Gboyega Alaka takes a look what has become a seemingly endless wait to the reopening of the globally renowned Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) after the death of its founder and the anxiety of concerned members across the globe. The piece also takes a peek at intrigues of succession that has played out in the last four months.
It’s nearly four months since the demise of the late founder of the globally renowned Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet T. B. Joshua; and three months since his week-long burial. It’s also more than a year and half since the closure of regular services in the church, occasioned by the intrusion of COVID-19, and it seems worshippers and faithful at the church are tired of the long wait.
A recent visit by this writer to the church showed worshippers loitering the church’s street corridor, muttering prayers by the images of the late prophet, with some going as far as placing their hands on the giant images of the late founder in prayer. This, to observers, is a testimony that worshippers are eager to have the church reopen, so that they could re-establish their spiritual connection with the church.
One of the women seen placing her hand on the image, who gave her name simply as Mrs. Grace, said, “I had to come here and pray since the church has not yet re-opened. I placed my hand on the Man of God’s picture in prayer, because I believe that through him, I can receive the miracle I seek”
Another, also a woman, elderly, said, “I believe in him, that’s why I place my hand on his image. I know my prayers will be answered through him. Everything is faith.”
The elderly woman finished off by asking this reporter if he knew when the church would reopen. “Please, oga Journalist, do you know when church will reopen?”
Waiting on God
In what would be an answer to the women and many anxious members/faithful across the globe, the new General Overseer of the church and wife of the late founder, Mrs Evelyn T. B. Joshua, in a text message released to a select group of journalists, said the church is waiting for God’s ‘directive,’ citing also the fact that she is still mourning her late husband’s passing.
The text titled ‘WHY NO SERVICES YET IN SCOAN’, stated: “We are getting ready and even yearning to start Services but we cannot go outside the will of God, whose directive is what we shall continue to uphold, live and work on.
Don’t forget that even before our father passed on, SCOAN was yet to start services unlike other churches. The firmament was not ready. The peculiarity of the church is another thing where foreigners are all eager to be here, even right now amidst the world health crisis. We have no fear whatsoever but don’t forget a good Christian must also be a good citizen. We have continued to pray for God’s mercy for our nation and the world.
Besides, I am still mourning the passing of my husband. When the mourning time is over and most importantly when the Lord intimates us to begin, we shall move swiftly in God’s grace. Be assured that God’s mercy endures and by His grace SCOAN shall come out stronger” – EVELYN TB JOSHUA.
Church putting measures in place
In what could be described as a corroboration and further confirmation of Mrs Joshua’s message, James Akhigbe, one of the in-house lawyers of the church and Mrs Moji Oguntoyinbo, a respected member of the church, while addressing a select group of journalists, said various committees are working with the aim of putting the church in shape after the transition of the founder and General Overseer.
“Various committees have been set up; Moji (Oguntoyinbo) here is the General Coordinator of the various committees. They have started work in earnest and their reports will determine the way forward largely.”
About the new General Overseer, Akhigbe said, “Mummy is still mourning the transition of her dear husband and we do not want to rush to open the church without putting in place certain structures. You will recall that even before the demise of the founder of the church, the church was not conducting open service; only services for partners across the world; what you may call interactive prayer for people with various ailments and challenges, where people linked up on the screen from wherever they were. …He recognised that the pandemic was still there and one of the principles he handed down to members is that whatever makes you a good Christian makes you a good citizen. So obedience to laws, rules and regulations by constituted authority was not an option. He recognised that as a man of the spirit. Even when it appeared that the pandemic had disappeared, he said, no, it was not yet over.”
Akhigbe added that while the church is eager to resume normal services, the church, which is a spiritual entity, will have to hear from God first, “as anything done at the Synagogue is done with great communion with God.”
He however assured that services will be resuming soon, all things being equal.
When reminded that soon can be relative, Akhigbe said the church does not do things based on human considerations or emotions, adding that, “We are very hopeful that very soon, God will give us the green light. But we cannot say, tomorrow, because you cannot dictate to the Holy Spirit.”
Lending her voice, Moji Oguntoyinbo said with the nature of the Synagogue church, whose membership cuts across the globe, controlling the crowd when the church eventually opens may not be a tea-party.
“You know, for a church that has not opened for a long time, if it suddenly announces that it’s going to be opening one Sunday, this whole place will be filled up. So we need to be properly prepared to handle the kind of crowd that we’re projecting. This is in addition to our mother-in-the-Lord, Mrs. T. B. Joshua finishing up her mourning period in conformity with what society dictates.”
Oguntoyinbo also rejects the notion that the church is not reopening yet because its new leader is not psychologically ready, referring doubting Thomas’s to “go and listen to her when she made her speech during the acceptance of the role to the entire world.”
She also does not believe that church members praying by the late prophet’s images or placing their hands on them translates to eagerness to have the church reopen, pointing out that anything attached to the late prophet is believed to move with the Holy Spirit.
“Even those who don’t come here place their hands of their TV or pray alongside him on TV. Even when we eventually start service, if those images remain there, people will still be praying by them. It is what their faith carries; and if perchance they receive, they will give testimonies and you will see more people coming around to place their hands on the pictures to pray.”
