A Man, a Church, and the Exploitation of Vulnerable Congregations

The BBC documentary functions as a critique of SCOAN and, by extension, TB Joshua. However, TB Joshua did not exist in a vacuum. Rather his ministry stems from a type of Protestantism that has become endemic to the African continent. From pastors in Kenya forcing their populations to starve themselves to death to South African pastors feeding their congregants snakes. The rise and prominence of TB Joshua-esque pastors has led to several governments attempting to regulate churches.

In a time where scores of people across the world are turning their back on religion, maybe it is necessary to consider why the prosperity gospel church continues to find a foothold on this continent. TB Joshua’s ministry drew from a tradition of Black and African Protestantism that promises heavenly relief in a world marred with structural oppression, impoverishment and illness. As such, TB Joshua and SCOAN exist largely because of the society in which TB Joshua built his ministry. It is essential to consider his legacy because it provides valuable insight into the role of evangelical Christianity in Nigeria and how SCOAN and similar churches provide the moral direction for a society whose ills reverberates in the church. It is equally worth examining the racial and colonial histories that enabled the creation of SCOAN within the larger framework of evangelical Christianity, the vast wealth and political power that TB Joshua and pastors similar to him go on to amass in the name of God and the function that SCOAN and similar religious institutions play in our society.