The Unfinished Conversation: Five Years of Missing T.B. Joshua BY FEMI OYEWALE

“In life we meet to part, we part to meet, but parting is the sweetest sorrow.”




Five years have vanished like a vapor, yet the echoes of his voice remain as vivid as a morning sunrise. June 5th marks the anniversary of the transition of a man who was not merely a global religious icon, but a father, a mentor, and a beacon of profound simplicity in a complex world. As I pen this, I find myself still navigating the shores of denial. How does one write a tribute to a man whose influence was as vast as the oceans, yet whose heart remained as humble as the desert sands?





The Last Assignment
Time truly flies, but some moments are frozen in the amber of memory. I recall with poignant nostalgia that I was among the final few with whom he spoke before stepping out for his last assignment on the pulpit on June 5,2021.  Unknown to many, we shared an uncommon bond—a father-son relationship that stood the test of time.







Just an hour before that glorious, final ministration, my phone rang. We discussed the fulfillment of prophecies and my planned assignment to South Africa, an assignment he promised to single-handedly finance. By God’s grace, I have traveled the globe, and ninety percent of those journeys were bankrolled by him. Before ending the call, he spoke with finality: “Femi, go and watch it.” I never knew it was a parting shot. I never knew those words would be the threshold of eternity. Perhaps that is why, despite being part of his burial media committee, I lacked the courage to write until today.





From Fear to Faith: The Beginning

My journey to the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) was written in the stars of fate. Then a reporter for Encomium Weekly, under the tutelage of the legendary Mr. Kunle Bakare, I was recommended to handle media work for a “prominent client.” When the name “T.B. Joshua” was mentioned, my heart sank.







Having cut my journalistic teeth under titans like Mr. Femi Adeshina and Mr. Dele Alake, I had heard the tales, stories of monsters, of shape-shifters, of dark magic. As I drove to Ikotun, I recited every Psalm I could muster and texted my parents my destination, unsure if I would return. I arrived expecting a beast; I was introduced to a brother. I met a man so profoundly simple, so devastatingly ordinary in his humility, that if not for his presence on Emmanuel TV, I would have sworn I was meeting an impostor. That was the day the fear died, and a lifelong relationship began.









The Man Behind the Mantle

I am not here to validate a legend; I am here to honor a human. I have been privileged to stand in his office, his personal room, his private altar, and his prayer house. What did I find? Not a demigod, but a man who lived for others.





A Heart of Forgiveness: Like the father in Luke 15, no matter the depth of the offense, a sincere “I am sorry” was all it took to be welcomed back into his fold.


The Weight of Misunderstanding: I remember the pain of the building collapse. He asked me, with tears that shattered my heart, “Femi, can you believe they said I used these people for rituals?” That was the first time I saw the iron man break.


A Channel of Healing: I recall a man brought to the prayer line who had previously declared, “Even if T.B. Joshua is the devil, if he can take this pain away, I am ready.” The moment those words left his lips, the Prophet walked over, touched him, and the healing was instantaneous.


He was a comedian, a teacher, a preacher, and above all, a man who loved his family and his ministry with every fiber of his being. If most clergy possessed even half the global influence he wielded, they would have long ago become arrogant demigods. T.B. Joshua remained, to his last breath, a servant.





A Legacy Enduring

It has been five years, yet it feels like yesterday. Many of those who cast stones in the shadows often came seeking his light in secret. Today, as we remember him, I see that legacy thriving. Prophetess Evelyn Joshua is truly holding the torch, preserving the foundation with grace and strength.





Good morning, Prophet T.B. Joshua. You live on in the lives you changed, the doors you opened, and the heart of your  many disciples who will never forget the man who taught them that true greatness is found in the simplicity of love.







“He was a man globally misunderstood, yet a man whose name alone opened doors globally. He lived for others, and in doing so, he became immortal.”