LAGOS,
Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian televangelist whose exuberant followers across Africa
and beyond believe he has powers of healing and prophesy is now under scrutiny
after one of his buildings collapsed, killing at least 70 people.
Following
the disaster, officials charged that church workers obstructed rescue efforts.
The exact
circumstances of the collapse as well as the death toll remained unclear on
Wednesday, five days after the disaster at a multistory guesthouse and shopping
area for T.B. Joshua's Synagogue, Church of All Nations, on the outskirts of
Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital.
South
Africa, which said 67 of its nationals died and dozens were injured, was
struggling to glean information from the scene and to answer the desperate
inquiries of people whose relatives had flown to the West African nation to
experience the evangelical Joshua's preaching and faith healing.
Mpho
Molebatsi, 25, expressed frustration about the lack of information while
waiting with his mother at the main international airport in Johannesburg,
where flights arrive daily from Nigeria. His sister traveled to the Nigerian
church last week and Molebatsi hadn't heard from her since they spoke on
Friday, the day the building collapsed.
"I
think they are trying to keep the T.B. Joshua image alive," Molebatsi
said, speculating that the church was trying to shirk responsibility.
A rescue worker
takes part in the search of the rubble of a collapsed building belonging to the
Syna …
While
Nigerian government officials said shoddy construction was a possible cause,
Joshua suggested Islamic extremists who are active in Nigeria were responsible.
He sought to rally the faithful with a Facebook message about resilience.
"Hard
times may test me, they cannot destroy me," the message read.
Joshua's
church has branches around the world, attracts African political leaders and
hosts gatherings of thousands during which the preacher places his hands on
worshippers, who spin in circles and collapse on the ground. Critics say the
televangelist hinders efforts to curtail AIDS and tuberculosis with testimonies
by church-goers that faith and his holy water can cure both diseases.
To bolster
allegations of an attack on the building that collapsed, Joshua's television
station, Emmanuel TV, showed security camera video of what it says was a
"strange aircraft" flying low over the building four times before the
structure plunges into the ground in seconds, startling pedestrians in the
foreground.
The
"steel structures" of the building failed, said Bede Obayi, head of
inspection and compliance for the Standard Organization, a Nigerian state
regulatory body. Workers added two floors onto the original four-story
structure, according to officials.
Rescue
workers search for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building belonging to
the Synagogue …
"We
need to look at whether, because of the number of people needing to be
accommodated, they added more floors without looking at the foundation,"
Obayi said. His agency is investigating the collapses this year of more than 10
multistory buildings in Nigeria, where corruption in the construction industry
sometimes leads contractors to take short cuts and use substandard products.
Another
official, Ibrahim Farinloye of the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency, said
church representatives had not cooperated, at least initially, with rescuers
heading to the site, possibly slowing the effort to find survivors.
Church
officials, said by former disciples to exercise tight control over members,
have not responded directly to the allegation. On Tuesday, a woman who answered
the telephone at the church would not give her name and would only say that the
situation was under control.
Farinloye
has said 70 bodies were recovered from the rubble, but it was not clear whether
the bodies were those South Africans or were a different group. Rescuers were
using sniffer dogs in their search for survivors as well as bodies, he said.
Joshua
stands out in Nigeria, a country of 170 million where various forms of
evangelical Christianity are followed passionately. The church on the outskirts
of Lagos, where the building collapsed, has restaurants, overflow tents for
thousands and dorms for visitors, who all hope for spiritual guidance from the
man known to followers as "the prophet."
"The
gospel needs to be preached all over the world," Joshua said in an
interview earlier this year with The Associated Press. "You cannot light a
candle and put it under a roof."
Torchia
reported from Johannesburg. Associated Press writers Carley Petesch and
Michelle Faul contributed from Johannesburg.
Benetine 32
minutes ago
Although Nigeria leaders wants nothing less than to commit all sorts of
mortal sins—not to mention an uncountable number of venial ones—I want this
letter to speak a language of retaliation, not reconciliation, Maybe you
probably never understand why this leaders scares me so much. Let start.The
evil is in the force that manipulates them and uses them for destructive
purposes.
