Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
A bevy of ladies, very beautiful ladies, strut elegantly into the penthouse presidential
suite at The Synagogue Church of All Nation s where The Spectator team is patiently
waiting, and watching videos of some of the explosive miracles the church has
witnessed in recent times. At this hour, the team is watching the video of the special
thanksgiving service held for the brand new Ghanaian President, Professor John Atta
Mills, on his recent ascendancy to power.
When the door closes behind the ladies, the first thing you notice about Evelyn, the
delectable wife of Prophet TB Joshua, the General Overseer of The Synagogue, Church
Of All Nations, is her infectious radiance and unmistakable enthusiasm. Both
attributes, even more, make her the most powerful, yet most adorable woman in the
spiritual empire that her husband has built. An empire which presidents, kings and
queens, princes and princesses, and assorted dignitaries from across the globe,
routinely throng for their diverse spiritual needs.
Yet, not many among the teeming parishioners, even in the outside world, know that
this absolutely delightful woman is the moving force behind the world acclaimed, yet
much vilified prophet – Temitope Joshua. “Apart from God,” quips one worshipper, her
voice barely audible, “this woman is the next most powerful force behind Prophet TB
Joshua. She is a workaholic. She is a wonderful counsellor. She compliments her
husband.”
Yet this self-effacing beauty carries none of these testimonials like a banner in the
manner of some. Indeed, as the sultry lady struts into the suite, this cool afternoon,
clad in a simple but colourful gown, she carries no emblem that usually typifies a
powerful hand behind the throne. Rather, from the shining beads of sweat on her
temple, you would need no soothsayer to tell you that the woman has been working
herself to the bones. Even as she sinks into a settee opposite the team, an aide still
wants her to attend to a detail. “But I can’t keep these editors waiting,” she retorts
with her velvety voice. “I think that can wait.”
With that, she signals us to begin to fire our question. In one hour, the session is over.
The product of that encounter is the stuff this superlative exclusive is made. Please,
enjoy the interview, the first she has ever granted any Nigerian newspaper. And we
are not blowing our trumpet.
Excerpts:
Your husband made a promise about nine months ago that The Spectator
would be the first Nigerian newspaper you would talk to. After waiting for so
long, we thought it was never going to happen. But it is happening now. So,
let’s start by asking you, how does it feel to be Mrs Evelyn TB Joshua?
I count myself very lucky among women. My husband is a man every woman will want
to have as a husband.
So, how do you cope with his tight schedule? This is somebody who spends
every minute of his life in the church ministering to people’s needs and all
that; and we do know that women need their husbands as much as their
husbands need them.
We are into the same cause. So, I don’t have any difficulties handling that aspect at all
because we are pursuing the same goal. God has so made it that we complement
each other perfectly well in very many ways.
Under him?
Yes, and it is a life-long training. It is a continuous, never-ending training like the
school of life. Of course, as long as we are living, we will continue to strive in God’s
will.
So, how exactly did you meet Prophet TB Joshua? We want to know the year,
the circumstances and all that…
(laughs heartily…) It was around 1989
Or were there some challenges you were facing and for which you needed to
see this man of God?
Not quite so. But I had seen pastors. I worshipped in a church and I had read about
prophets in the Bible, though I had never come across any. But at that particular time,
I needed a guide, sort of.
Spiritual guide?
Yes, a spiritual guide. A counsellor.
Could you tell us the church were you were worshipping before you
suddenly and desperately needed this spiritual guide?
I was in Assemblies of God Church.
If we may take you back, what things were people talking about that made
you get interested in him?
Many things. This one said he prayed for him and things became okay from there.
Another said her life was at a bend but straightened up when she met him. You know,
things like that. So, we went there. Unfortunately, we did not meet him at home. But
looking back now, I thank God that we didn’t meet him that day.
Why?
Because that would have been the end of this story.
So, did the man of God tell you the story of his life?
Yes, of course.
And before then, you had not told him anything about yourself?
No, we were just looking at each other until he, at a time, wrote my name on the piece
of paper. So, we started talking. He told me a lot of things about myself, both things
that I knew, and those that I never knew. I was shocked. He told me about my family,
about my past, my present and my future. Altogether, we spent about 45 minutes. At
the end of the whole thing, he spoke to me in Yoruba and said: Joo ma binu o. Ma ro
pe bi mo se nba gbogbo eniyan ti o ba wa s’odo mi soro ni eleyi o. Mi o ni ale, mi o
dee fee ni ale. Sugbon, se oo fe mi? (Transliterated, this means: Please, don’t be
annoyed. Don’t think this is how I talk to everyone that comes to me. I don’t have a
concubine, and I don’t want to have a concubine. But can you marry me?)
Where?
I don’t know
In his dream?
I don’t know.
Or was it a revelation?
Honestly, I don’t know.
Okay, let’s go back to the time you entered his consulting room. You said
you sat opposite him and looking at each other intensely, I believe. At that
particular moment, what was going on in your mind?
A lot of things. In the first place, I was expecting to see an elderly man.
But instead you saw a dashing, handsome, young man?
(Laughs). Oh yes! That was it.
Wait a minute. Don’t you think that one of your friends could have had
contact with him and told him about you?
Unfortunately, I don’t have friends. As I told you, it was a sister that I visited who took
me there in the first place. So, there is no way anybody could have gone to tell him
about me. And, when I was going there the second time, she wasn’t there. I went
alone.
In what area of your life did you need a guide before you went to him? Was
it on marriage, business etc.? What area?
