internet. But a recent contract to organise a wedding reception in the nation’s commercial capital gave Chris an opportunity to visit and worship at the church on that day.

“I enjoy his (T. B. Joshua’s) sermons and watch his videos on YouTube in my free time. When he died, I really felt bad because I admired him a lot and hoped to meet him physically one day. Sadly, he passed on before I could get the opportunity. But I was surprised when someone (a church member) told me there was no service on the day I visited the church (Sunday, October 17),” Chris told our correspondent who met him at one of the church gates in the Ikotun area of Lagos State.

Findings showed that a typical Sunday service at the church auditorium was usually packed full of worshippers and visitors from several countries across the globe. There was also usually an influx of miracle seekers to the church.

Synagogue then

From a gathering of a few church members under a thatched roof held by bamboo pillars to a makeshift building made of wooden planks and then to the edifice – The Synagogue – built on a large expanse of land in Ikotun Egbe, on the outskirts of Lagos, the popularity of SCOAN, under the leadership of T. B. Joshua, spread out to the world. The church’s headquarters was usually adorned with the national flags of different countries, indicating the SCOAN’s reach and the nationalities of its members.

Born on June 12, 1963 in Arigidi, Ondo State, Joshua was seen by many as a captivating cleric, who not only showed compassion to the needy but also provided assistance through cash and items. His televangelism and church programmes featuring ‘healings’ of the sick attracted millions of viewers globally notwithstanding diverse opinions about them. In April, 2020, YouTube suspended the account of the influential preacher following a complaint by a United Kingdom-based rights group, OpenDemocracy, against T.B. Joshua for allegedly conducting prayers to heal gay persons.

Since the church gained international prominence through televangelism and miracles, before the ban by the National Broadcasting Commission in 2004, SCOAN attracted tourists from different countries. But on September 12, 2014, a guesthouse within the church premises collapsed, killing many people, many of whom were South Africans.

The Synagogue also attracted prominent visitors, including top politicians. In 2017, Liberian President, George Weah (then a presidential candidate), met the cleric at the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos to seek his support ahead of Liberia’s November 7 runoff election. In 2009, a former President of Ghana, Atta Mills, visited T. B. Joshua. In 2013, Zimbabwean politician, Morgan Tsvangirai, also visited the church for prayers.

The televangelist’s popularity and his following grew as he held crusades in many countries, including Israel, Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Indonesia, South Korea, and Singapore.

Several followers who could not gain access to the church’s premises for the mega Sunday service and other programmes due to space or time constraints participated online or tuned in to Emmanuel TV, the church’s 24-hour television station which broadcasts via satellite and the Internet.

But things appear not to be the same since the demise of the cleric which came as a surprise to the worshippers.

“God has taken His servant Prophet TB Joshua home – as it should be by divine will. His last moments on earth were spent in the service of God. This is what he was born for, lived for and died for,” the church said while announcing the cleric’s death in a statement titled, ‘Prophet TB Joshua –June 12th 1963 to June 5th 2021.’

His funeral was elaborate and well-attended by prominent personalities, including the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN); Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, represented by the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Prince Anofiu Elegushi;  wife of the Ooni of Ife, Olori Naomi Adeyeye-Ogunwusi; wife of a former president, Dame Patience Jonathan; religious, traditional and political leaders from different countries as well as delegations from other countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, South America and North America. Many of his beneficiaries wailed openly as the casket bearing the late prophet’s remains was moved to a secluded part of the church for interment.

The church now

The popular Ikotun Market, which greets visitors on arrival at Ikotun Bus Stop, was busy with traders, buyers, and commercial drivers, but the boisterousness soon fizzled out halfway into Ikotun Egbe Road where the Synagogue is located. Visitation to the church on October 7, the entrance of the church was manned by only a few policemen while church workers ushering visitors into the church were absent.

 “There is no service, except you have an appointment. You can just walk around and pray,” a woman who appeared to be a church member but decided to speak on condition of anonymity told our correspondent.

On the right side of the premises sits a large photograph of the late cleric holding a Bible with his left hand and a microphone with his right hand. There are also photographs of the cleric and his immediate family. Some members of the church were seen touching the photographs and praying with them.

It was, however, gathered that certain members of the church, some of whom were identified as ‘old testament’ and ‘salvation first,’ were given an ID card granting them access to religious gatherings within the church.

It was further learnt that there had been no service since March 2020, owing to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions introduced by the state and federal governments. Our correspondent who tuned in to Emmanuel TV on October 17 observed that while the programme schedule showed, ‘Live Sunday Service,’ the TV station aired previous programmes.