This leaders are not human but Demons with, their Boko Haram friends.I
just want to say that if this leaders thinks that boko haram must be abolished
in order for people to be more secure and comfortable then maybe they also
should lay off the wacky to backy corrupt minds in them too.If they thinks that
they can make us turn to a live of crime then they are barking up the wrong
trees.They keeps insisting that Nigerians can be happy only when their boko
haram terrorist group are given full arms.Why does this leaders insist on boring
holes in the hull of the very boat in which they themselves are also
passenger?”A long time ago I wrote that “the best way to invite all the people
who have been harmed by NIGERIA to continue to express and assert their
concerns in a constructive and productive fashion is to fight for what is
right”.What is that, that is right? the freedom of Biafran people.We must open
students' eyes, minds, hearts, and souls to the world around them. If we fail
then all of our sacrifices and all of the dreams and sacrifices of our
ancestors heroes and heroines will been in vain. Godforbid,We will not fail.In
closing, remember we must work together to open peoples' eyes, minds, hearts,
and souls to understand the meaning of our Biafra struggle . Together, we can
make a difference. Forever and always. God bless Biafra.
Muhammad 25
minutes ago
Whatever the shot comings of the televangelist may be, the true
situation os the utter failure of the authorities to provide anything near
reasonable on-healthcare delivery to the populace. The Preacher is just an
astute business-savvy televangelist who like many others capitalised on the
executive failure to generate funds and profits using the name of religion.
Why was there any standard to enforce on the buildings? Who supervised
and approved the building plan? This is not in anyway to excuse any failures
and culpability on the televangelist but the Nigerian situation is such that
anything goes because the executive has failed in every respect even the
mundane right to "law and order", hey only show up when they want rig
elections or pass-bye with their convoys. Why stories have it that Patrick
Sawyer who brought Ebola to Nigeria actually was on his to the Preacher for
prayers to cure him' that is how informed we are!
nadya 4
hours ago
T.B. Joshua is under suspicion of serial child
rape,they only reason he hasnt been arrested is because the police and the
government worry about civil strife and riots.2 parents have come forward in
the last couple of months but still the gov’t and the local police refuse to
investigate TB JOSHUA...THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THIS PEDOPHILE IS FOR HIM TO BE
KILLED AND IM SURE THE SOUTH AFRICANS ARE PLANNING THAT RIGHT NOW...THIS MAN
HAS HURT WAY TO MANY PEOPLE TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THIS MUCH POWER...
Sad is Africa. Prophets, pastors and the likes of men in cloth, taking
the money from the poor. However sad this collapse is, no stone should be left
un-turned to find the civil engineer who went ahead with the construction. Oh
Africa, how I cry for my brothers and sisters that flock to these mass
churches. Seek the small houses of God where the preacher is poor like us,
giving us comfort. The last prophet was Mohammed; Jesus said it.
Wake up my African family. These pastors, prophets and preachers of mass
churches seek luxury at our expense. We tithe and they buy gold and luxury
cars, live in mansions and prey on you, not pray for you. The very bible that
we read warns us about the wolf in sheep-clothes. It's time to stand up and be
accountable to God, for our Heavenly Father will ask that of you when you meet
your Maker. "Why did you wander when I made it clear" is the question
that will condemn you to hell when God asks you that very question.
Benetine 31
minutes ago
Where, oh
where, should I begin telling you about how stolid Nigeria is? How about here: Like
many of you, I am sick and tired of being a Nigerian,That is why iam calling
the free world to hear me, Since 47 years ago, Nigeria is not longer a country
but a group of people, our leaders are evil and corrupt, our pastors have turn
to jet owners and the church members have no money to send their children to
school, our nollywood actors are now turning to politicians, our university
graduate have no job, our youths have turn to kidnappers, our soldiers are
working with boko harams terrorist group, our streets are dirty and our roads
are full of accident, our buses have no break, our police offices are busy
collecting money from us, our girls have turn to prostitude, our children are
orange, banana and pure water hawkers in the street, our president is confused man.
We must bring NIGERIA to justice. we most let the free world know this, that
Nigeria has not invents or originates nothing over the past 60 years, you
should know that our ex governors belong to jail, Nothing unites people like a
common enemy. That is why I would encourage Biafrans to take some shots of
their own at Nigeria boko haram terrorist group by reprimanding them for
destroying our christian believe. study and listen to radio biafra, Well,
Nigeria leaders, we're all getting a little tired of you people and this kind
messing up the Nigerians and then refusing to accept responsibility for what
you have done. We're fed up. And the day is coming when all of you be held
accountable for your inaniloquent threats. God bless Biafra.
