PASTOR’S DAY WITH THE DOWNTRODDEN

T.B. Joshua showers dwarfs, destitutes with gifts

By SEGUN AJAYI
Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Two-score and five years may not be a landmark age in the reckoning of men.
However, for Pastor T.B. Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN),
birthdays are essential for men to apply their hearts to wisdom and charity works.

Many would have expected the international preacher to attract eminent personalities to join
him in celebrating his 45th birthday, but the man in the Synagogue felt it was time to mingle
with the downtrodden and put smiles on their faces. That was the scenario recently at the
magnificent auditorium of the church, in Ikotun, a Lagos suburb.

The setting was deceptive, to say the least. Some of the early callers would have taken the
exquisite arrangement of the hall as one reserved for nobles and princes. When the guests
arrived eventually, they comprised the wretched-of-the-earth; the blind, lame, lepers, widows,
dwarfs, and their ilk. While they were being treated to a sumptuous lunch, the large screens
and T.V. sets beamed the humanitarian outreach services of the crew of Emmanuel T.V, the
media arm of SCOAN.

From the destitute community in Okobaba, Lagos, and beyond, the news was that of hope
restored to the forsaken. For instance, at Okobaba camp, after a deluge of prayers and deep
appreciations, the residents testified to Joshua’s compassion. Prior to that occasion, the cleric
had been moved by the squalor in which the people lived to provide books, school uniforms,
and a Toyota 18-seater bus to convey their children to school. Also included in the largesse
were bags of rice and cash to fuel the bus and pay the driver.

Beaming with smiles on the occasion, the kids, who wore their uniforms, rushed to the stage
gleefully when Pastor Joshua invited them alongside their invalid parents. The community’s
spokesperson thanked Pastor Joshua for his gesture and for raising their children’s hopes for a
better future. Bemoaning their terrible deprivations and nebulous hope, the community leader
disclosed that a similar fate could befall their offsprings if the church had not intervened.
Their token of gratitude to the man of God was the happy birthday song they performed with
glee.
After attending to Okobaba beneficiaries, other groups touched by Joshua’s benevolence
included members of the Disabled Welfare Association of Nigeria (DWAN), widows, the aged,
dwarfs and reformed criminals.

More pathetic was the conditions of DWAN members, many of who came to the venue on
wheelchairs. Abandoned and forlorn, their leader- cum-spokesperson, Hassan, disclosed that
most of them live under the overhead bridge in front of the National Stadium, Lagos.

“We live from hand-to-mouth,” lamented Hassan, who limped on one leg. However, he said
that their prayers were answered on the day their condition was mentioned before the
Synagogue prophet. He noted that their presence at Joshua’s birthday was the culmination of
their relationship with SCOAN since then. At the end of the presentation, the cleric made a
cash donation of N2.7 million for their rehabilitation, aside paying their house rents. With that,
each person smiled home with at least N50,000 and two bags of rice.

The pastor did not only promise to sustain the effort, he also raised their hopes for spiritual
healing.
Widows who paraded the highest number also recounted their precarious circumstances since
they lost their husbands. Those who spoke lamented that they could not afford basic
necessities, such as feeding, children’s school fees and house rent.

In response to the peculiar needs, Joshua gave bags of rice and N2 million cash to each of the
victims.
On the occasion, dwarfs also stood to be counted. Denied by their families and the society,
the dwarfs said Joshua’s church bore their burdens and gave them a sense of belonging. Led
by their spokesperson, Mr. Ojo Adebayo, a native of Ondo town, the “little men” painted
pathetic details of how the society discriminates against dimunitive people, in social
interaction, jobs, and marriage.

Adebayo, whose stage name is Ikeregbe in Yoruba movies, was accompanied to the church by
his son, Kayode, who, ironically, was not a dwarf. The actor, who demonstrated a sense of
humour, narrated how he lost Kayode’s mother to a taller man. As for his acting profession,
the artiste, who played the role of Toromogbe in a popular television drama, entitled: Arelu,
saw many of the producers as exploiters.

“ I hardly make ends meet. I had no place to lay my head. At a point, I contemplated suicide,
until a friend invited me to Synagogue church.” Some students, among them, also bemoaned
their inability to pay their school fees. Among them, and those who had accommodation
problems, were promised succour by the priest. While Ikeregbe received a cash donation of
N100,000 to secure accommodation, others smiled home with two bags of rice each and cash
donations.

The last people paraded were reformed ex-criminals and social miscreants. They recalled their
lives in the underworld and expressed deep gratitude to the church for accepting them.
According to Joshua, the youths, comprising a musical duo, had undergone training and are
now born-again. Having confessed their sins, with a promise to turn up a new leaf, they were
rehabilitated by the pastor with N50,000, and two bags of rice each. The cleric also promised
to bankroll the debut C.D of the musicians.

As the ceremony progressed, intermittently, Joshua called for empathy from well-meaning
individuals and religious bodies. According to him, the situation in the world has become so
precarious that the church cannot afford to sit on the fence in the area of giving. He reminded
the guests that “Every man was created to solve a human problem. These ones (pointing at
the beneficiaries) are fatherless, so that you can be their father; they are lonely so that you
can be their companion; they lack, so that you can be their benefactor.”

SOURCE: The Sun News, Nigeria

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/citysun/2008/jul/02/citysun-02-07-2008-
003.htm#