There have been concerns that the ongoing leadership crisis in the church may have affected the activities of the church, since the ban on religious gatherings occasioned by the pandemic had been lifted. But a source told our correspondent that the church was not a conventional one but acting based on revelations from God.

“We used to show previous services on Emmanuel TV but that has changed. The change is actually as a result of the lockdown. Before the lockdown, services went on as usual. People came from different countries and states in the country to attend Sunday service. As of that time, we had international worshippers that made up 60 to 70 per cent of the congregation every Sunday. Those who were invited were accommodated and those who came of their own volition were also accommodated when there was space in the guesthouse.

“During the Saturday service on June 5 (2021), the last meeting the man of God held, he told the congregation that there would be no more service and that he would pray for them from a distance. He said there would be  no church service ‘for now.’ That was at a personal meeting at the prayer mountain. If any service is to hold, God has to give a divine instruction for that to happen,” the source added.

Asked how the church would get the revelation in the absence of the GO, the source said, “It is up to the new leadership.”

Traders decry low patronage

Some traders in the area, who had enjoyed regular patronage from visitors and members of the church prior to the shutdown, told Sunday PUNCH that the death of T.B Joshua affected their businesses.

A food seller, Mary, who operates near to the church said, “Since that man (T. B. Joshua) died, they (church authorities) have not started church programmes. It has affected my business because when he was alive, many people came to patronise me. Maybe they have not seen the person that will take over or something like that.”

A street trader, who identified herself as Idayat, said she made the bulk of her profit from the sale of drinks during and after the Sunday service.

“I don’t know why they (church members) have not been coming. I just sell my market (goods) at Ikotun Bus Stop,” she added.

Another trader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said business owners were hopeful that the situation would improve.

He said, “We used to sell many of our goods early when people came to the church to worship and we enjoyed the patronage. But since the man died, things have not been the same.  The man said God told him to stop holding physical church services since COVID-19 pandemic started. But we still open our shops; sometimes, we sell and sometimes, we don’t.”

Succession rift

Controversy over succession started shortly after the cleric’s death with some senior members of the church accusing his widow, Mrs Evelyn Joshua, of alleged attempts to tighten her grip on the church.

In September 2021, a Federal High Court reportedly appointed Evelyn as a trustee of the church in line with the church’s constitution which prescribed a minimum of three trustees for the church, as SCOAN had “been in a limbo since the passing of the man of God, Senior Prophet TB Joshua, over the leadership succession in the church.’’

Subsequently, the Board of Trustees of SCOAN appointed the widow of the late founder as its chairperson. It also appointed her as the new leader of the church “with ratification by not less than 2,000 congregations of the church at a meeting on Thursday, September 9, 2021,” the head of the church’s legal department, Mr James Akhigbe, was quoted as saying in a statement.

But a senior member of the SCOAN who spoke to the media on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak with the press on the matter said, “We don’t even know what is going on inside; we are excluded from what is going on. I must be honest with you. I don’t know their agenda or what they are up to. SCOAN is a ministry of the Holy Spirit. No one can determine the fate of the church; only God can.”

EFCC involvement

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on September 12 said it was investigating a petition from SCOAN but did not give additional information on the issue. But the church had earlier said it took steps to secure certain critical assets with an authorisation for a comprehensive audit of its activities “in view of the discovery of huge cases of financial misappropriation perpetrated in the past few months, reckless individualism and unimaginable acts grossly antipodal to the sanctuary with the passing of the founder.”

No rift over T.B. Joshua’s successor, we’ll reopen soon – SCOAN

Notwithstanding reports over control of the church, a member of the church’s board of trustees and daughter to the late cleric, Promise, told our correspondent that the shutdown was expected because the cleric was the founder and the church had to take a break in his honour.

Asked whether the discontinuation of the mega service was also connected to the disagreement between the late cleric’s family and some senior officials of the church, Promise said, “No, not at all. With regards to why there were no services while my dad was alive, I can’t really tell much about that because, obviously, my dad was in charge; so, that’s a question for him. But I’m sure he had his reasons. And there were partner services. Obviously, people couldn’t fly in due to the COVID-19 restrictions; a lot of the members that come to the church tend to fly in from other countries and I think that is where most of the traders make their money from. I don’t think that had to do with the church but the restrictions imposed by the governments of different countries.”

She further stated, “Live stream of the service on Emmanuel TV resumes on December 5. that particular service is also going to be like a six-month celebration of life for the founder, so it’s going to be a little different from normal services. There really is no crisis as the media makes it look. The church is fine and services are going to start. The church is very aware that there are a lot of people that are dependent on its activities.

“The charities never stop. Even before the funeral, we were told the charities were ongoing. They are part of his legacies. They are definitely not going to die. That is one of the things he (T.B. Joshua) was passionate about.’’