Oguntoyinbo also revealed that in fulfilment of her role as the new General Overseer, Mrs Joshua is in full control, having chaired the committee meetings at the beginning. “That way, running of the church efficiently afterwards will be easier. Like we all know, daddy’s shoes are very big shoes, so for us to be able to continue the vision, we have to put proper structure in place. Like Mr Akhigbe said, the committees are working round the clock to ensure that there are no gaps. She attends meetings with us and gives terms of reference to the various committees.”
Asked if she has the personality and spiritual calling to take charge like her late husband did, bearing in mind that church is known for prophesy and miracles?
Akhigbe said, “I’m sure you will be amazed, pleasantly surprised when she takes charge. You can even watch her previous preaching on TV; then the issue of charisma will not even be a question.”
Another prominent member of the church added: “If you see how she has been carrying out deliverances in the past, you won’t ask this question. One of the ways to answer you is when you see action emanating from the person. The wrong impressions some people created in some quarters was that she was a complete novice. That is not true. If you watch Emmanuel TV, you will see her carrying out deliverances, manifesting and all that, even outside Nigeria. She had handled a lot of sermons fantastically. And she’s also intellectually prodigious. So let’s just wait and see. Nothing will be delayed. You may not see church services now, but vigils, fasting; heavy prayers are going on at her insistence.
The takeover intrigues and betrayals
Although barrister Akhigbe played down the widespread news of betrayal, theft and rebellion in the church leadership, as is being widely circulated in the media, some reliable inside sources have insisted that indeed, there is cause for concern.
Responding to a question, Akhigbe said, “Different people with different approaches to different issues or same issues. What you call rebellion, another person may not see it as such. There are bound to be different opinions. This is a democracy. Mrs TB Joshua’s emergence has received acceptability all over the world by members of SCOAN, partners and lovers of the church. There is no rebellion against her emergence because everything followed the provisions of the church’s constitution and people are happy. And we do not anticipate any serious dissenting voice. The majority always have their way.”
Even on the glaring matter of theft before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in which about 20 members of the church are being quizzed, Akhigbe simply said, “We don’t want to go into certain issues that pertain to individuals, except issues that have to do with the church as a legal entity.”
As far as he is concerned and as a member of the legal department, that issue is being handled by a statutory body and he would not like to pre-empt anything.
However, while Akhigbe, due to his profession and position in the church may be shying away from the issues, an inside source in the church insisted that there indeed was a serious theft and looting of the church’s vault alongside serious subversive efforts aimed at seizing control of the church from Late Prophet Joshua’s immediate family.
“The first of such efforts was the looting, which some people even manage to record, where these people were seen, carting away money in ‘Ghana-must-go’ bags.”
The source said this was actually possible because the people temporarily upturned the system and established themselves in control the moment the late prophet’s death was announced.
“Before Baba’s death, there was somebody in charge and no-one dared go to the vault without his instruction; but once Baba was no more, they had access to the facility, relocated and took control of other workers, putting themselves in control and giving instructions.”
In actual fact, the source said some of these people were indeed trusted allies of the late prophet spiritually and administratively.
“When Baba was alive, he put people as coordinator in different places. The telephones, for instance, there were a set of people who handled them. However, when Baba died, and his wife asked for them, it took them long time to hand them over. It wasn’t until people were like, why are you holding unto the late Man of God’s phones? Give it to his wife; that they yielded. And by the time they did, they had wiped off all contacts – local and international, and valuable information on them. Clearly, they were hell bent on making sure the wife couldn’t continue from where her husband stopped.
“You won’t believe that they had even formed themselves into a governing council without taking the wife or his children into consideration. Suddenly, they were portraying them like outsiders. In fact, what they were suggesting was that ‘if any of you needs money, we will give you. If your children want to go to school, we’ll take care of them. Just surrender the place, let us run it. They had taken charge at the mountain and colonised the place. They didn’t even bother about this place (The Synagogue). But these are people who have no legal stand for what they were doing.”
The source went on to reveal that one of them, highly revered in the ministry, was even at head of the plan to sell the aircraft belonging to the church, going as far putting it up for sale without informing the wife.
The Nation also learnt that only one of these people who formed themselves into the church cabal is a member of the Board of Trustees and he did not even know until the prophet passed. This, we learnt, is because his name was only put there last year, and in a circumstance many consider ‘not proper’ – literally to fill a gap.
To now have the same person going to file a suit that the place (Synagogue) should be locked and they be given N100million as compensation for violation of their human rights because they were asked to go without being ready, and claiming to EFCC that he has been a member of the BOT since inception of the church, is simply preposterous.
Our source also said the church has looked at the suit they filed and it is full of legal lacuna.
Despite these atrocities, The Nation learnt that Mrs Joshua, due to her kind nature, was still willing to overlook all and forgive them. She never asked for the key to the vault.
Things however reached a head when one of the prayer warriors who had been contracted and paid to pray for Mrs Joshua and her children to die, so could conveniently take over, came forward to confess personally to her.
“It was at that point that people were now telling her that it’s up to her if she wanted to leave fire on her roof and go to sleep.”
In what may be a subtle suggestion of a foul play, another important source close to the church said: “Do you know they even seized Baba’s corpse and didn’t want the wife to go near it. They were afraid an autopsy would be done. The fact that he was a man of God however prevailed because that would not rub off well on his image as a man of God.”
