Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua (TB Joshua) was a Nigerian pastor, televangelist, and philanthropist who was popularly known for organizing “miracle”, “healing” and “deliverance” programs.
TB Joshua was the leader and founder of The Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN) which also broadcasted live on Emmanuel TV which runs from Lagos, Southern Nigeria, both on digital and terrestrial platforms.
He was born on June 12, 1963, in Ondo State, Nigeria. According to the website of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Joshua remained in his mother’s womb for 15 months before he was born.
TB Joshua drops out of secondary school
Prophet Joshua attended St. Stephen’s Anglican Primary School (Ikare-Akoko, Nigeria, 1971-1977). Unfortunately, he couldn’t complete his secondary school education as he dropped out to work on a certain poultry farm.
In his short stay at school, he was known as a ‘small pastor’ because;of his love for the Bible and ability to predict things that will happen in the;community, according to the SCOAN website. He was also the leader of the ‘Scripture Union’ during the time he was in school.
T. B Joshua later founded the Synagogue, Church of All Nations in 1987 with just few members and later grew to become an international church that has members from all over the world. That notwithstanding, Prophet T.B Joshua is very popular across Africa and Latin America.
In 2009, T.B Joshua started a football club, ‘My People FC’ as part of his efforts to help the youth. It is worth mentioning that two members of the team, Sani Emmanuel and Ogenyi Onazi play for Nigeria Golden Eaglets for the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Already, three players earned sponsorship abroad to play professional football in Sweden.
In 2011, One contributor of Forbes reported that Temitope Joshua is the third-richest pastor in Nigeria with an estimated net worth: $10 million – $15 million.
Controversies surrounding TB Joshua
However, TB Joshua has been in the news for some controversial issues. There have been some controversies about the teachings and practices of T.B Joshua. Some people have heavily criticized him for the large number of alleged miracles that take place in his meetings.
It can be recalled that in 2017, Pastor and popular televangelist in Nigeria, Chris Okotie, accused Prophet Joshua of “shamanist practices”.
However, Femi Fani-Kayode who is the former Minister of Aviation for Nigeria and a close friend of T.B Joshua cautioned Pastor Chris to stop attacking Prophet Joshua.
Also, Christian critics have often referred to T. B. Joshua’s unorthodox methods that it doesn’t conform to the Bible. Due to this, The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), the umbrella association of Nigerian Pentecostal Churches, didn’t agree for the Synagogue Church to be part of them.
Aside this, it can be recalled that in April 2021, YouTube suspended Emmanuel TV channel from it’s platform for being accused of hate speech after a deliverance video that showed Prophet Joshua delivering some people from ‘gay spirit’.
Later Facebook removed all the videos that showed T.B Joshua delivering people from ‘gay sprit’ which he called “the spirit of woman”
Check out some famous quotes of T.B Joshua
“If you have not tasted poverty, you will not be able to manage blessing when it comes. If you have not tasted humiliation, you will not be able to manage honor when it comes”.
“You will begin to succeed with your life when the pains and problems of others matter to you”.
“As a Christian, when your trial is getting hotter, you are getting closer to your breakthrough! Keep pressing”.
“I have never seen where hatred overcomes love. When you love, you overcome. Love is the most powerful weapon”.
“My calmness is peace of heart, which reflects in the life I live. This peace of heart is the source that calms the storm”.
Read also: TB Joshua dies at 57
