Oluwabunmi Awolusi
“Why did I call TB Joshua the Wizard at Endor?” Pastor Chris Okotie replied critics.
“I must find a pattern that represents what he is. And I found it in I Samuel, in the 28th chapter when Saul went to the witch at Endor.
That is why I call him the Wizard at Endor, the fake church, the counterfeit church where people go like King Saul out of desperation.
“They are not interested in knowing Jesus and Him crucified, they are not interested in doctrines, they are not interested in all that pertains to life and godliness; they are looking for temporary solutions to eternal problems, immediate gratification; that is why the place is an Endor and he as the superintendent of that place is the Wizard at Endor.”
This was the response of Pastor Chris Okotie of the Household of God Church International Ministries, when challenged for his statement after Pastor Temitope Balogun Joshua’s death in 2021.
I recall that the only clergyman who paid a condolence visit to late TB Joshua’s wife, Prophet Evelyn Joshua, was Prophet Samuel Abiara of Christ Apostolic Church, aka Agbala Itura.
The Nigerian church, CAN inclusive, had always distanced herself from the late TB Joshua from inception. They condemned his style of miracles, his alleged source of power and that he was never mentored by any known man of God.
There were also speculations about the fountain built around the altar in his synagogue and how it connects to his source of power. They also faulted his teachings about “giving out your tithe to the poor and widows if you don’t want to bring it to church”. And many more.
No one is making a case for the late TB Joshua against BBC Africa’s documentary. Nothing in the documentary is new anyway. It’s no news.
From the virgins being mole.sted, to r*pe in a certain room where only him had access to, to seizing foreigner’s passport and hynotising them so they couldn’t return to their various countries after receiving miracles. Some even said the miracles were temporary. A lot was said against him.
I recall late Radio presenter, Kolawole Olawuyi, through his popular expository show, Nkan Nbe, exposed some information about late TB Joshua, for weeks on his show. And he alleged threats from various quarters.
But Joshua was loved by his members. His humility was second to nome. He was a giver without discrimination. He gave to the needy both as Christians or Muslims. Foreigners trooped into the country daily. Thank God for former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola’s proactiveness during the Ebola epidemic. It would have spread across Nigeria like wildfire through Synagogue’s foreign members. The same foreigners said Nigerians didn’t appreciate what they have in TB Joshua.
BBC’s ‘ghen ghen’ documentary of TB Joshua in 2024, is like breaking the news of Sanni Abacha’s death, who passed in 1998. We had enough of that. Why fight the dead who can’t defend himself anymore? Where is fairness in that story?
Why the documentary only when some church leaders had tried to take over the church leadership from his wife who also fought back? If it was all for justice against the alleged ra*ped and victims of the collapsed building, I think his passing is the ultimate justice. Perhaps justice is served where no SAN can manipulate. If he was prosecuted and found guilty when alive, the worse would have been life imprisonment. Maybe his cup was full. Maybe it was all speculations. He is gone!
Those who seek miracles by all means should reconnect with their God. Stop idolising fellow men who may stop breathing in the next hour. The world is full of fake Pastors and Imams both home and abroad. Religion is their main instrument.
Lest we forget, let’s not always rejoice over negative news told about us by the West. They never expected anything great from a Black soil. And if one thrives, there must be a campaign to investigate his resilience, silence him and ensure we fight one another.
*Awolusi, a journalist and public affairs analyst writes from the US