TB JOSHUA’S SYNAGOGUE CHURCH-THE TOURISM DIMENSION

TB JOSHUA’S SYNAGOGUE CHURCH-THE TOURISM DIMENSION

BY SOLA OJEWUSI

So much has been said and written about Prophet T.B Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN. In fact yours sincerely is one of the earliest journalists to have been to, seen and written about this international organization at the early stages of its trajectory. Then, because of the novelty of the Prophet’s styles, so much has been said and deduced around the nation and the world. But in spite of the shenanigans, the hear-says and style-criticism of this interesting church, one way or the other has mushroomed from seemingly primitive beginning to an international phenomenon. In those days mischievous critics and stay-at-home writers had dubbed T.B Joshua “primitive,’’ ’’uneducated’’,’’rash’’,’’satanic’’etc. Due to the astounding works of miracles in the church, some believed Joshua must have been possessed of evil powers to be able to inspire such dumbfounding facts in God’s name. But as Joshua’s Yoruba ancestors would say, everything has changed his name to ‘’Eebudola’’ meaning soughly ‘’critism has morphed into honour’’ or ‘’adversity has led to success’’. And for those who see ‘’evil in the many goods emanating from this church the question is: can evil be fighting against such evil as diseases, poverty, broken homes, depression etc as Joshua is doing? Today every nooks and crannies of the globe with access to cable TV has hooked to this Nigerian icon. Presidents, potentates, business gurus, entertainment and showbiz giants etc have continued to mingle with ordinary folks to throng the synagogue from all corners of the world.

More than many other national institutions, the T.B Joshua led SCOAN has brought so much pride to Nigeria; so much respect and impression that Nigerians could really be good people. Every day you visit the church, you meet hundreds tourists from around the world coming for one spiritual issue or the other while many also visit just to experience the joy of this Nigerian phenomenon. At a time when Nigeria’s image has been battered by the dastardly outrage of the Boko Haram lunatics, the synagogue is one of the outstanding oases of hope for the Nigerian image. Yours sincerely has been called by friends from around the world for information that could better enlighten them about the church. Visit the SCOAN website or Facebook page and you would be pleasantly shocked by thousands of posts from fellow Africans and other citizens of the world expressing warm, heartfelt impressions and goodwill about our nation as exemplified by the T.B Joshua example.

Now, I wonder what my compatriots at the Federal and State tourism organizations are doing to recognize this ‘hidden’ tourism treasure and explore its fantastic opportunities to further boost the image of Nigeria. So much has been done in the tourism ministries to promote the image of Nigeria at home and abroad without any seriously positive and discernible outcome. We spend millions on tourism fairs, gatherings and events worldwide yearly with trickles coming as dividends. Have we really considered the tourism potentials of places like the synagogue? This is not necessarily about religion. The Yorubas would say ‘’if your masquerade dances well, one would be elated’’. In bringing positive light upon our nation around the world, in attracting thousands of foreign visitors to Lagos; visitors who come here to see the good side of our land and relatively boost our economy while also boosting their personal spiritual well-being, the synagogue has helped advance our tourism industry. The earlier the tourism authorities found a way of reaching out to institutions like this for collaboration and ideas exchanges the better for us. 

Tourism is a money-spinner for countries that value it and explore its many ramifications. Saudi Arabia, Italy, India and China have earned much from religious tourism through the Hajj, the Vatican and Catholicism etc. What stops Nigerians from encouraging religious tourism, cashing in on the leading light already provided by the Synagogue Church of All Nations? The Redeemed Church is also helping in this through the influx of foreign visitors during its Holy Ghost Congress. But the Synagogue, to me, is unique in its clearly daily hosting of throngs of visitors from around the world. T.B Joshua has been honored with the Officer of the Federal Republic OFR award by the late President Yar A’dua for his contributions. I think our tourism authorities should work with icons like Joshua to further boost the image of Nigeria. One clue? The synagogue’s Emmanuel TV, seen around the world, can be used as a medium to further advertise the good things that would keep drawing people from around the world just like the synagogue church is doing.