The article you are about to read was written by Ihechukwu
Njoku, a freelance journalist who writes occasionally for
Emmanuel TV. Read below...
Whether it’s addressing contentious issues on Facebook,
prophesying world calamities or witnessing celebrity
‘deliverances’ in his Lagos-based church, the name of
controversial Nigerian Pastor T.B. Joshua can’t seem to
leave the news of late.
The events of his church service broadcast live via
Emmanuel TV on Sunday 23rd March 2014 proved to be no
different as The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations
(SCOAN) witnessed the confession of two lesbians who said
‘demons’ were behind their lifestyle.
Maria Terese George from Delta State, Nigeria explained
to the congregation that her poverty-stricken background
pushed her to seek help from an older lady. However, she
had ulterior motives in promising to help the attractive 19
year old. “She took me to a club where we went drinking,”
Maria explained while speaking in the packed church. “She
took me to her house and started touching me. Because I
was drunk, I responded.”
The day after this drunken encounter, Maria (pictured above)
had an unusual dream. “A half-naked lady came to me in the
dream and fed me with rice, stew and meat.” Upon waking up,
Maria’s affection for men disappeared and she began to
admire her fellow females. “That was how the spirit of
lesbianism entered me. I noticed that whenever I saw a female
that was busty and curvy, I would always admire their
features... I became a chronic lesbian,” she admitted.
The same lady who introduced her to lesbianism brought her
into a local prostitution ring, assuring her that the riches she
desired could easily be attained. “If I needed money, I would
go to meet men who were very rich – politicians and
businessmen – but if I wanted to enjoy sex or feel ‘real’ love, I
would go for a woman.”
Prostitution led Maria to a neighbouring African country
where her immoral lifestyle seemed only to worsen. However,
resources disappeared as readily as they arrived. After
several years of frustration, she decided it was time to
return to Nigeria.
“When I came back, I called some of my old partners for
connections,” Maria explained. “They started laughing at me
and told me they are now married with kids.” Maria was
perplexed. She never thought it possible for one to leave
lesbianism after tasting it.
“I was confused and asked them what they meant. All four of
them independently told me they went to T.B. Joshua’s church
for deliverance,” much to the delight of the crowd. “Maybe
The SCOAN doesn’t know that they have delivered a lot of
lesbians,” she added.
Making up her mind to visit the church based in Ikotun-Egbe,
Lagos, her resolve was immediately followed by a terrible
nightmare. “That half-naked woman came to me in the dream
and said, ‘Look – you think you can leave me! Go and pick up a
knife and kill yourself.’ ” Upon waking, Maria immediately
packed her bags and left for The SCOAN that morning.
During the church service on Sunday 16th March 2014, one of
T.B. Joshua’s ‘Wise Men’ prayed for Maria and she
experienced the ‘deliverance’ her friends had spoken of. “I
have never experienced that type of thing before! I had gone
to other places for ‘deliverance’ but it didn’t go. That is when
I found myself even craving more for women.” According to
her, when prayed for, she began ‘manifesting’ and a strange
voice spoke through her.
After the ‘deliverance’, Maria testified to a total
transformation. “I no longer have affection for women. When
I see any woman, I don’t feel it again – I see you as a sister or
as my mother. I am seeing myself now as a woman that will
settle with a man.” Advising people, the former lesbian told
the congregation, “This lesbian spirit is a very stubborn spirit
– it takes the grace of God for it to leave you.”
In his comments, T.B. Joshua said, “Don’t hate the people; hate
the act. Jesus loves the sinner but hates the sin. Now you are
delivered, it is time to live in the Word,” he warned Maria.
“Because of Christ, you are delivered – for the salvation of
your soul.”
The story of Nneoma Onyema was not so dissimilar. Running
away from home aged 18 and becoming a hair stylist in Port
Harcourt, Nigeria, a rich lady approached her in the salon one
day. After complimenting her appearance, she gave Nneoma
extra money and invited her to a high profile club.
Intoxicating the teen with alcohol, she awoke the next morning
in bed with the lady carousing her. “She changed my name to
Jennifer and took me to a man who put tattoo of love on my
back,” she explained to the church. Immediately after this
encounter, Nneoma’s affection and attention turned only to
females.
Dancing in a club to make a living, she had no contact
whatsoever with her family who hadn’t heard from her in three
years. However, after being viciously attacked by a girl who
claimed she ‘took’ her girlfriend, a friend advised Nneoma,
whose life was clearly in a mess, to visit T.B. Joshua’s church in
Lagos for help.
“When the Wise Man prayed for me, I felt an electric shock
pulsating through my entire body” Nneoma recounted her
experience. The ‘demon’ that spoke through the young Nigerian
said it was ‘a great lesbian’ and had tormented her life.
In a remarkable twist of fate, Nneoma’s brother Emmanuel
who had not seen her for three years was in The SCOAN
congregation that very day. “I always used to put Nneoma’s
picture on the screen of Emmanuel TV when T.B. Joshua
prayed. I was so shocked to see her in the church that day,”
Emmanuel explained, adding that he was hearing this
confession from Nneoma for the very first time. T.B. Joshua
pledged to support Nneoma in her education so as to enable
her to start a new life.
In the wake of Nigeria’s recent anti-gay law, T.B. Joshua
courted controversy in January 2014 when he declared that
homosexuals should not be condemned.
“Judge not, so that you will not be judged. We should talk to
people to be saved and not to die. I mean, we should talk
salvation, not condemnation. The Bible is my standard,” he said
in a Facebook post.
“God hates sin, not sinners. When I say, ‘Do not judge so that
you will not be judged’, I mean we should hate sin, not the
sinner because sinners can change. If you have killed a sinner
by judging him, there will be no opportunity for change.
Sinners can be delivered. We should hate the act, not the
people because our battle is not against flesh and blood but
against the ‘spirit beings’ that cause all these acts.”
He clearly distanced himself however from the nation that he
supported a homosexual lifestyle, saying, “If my parents were
one, I would not have been given birth to. Those that are
asking this question – if your parents were one, you would not
have been given birth to. You that are reading me – if your
parents were one, you would not be reading this today. God
bless the reader and the hearer.”
Ihechukwu Njoku is a freelance Nigerian journalist
currently in London, UK
No comments:
Post a Comment