Many very prominent Nigerian pastors have, until this moment, refused to react to the sudden death of their colleague in the ‘kingdom assignment’, Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua.
T.B Joshua, a leading pastor in Nigeria, and Africa including Asia, whose prowess in performing miracles brought tourists from around Europe, America and other continents of the world to Lagos, was confirmed dead on Sunday morning.
The cleric was said to have died after concluding a programme at the Synagogue Church Of All Nations on Saturday, sending a shock wave to his members and others alike.
However, politicians, friends, and well-wishers as well as those who did not seem to like his ministry, have used different means to condole and sympathise with the deceased family and his church.
But some notable ‘men of God’ in the land, such as leaders of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye; Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor W.F Kumuyi, Living Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo, Dunamis Church, Pastor Paul Enenche, Pastor Chris Oyakilome, Pastor Chris Okotie, to mention but a few, have refused to acknowledge the death of T.B Joshua.
Recall that when Dare, one of the sons of Pastor Adeboye died, T. B Joshua was one of the first Pastors to send his condolences and went on to observe a minute silence for the 43-year-old pastor during his church service.
Joshua had in a message of condolence to Pastor Adeboye and the Redeemed Christian Church Of God (RCCG), said the sad event would not had happened if God did not permit it, adding that He needed no human’s approval to His will.
“God does not need our permit; God’s time is the best,” the cleric said in a live broadcast on Emmanuel TV.
“It is not how long we live that matters but how well we live,” he added
The reason these Pentecostal pastors have been quiet over Joshua’s death is not yet clear but one thing is certain; the late cleric until his death, was not a member of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, neither was he a member of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN.
As Apostle Suleman Johnson of the Omega Fire Ministries, Edo State, had suggested, there may have been a misunderstanding between Joshua and some of these top preachers. Addressing his congregants on June 7, 2021, Suleman had said, “Prophet T.B Joshua is too small.
“And my problem is that when I respond, I respond raw. I don’t edit. You are too small. The Synagogue is too small. Too small. I cannot fight…Church cannot fight Church. None of my pastors has followed me to my father in the Lord. Me, I book months before I see him. Then I carried a frustrated fat-bodied baboon to go and meet who? There’s no mountain on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. You’re sick! What I don’t understand is, was it a mistake? …”
But even at that, some Nigerians who spoke to DAILY POST on this matter shared a diverse opinion.
“It’s not biblical for anyone to hold grudges against their fellow human being even unto death. Although they might have sent their condolences to the family and Church without making it public. If there was a face-off between Joshua and Adeboye for instance, the former did not harbour it in his mind because immediately he learnt about Dare’s death, he sympathised with the RCCG leader,” Rebecca Akpan, a member of Assemblies of God, told our reporter.
According to Emmanuel Oche, “I’m sensing enmity, acrimony and envy among these pastors against the late Joshua. These top pastors are mainly known in Nigeria while T.B Joshua brought foreigners Nigeria. So, some of them might have felt belittled and this might have made them to develop everlasting hatred for him.”
Chidinma Ebuha believes that most of these pastors did not believe in T.B Joshua’s miracles. Although I’m not a believer of these miracles but, I really don’t think they should ignore him in death because of this. If my enemy dies, I will still condole with the family. It goes to tell you how Nigerian pastors operate. There’s so much hatred among them. God help us. The question is, would Jesus Christ had done the same?”
Whatever be the case, Nigerians are of the opinion that even though the cleric was denied membership by the leadership of CAN and PFN, individual pastors, who are members of both organisations, had the rights to condole with the grieving family and members of the Synagogue Church.
Recall that Rev. Chris Okotie, the Shepherd Superintendent of the Household of God Church, on Tuesday morning shared a cryptic post on his Facebook page in which he referenced a certain ”wizard of Endor” who assumed the title of ”Emmanuel”.
The clergyman in his post said the wizard who assumed the title of Emmanuel had been consumed by divine indignation. This, to many, was a veiled reference to the death of the acclaimed Prophet.
