The Tragedy T.B Joshua Failed To See

Kazeem Ugbodaga

Over 80 worshippers die in a six-storey building that caved-in on the premises of The Synagogue Church of All Nations in Lagos

Like a make-believe scene in Hollywood, a six-storey building under construction at the Synagogue Church of All Nations in Ikotun area of Lagos collapsed in a dramatic fashion on Friday, 12 September. The only difference is that the Synagogue building collapse was real and a tragedy unprecedented in the history of Lagos State. Over 80 corpses were removed from the ruins of the building, with 131 others sustaining varying degrees of injury.

Indeed, it was a black day that will linger in the memory of the worshippers and the founder of the church, Prophet Temitope Joshua.
The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, said the building, a guesthouse for foreign members of the church, came down in the twinkle of an eye. Church members and security personnel allegedly obstructed emergency rescuers from doing their job, driving them away from the scene until a wide-scale protest made them to relent. But by then, many of the trapped victims were dead.

According to NEMA’s spokesman, Ibrahim Farinloye, the building was originally two storeys but was raised to six, adding that the additional floors were being constructed when it collapsed around 1.00 p.m. that Friday. “The church members were very aggressive and tried attacking emergency responders. Before emergency responders’ arrival, about 15 were said to have been rescued alive and three dead. Many are said to be still trapped,” he said.

On site to rescue those trapped in the debris were officials of NEMA, Lagos State Emergency Management Authority, LASEMA; Lagos State Fire Service, police, and Red Cross, among others. For over four days, rescue operation had not been concluded and tales of gloom emanated from the scene as corpse after corpse was brought out of the rubble, leading to weeping and wailing.

The deaths in the tragedy cut across the divides, with foreign nationals being the largest number of dwellers at the collapsed guesthouse. South Africa alone lost 67 citizens to the tragedy, according to its president, Jacob Zuma, even as reports say at least 300 South Africans were at The Synagogue last week when the guest house collapsed. President Zuma said that at least 67 South Africans were killed when the building collapsed while extra floors were being added to the two existing floors. A spokesman for South Africa’s foreign ministry said on Twitter recently that the figure of 67 needed to be treated with “caution”. Nigerian emergency services put the total death toll so far at over 80.

Late last uesday, Zuma told national broadcaster SABC that an unknown number of South Africans were “not yet accounted for” and that the nation needed to “grieve together”.

Zuma’s spokesman, Mac Maharaj, told SABC that the government believed that around 300 South Africans from four to five tour groups from the country were visiting the church that Friday but it was not clear how many were on the spot when the tragedy struck. “It’s a very popular church with South Africans,” he said.