TB JOSHUA’S DEATH: Ikotun-Egbe Residents Recounts Their Losses

• Following the demise of the cleric, who some people described as controversial, businesses within and around his church are already experiencing downturn and difficult time.

Two weeks after the death of the founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua, residents of Ikotun-Egbe community in Alimosho Local Government Area, LGA, of Lagos State, are already counting their losses.

TB Joshua, as he was popularly known, died on Saturday, June 5, 2021, at the age of 57.

Following the demise of the cleric, businesses within and around his church are already experiencing downturn and difficult time.

Residents whose means of livelihood are tied to the activities of the church said he was a huge blessing.

The popularity of SCOAN attracted worshippers from within and outside Nigeria. Those who besieged the church believed that if they could have the opportunity to meet and be prayed for by the late cleric, their problems would be over.

Adekunle, who resides in Ikotun attested to this. In his words, “TB Joshua had so many followers. He had so many people that believed in him. In fact, they believed he was their second God.

“They believed that no matter the situation they were in, if they could just see him, their problems would be over and it worked for them.

“When worshippers come to see Prophet Joshua, they are required to register and wait for their turn. To see the man of God usually takes weeks or months.

“So while you wait for your turn, you will need shelter, you will need food and other basic things and these needs now became business opportunities for those of us who trying to provide these services.

“What this means is that the more people visited and the longer they stayed, the more business owners smiled to the bank,” he said.

Read Also: Actress Jaiye Kuti Reveals She Was Visited By The Spirit Of Late TB Joshua

The influx of people enabled establishment and growth of many businesses especially in the hospitality industry.

In a bid to provide shelter and accommodation for the teeming visitors, many people ventured into hotel business.

Residents who spoke to EkoHotBlog said there were over 200 of all categories of hotels and guest houses within and around Ikotun-Egbe.

Because of how ubiquitous hotels are around the communities, a respondent noted that the entire area was about to be turned to a hotel region.

Semiu a Room Attendant at Pavillion Hotel said, “Every day you see new hotels springing up. Big men were coming from outside to buy properties here. They bought old houses, demolished them and built hotels. I think there were plans to convert this whole area to hotels.

“Even with this huge number of hotels in the area, it was still not enough to cater for the accommodation needs of surging tourists that besieged SCOAN premises daily,” he said.

Mr Dawodu, a hotelier in the area made it known that the house letting came in two ways – those who operated it as business and those that let occasionally.

According to him, “Business oriented ones regarded themselves as semi-guest houses. They have single rooms for those that desired privacy and it could cost as high as N3, 000 per night. They also have open rooms (sitting rooms converted to hostels) with about 10 pieces of 2 by 6 mattresses. With N1, 000, one can secure a bed here for a night.

“On the other, many families let out theirs occasionally. They vacate their rooms for strangers for an amount ranging from N1, 000 to N3, 000. Those who could not let out their rooms allow squatters sleep on couches in sitting rooms for about N1, 000,” he added.

However, the death of Prophet TB Joshua has, however, dealt a huge blow to businesses that rely on the church for survival. Business owners have started counting their losses as there has been a sharp decline in the number of visitors, resulting to low patronage.

From street food vendors to fast food centers and hotels, the story was same.

A chief chef at Sweet Savor Hotel and Suites, Mr Daniel, said the death of the popular cleric was already impacting negatively on their business.

He disclosed that since he started working in the hotel, there was never a day the hotel was not fully booked.

“But everything has changed now. Since the news of TB Joshua’s death, our rooms are rarely fully booked”, he said.

“As chef in this hotel, I do make dishes, especially continental foods, till 2am every day because of the number of customers we attend to.

“We have to satisfy our guests who are mostly foreigners. I cannot tell you how much we make daily from the rooms, restaurant and other services because I am not the accountant or auditor.

“However, to have an idea of how much we make, we have about 36 rooms here and our cheapest rooms are N15, 000. “We also have rooms that cost as high as N30, 000 per night and people were staying up to six months. Before now, if you come to our hotel on a Monday, you may not be able to get a room for the week because all our rooms are usually booked for the week before Monday. I must be honest with you, we were making money”.

Similarly, a hotelier who did not want his name in print bemoaned low patronage since the sad incident occurred.

“You can see how everywhere is quiet. This is not how it used to be. If you had come here by this time two weeks ago, you would see people moving around, people going out and coming in, but since Prophet passed on, activities were at standstill and it is affecting us.”

Meanwhile, the residents of Ikotun and Egbe communities are not giving in to despair over the death of their greatest benefactor.

They are very optimistic that whoever that would succeed the late prophet would be more powerful and do greater miracles.

“Though TB Joshua is dead, I believe it will get better. The way I look at it is that somebody who is greater will take over”, a resident prayed.

“Our prayer is for God to give us somebody who will be greater than TB Joshua to attract more worshippers from all over the world to the Synagogue. What we want to see is somebody who is more powerful than Joshua. If his successor is powerful, testimonies will spread and people will start trooping in again”, Daniel, on his part, said.

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