The family and community leaders of Arigidi-Akoko, Akoko North-West, Ondo State, Nigeria, the country home of late Prophet T.B. Joshua, have engaged the leaders of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) over the burial of the founder of the church who died last Saturday in Lagos. The community leaders in Ondo State warned that the community would not accept the burial of T.B. Joshua outside the country home.
The Zaki of Arigidi-Akoko, Oba Yisa Olanipekun, on Monday declared that Prophet T. B. Joshua, the late founder and leader of Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), must be buried in Arigidi-Akoko.
Oba Olanipekun in a media interaction said that the wife and the children must not allow the Church to bury T.B. Joshua in Lagos, insisting that the late Prophet is from Arigidi-Akoko town, and they want his remains back home. He cautioned that the people of Arigidi-Akoko would not take it lightly if Joshua is buried elsewhere; reiterating that they are not going to take it from anybody.
The traditional ruler had declared: “I thank God for what God has done. You know, everything that happens in this life, we give glory to God. God is in control. He gives; He takes. He is the one that gave him to us; He has taken him.
“But my belief is that he has finished the job he came for. Yes, that is my belief. We cannot query God. We have to accept whatever happened.
“Pastor T. B. Joshua was a lovely man. He cared for everybody. We are going to miss him so much. We know no leaf that dropped from the tree that God did not know about it.
“But my trouble is that his wife, and the children should not allow them to bury him in Lagos. We are not going to take it lightly.
“He is from this town, and we want him back here.
“I do not have access to the wife, but I am going to talk with her. She is not from here; she can decide anything she wants but we are not going to take it lightly. We are not going to take it from anybody. We have to bury him here.”
Meanwhile, the SCOAN leaders are yet to make a decision on the burial of their founder and leader.