By Dolapo Omole
In the light of recent unfounded and discredited allegations against Prophet TB Joshua, The Lagosian Online invites you to share our recent experience behind the scenes at The Synagogue Church of All Nations, The SCOAN.
Having had the opportunity of meeting one on one with workers at the church, there is indeed an interesting insight into how TB Joshua works and relates with the workers.
One thing is clear: all the workers in their hundreds greatly revere the Man of God. They consider him a father figure. The Lagosian discovered that the SCOAN working environment is like working inside the United Nations. Virtually every continent of the Globe is represented among SCOAN workers. There are North and South Americans, Asians, Australians, Latin Americans, workers from the British Isles, disciples from African countries such as Senegal, Nigeria and South Africa among other nations. There are workers from as far as China, Philippines and Indonesia.
With such amazing diversity, visitors are in for a wonderful experience touring the church premises. And with such conglomeration of many races cultures and work views, one would then wonder how Joshua manages to keep that place working so smoothly. This is a tribute to the man’s leadership skills and charismatic disposition, and surprise surprise, a very soft spot for his workers not easily seen by non attentive observers.
One can safely tell you that TB Joshua is a great manager of men and women. He does it with a fatherly disposition and he has over the years earned the love of most of his workers! Imagine a worker and later henchman from Britain who has been with Joshua for almost two decades! This is a full blood British citizen! All workers call him Daddy and when The Lagosian asked why, the response is always, he treats us like his beloved children.
Such is the strength of the bond between the Prophet and his workers that when our correspondent once asked some of the expatriate workers where they came from, they unblinkingly answered: “We are Nigerians!” Wow! They all see one another as Nigerians. That is another positive side to the TB Joshua phenomenon. Such is the love and respect that they are always ready to identify with the Prophet’s home country. Indeed it is an interesting experience closely observing the behind the scenes at The SCOAN.
The Lagosian also noticed that the staff of SCOAN are always prim and proper. They are always on their toes, moving swiftly to discharge their assigned duties.
During a recent meeting with TB Joshua, The Lagosian noticed the democratic nature with which TB Joshua manages SCOAN. The Reporters of the Lagosian were pleasantly surprised when he called on the workers to stop all activities and give their opinion on a printing project he was about to approve. As the workers spoke, he listened with keen interest and he took each opinion into consideration as he took his final decision. Far from the picture his detractors are trying to paint, TB Joshua, even though always led by the spirit, allows his workers to give their personal input and, often professional experiences. Although vastly experienced, TB Joshua allows his workers to thrive and exercise their talents to the core under a clearly convivial and conducive environment.
When the Lagosian discussed with some of the staff after the meeting, we were informed that the behavior is typical of the man. They spoke about how kind and fatherly he is to them, irrespective of where they are from and what duties they are charged with in the church.
Despite cultural differences and the different personalities, he takes interest in developing a relationship with each worker and he makes sure they feel at home. The workers spoke about how he treats everyone with equity and kindness, and they told the Lagosian his behavior makes them proud to call Nigeria and the SCOAN home.
We observed that his fatherly behavior goes beyond the altar and TV screen. TB Joshua’s behavior has touched the hearts of those working with him and has caused them to emulate his behavior. This eagerness to model the man was evident in the way the Reporters of the Lagosian and other visitors were treated. It is obvious that his leadership style works, because the workers of SCOAN work with passion and love for the job.
A tour of the SCOAN premises and further observation of workers across departments showed that TB Joshua is very interested in the development of his staff. We discovered that staff undergo extensive training both within and outside Nigeria to improve their skills in order to ensure they are at par with their peers across the world. One example is the Emmanuel TV studios. Our reporter was amazed at the skill of many of the workers, especially the indigenous ones who obviously are allowed to understudy the foreign experts in all areas of TV broadcasting. The Lagosian also found out that TB Joshua does not discriminate on the basis of sex, nation or race. Go there and see young women handling highly technical jobs with ease. With one of the world’s most sophisticated equipments place, it must have taken a great mind to inspire these youngsters to doing such wonders, especially expensive and tricky television broadcast equipment.
TB Joshua is truly an inspiring Man of God. Working there, you simply must live and respect this man.
Another example was the wonderful way the recent revival in Sheffield UK was masterfully planned and executed as directed by TB Joshua such that even though the Man of God himself was not at the event, the programme still produced amazing works of miracle under his inspiration.
One cannot but be convinced that the recent dog in the manger disposition of one Bisola Johnson must have come from a truly disturbed and unstable mind indeed. Anyone not able to succeed in this kind of environment really needs to get examined properly.