TJ 34
minutes ago
In Africa,
it's the dumb leading the dumber. When things fail, they call the west for
handouts. At least they can't blame their failures on discrimination like the
blacks do living in the west.
fd f 19
minutes ago
Get these fake Christian preachers out of Africa. Now is the time Africa
should be taking its resources back from conquest for good, not these
shenanigans. For God's sake-in addition, any photo of a fake "white"
Jesus (pure fabrication) in Africa should be burned. The first churches were in
Ethiopia anyway-get that #$%$ off the continent. It is meant to soften you and
call another man, your enemy, God.
1 day ago
If something
good had happened, believers would attribute it to God. So much so that if
someone claimed it was due to human strength, believers would rebuke him/her as
very prideful. Ironically, now that it's a tragic thing, the same believers
will NOT blame God. They'll instead blame man/satan/evil/just about anything "under
the sun".
The sad thing for me is that this leaves no room to logically scrutinize "God". It corrupts every attempt to evaluate if "God" does the things the claim him/her to have promised. Logically, that means anyone can create/imagine anything/one to be "God" and so it/he/she will be - as long as the same is absolved of any responsibilities for failure but praised for success. Take for instance, if someone tell us that person X is "God". Whenever this person "predicts" events and they DO happen (by pure coincidence), an unsuspecting audience (believers) will praise this "God". But whenever the events DO NOT happen, the promoters instead blame the audience or the any other thing (evil of the audience, wrongs of the forefathers of the audience, etc). Do you realize that the promoters will have successfully created "a powerful God"? I mean, he/she "follows through with his promise and fails not".
The concept/being of God would have been a lot more credible if it/he/she would be secure enough to pass logical scrutiny. Perhaps, the ease of "creating" one is the reason the 7.2 billion poeple in the world subscribe to more than 3 million "gods"/faiths. The sad part is that the poor who live a life of hand to mouth will always be foolish enough to forgo their subsistence livelihood and save the same in order to foot the bills of faith leaders who live very extravagant lives.
The sad thing for me is that this leaves no room to logically scrutinize "God". It corrupts every attempt to evaluate if "God" does the things the claim him/her to have promised. Logically, that means anyone can create/imagine anything/one to be "God" and so it/he/she will be - as long as the same is absolved of any responsibilities for failure but praised for success. Take for instance, if someone tell us that person X is "God". Whenever this person "predicts" events and they DO happen (by pure coincidence), an unsuspecting audience (believers) will praise this "God". But whenever the events DO NOT happen, the promoters instead blame the audience or the any other thing (evil of the audience, wrongs of the forefathers of the audience, etc). Do you realize that the promoters will have successfully created "a powerful God"? I mean, he/she "follows through with his promise and fails not".
The concept/being of God would have been a lot more credible if it/he/she would be secure enough to pass logical scrutiny. Perhaps, the ease of "creating" one is the reason the 7.2 billion poeple in the world subscribe to more than 3 million "gods"/faiths. The sad part is that the poor who live a life of hand to mouth will always be foolish enough to forgo their subsistence livelihood and save the same in order to foot the bills of faith leaders who live very extravagant lives.
3Lhay 1 day
ago
I have no
issues with his claim of an aircraft hovering over the building before its
eventual collapse, but those cctv camera should be reviewed and check for their
possibility of capturing the sky instead of capturing the ground activities at
every possible angle especially for those that rotates. RIP to the lost soul
who went for healings but were sent to an early grave.
delford 1
day ago
When things
like this happens, we do not want to blame anyone. No one will feel happy to
see people dying that way. We need words that will comfort those who lost their
beloved ones. We do not want to go into details of what happened before we know
the truth. We also appeal to the media to give us correct information.
3Lhay 1 day ago
I have no
issues with his claim of an aircraft hovering over the building before its
eventual collapse, but those cctv camera should be reviewed and check for their
possibility of capturing the sky instead of capturing the ground activities at
every possible angle especially for those that rotates. RIP to the lost soul
who went for healings but were sent to an early grave.
delford 1
day ago
When things
like this happens, we do not want to blame anyone. No one will feel happy to
see people dying that way. We need words that will comfort those who lost their
beloved ones. We do not want to go into details of what happened before we know
the truth. We also appeal to the media to give us correct information.