You know, life is full of challenges. As a young lady, I knew God was there. I have a
Creator and I know He can guide me into the right path. So, I wouldn’t say business or
marriage drove me to him. I just needed someone to guide me into the right path in
life.
What were you doing in the secular world before this time?
Should I say as it was then, so it is now? After my secondary school education, at that
time, you could get a job in a factory or whatever, hoping to be staffed one day. So
after my secondary school education, life was like: today, you are in business;
tomorrow, you are in a printing press, and so on. I think the last place I worked before
I met him was in Nigerian Distilleries in Ota.
I was going to ask what you trained in because you are so fluent in
expression and other things…
(Laughs)
Okay, how were you convinced that he was the man that you were going to
spend the rest of your life with?
When I woke up that very morning, I never knew. But something in me said: ‘Go to the
prophet.’ And when he proposed to me, it was strange, but then, my heart agreed
with it instantly.
Let’s have you talk a little about yourself, when you were born and where,
about your family and where you come from.
I was born about 40 years ago into a family of seven.
What a pity.
There’s no problem. I was born to the late Mr and Mrs Nicholas Akabude in the quiet
town of Okala Okpuno in Oshimili North local government of Delta State. I started my
primary education at St. Emecheta Primary School, Ezi Town, also in Delta State. Years
later, I came to Lagos, that was in 1977, and completed my primary education here at
Orile Primary School, Oshidi, and my secondary education also in Oshodi. That’s all
about my education. But a few years later, my husband sent me to Ghana and I was
able to take some management courses there.
So, in what practical ways has your ministry complemented your husband’s?
I know you are a minister in The Synagogue. What’s your own ministry? Tell
us about your ministry.
It’s the ministry of reconciliation.
In marriage?
In all aspects – parents-children relationships, marriage and things like that. I think
they go hand-in-hand with one another. You can’t actually separate them.
What are the peculiar challenges that face you as Mrs TB Joshua?
Challenges?
Okay, how come you have kept to yourself for so long, because if this is not
your first interview with the press, you’ve granted very negligible few? Or is
it that you dislike the press?
Not really. You said very few, not that I have not granted any.
People believe that there are a lot of myths surrounding your husband. I’ve
been his friend since 1989. I’ve heard people say a lot about him. I’ve seen
people publish a lot of things about him, and they are still publishing. When
you read or hear things that are not palatable being said about your
husband, which ultimately must affect the family – how do you react? Do you
feel any bitterness?
Point of correction – it is not affecting my family, and can never affect my family in
any way because I know my husband, I know who he believes, and I know who I
believe. I don’t have any doubt in my mind and I know that the good work the Lord
has started in him, He will accomplish and complete, in Jesus’ Name.
So, you don’t feel any bitterness when people write negative things about
your husband?
Not at all. I don’t because I know him very well, and I know the God he serves.
The reason I asked that question is because I’ve seen many men of God fall
because of women, money, fame and other extraneous things…
You should know what you believe. Did you get that? As I said, you cannot afford to
fail. There is no other way. So, you must guard against that. And that’s what we’ve
been doing.
Could you tell us, in practical terms, how you’ve been guarding against
that?
The Bible says our heart is the communication point. If the fear of God is registered in
your heart at any time, if you are doing evil, you must know. And so, you must guard
that heart at all times. Anything that is contrary to the will of God, you shouldn’t take
part in it.
Kenneth Hagin wrote in his book about how he fights the temptation of
women. He said his office and his wife’s office are next to each other, and he
said he deliberately made it so. And that at every given time, the two doors
are open so that the wife sees the person he is counselling and he also sees
the person the wife is counselling, just to make sure he fights and defeats
the tendencies of the flesh.
Well, it is God that guides. It is God that protects. How long do you keep on watching
over a man? I mean, as I’ve just told you, I can say that I know him (Prophet TB
Joshua) very well, and I can tell what he is capable of doing. So, that’s no problem at
all. All right?
I was expecting you to tell us what measures you’ve put in place to ensure
that your husband doesn’t fall into the temptation of immorality while
counselling woman…
I don’t take any other measure than to pray for him.
So, what counsel would you give to ministers’ wives as to how they can help
the ministry of their husbands, as to how they can protect and preserve
their homes while serving God and humanity?
The counsel is, be the woman that God has made you to be. Don’t measure yourself
by yourself and don’t live by other people’s standards. Rest in the place God has for
you. Be a good mother to your children and a good wife to your husband, and a
woman of faith to humanity. Whatever situation you face in life, God is saying
something through it and about it.
If this man were not Prophet TB Joshua, would you have married him?
As I told you, apart from being a prophet, I actually saw what I needed in a man. So, it
is not a question of being a prophet. It is about his character, his inner being.
What kind of man did you pray to marry before you met him?
Every woman desires to have a good husband, although appearance is deceptive. But
God looks at the heart. I wanted a God-fearing man, an honest man and a kind-
hearted man. And those are the qualities that I saw in him.
Over the years, you’ve been to many places. What memories do you have of
the places you’ve been to, whether in Nigeria or outside?
Good memories. I’ve been to many places, you are right. After this, I still have
something good to talk about them, about the people and what they receive from the
Lord. We don’t just to because we want to go. We actually visit places because God
wants us to be there. And, when we leave there, there are good things to talk about.
Yes.
I don’t fear anything because I know God is there, and He can handle every situation.
You mean the wife of Prophet TB Joshua can have hard times too?
Because we are human