Dinky 1 day
ago
May the
Grace of God be with those who lost their lives whilst trying to gain freedom
from darkness. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased.
Nothing we do or say can bringback your loved ones. As fellows Christians we
are with you in prayers-May you find peace through the Grace of Our Lord Jesus
Christ. To all the followers of Jesus Christ and particularly those of us who
believe in the teachings of Senior Prophet TB Joshua; We know the truth and it
is in times like these that we have to be strong in prayers to cover the
ministry and our Spiritual Father with prayers. Bretheren Good Morning to You
all!! This too shall pass but darkness can never and shall never chase darkness...only
light can do that. TB Joshua is a true man of God, I have seen it manifest in
my life. All truth shall come out in the wash eventually. It is a pity that
lives are lost in this instance but many lives have been saved at SCOAN not
only at this point but many times. The death of loved ones can never be
justified and my heart goes out to those who lost lives. May you find comfort
in His
Grace.
Wonder
Munyanyi 22 hours ago
Karl Marx
was right. Religion is the opium of the people. This very very rich man who
claims to be a prophet cannot even solve problems in his country. Boko Haram
kidnapped those innocent girls and he cannot tell us where they are. Jesus
Christ was a friend of the poor and lived a simple life. This man lives in
obscene opulence and vulgar luxury by using the name of God. He should be
arrested for trying to defeat the course of justice by not cooperating with
authorities when the building collapsed. The relatives
of the deceased should sue him to his last penny. Bloody thief and wolf in sheep's clothing. When people are beset with HIV, Ebola and serious economic problems, they end up believing anything. Enter charlatans like him. If heaven exists, God should grill his stomach on the day of judgement.
of the deceased should sue him to his last penny. Bloody thief and wolf in sheep's clothing. When people are beset with HIV, Ebola and serious economic problems, they end up believing anything. Enter charlatans like him. If heaven exists, God should grill his stomach on the day of judgement.
Jeff 1 day
ago
This would
be laughable if it were not so tragic. Another Religious Delusional Nut Job
that needs to get a real job, like digging through the rubble to try and help
any possible survivors.
Clokdok 11
hours ago
"You
cannot light a candle and put it under a roof." Well, not under a roof
this guy built, for sure.
dumisani 1
hour ago
Why couldn't
he prophesy the colaps of the building and death of the people before-hand!?
FirstName 14
minutes ago
"...followers
across Africa and beyond believe he has powers of healing and prophesy..."
This kind of third-world ignorance and stupidity also persists in first-world
countries like the U.S.
inanila 41
minutes ago
may God help
all of you
Iso 4 hours
ago
It was
better for Nigeria and the world if TD Joshua had died in the building
collapse, then he would have gone to heaven to meet his god
Apostate 9
hours ago
As reprehensible as Boko
Haram is, you can't blame them for EVERY misfortune in Nigeria. That this
so-called "prophet" even attempted it would be hilarious if not for
the tragic circumstances.
Apostle
Rubie James - Author Jewels Prophet 12 hours ago
In this
case, it seems like "lighting a lamp and putting it under a bushel
(bowl)" would be safer...
Nel 21 hours
ago
This is OH
so funny!HaHa!
PATRICK
MVALWANA 2 hours ago
T.B Joshua
since they say he can wake the dead am sure he can start with 67 people of SA
that have died in his church ..I would love to see if he is a real deal by
starting his miracle with those who are dead..& I heard the guy years ago
predicted an Aircraft in ASIA that it will crush or something but it happen
what he predicted but my biggest question is this pastor T.B JOSHOU is he a
Satanism or is he a real pastor??? if he is a real deal then we don't have to
worry about the dead people he will wake them like he can cure a patient with
AIDS (An Internal Disease Stress) or HIV (High Inverted Virus)
Bernard 1
hour ago
This is a
tragedy for SCOAN and all those who lost loved ones. I am a confident member of
SCOAN not through any member of the church but through divine
revelation. Prophet TB Joshua is
