The Ten Pains Of Death: Unmasking The Church Mafia In Nigeria -By Dr. Obuba Ndukwe II

The committal to earth yesterday of Prophet T. B. Joshua, confirmed to me of the existence of a mafia in the hierarchy of churches in Nigeria. As a caveat, may I say that during his lifetime I was not a fan of the prophet. As an ordained minister of the gospel, I am more inclined to liberation theological free-flow than liturgical conservative officialdom. My outlook is that with the shredding of the temple veil upon the yielding of the spirit of Jesus Christ back to the Godhead, the ministry of the word and sacraments was thrown open to all those willing to partake. Please note that I do not belittle the need for training and order, my point is that the calling became liberalized. Not just for people from the tribe of Levi. But to both the circumcised and uncircumcised alike. Not just for a particular sect, denomination or class!

My interest is not how many foremost General Overseers (GOs), Superintendents or Senior Pastors that attended the funeral but the narrative supporting their absence. That the late prophet was not of the same stock. That he refused to subject himself to the scrutiny of either the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria or Christian Association of Nigeria. That is some kind of peer review mechanics. In fact the chief allegation was that he had no ‘father’ amongst them. This their position made me to become interested in the affairs of the Synagogue Church of all Nations. In fact his choice of name for the ministerial enterprise shocked these people the more. The common ground for his detractors was his story. They were exacerbated that TB said he became ‘born again’ in his mother’s womb. Of a truth in acceptable Pentecostal understanding, you cannot say you were born again as an unborn child. This to me was a notion that he needed to be disabused from like Nicodemus. Not to entirely condemn his own position. Brother Joshua fell into the trap of the Sanhedrin!

T.B Joshua

In the days of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the hierarchy of the priesthood and sects operated as a mafia. They asked the same questions of who his father-in-the-ministry was. They refused to accept him! He was just the foster child of a carpenter. He carried the stigma of immaculate conception. They all knew Virgin Mary’s story. That Joseph the carpenter agreed to the instructions of the angel not to put her away did not resolve their doubts. Talk of the mafia- they had the information about the controversial circumstances of his birth, so to them it was their closely guarded secret. The mafia operates in secrecy. You must have a link- a guarantor for you to join. That is the basic principle of closed groups. You must be introduced for you to be initiated. If not you are on your own! Mr. Temitope was on his own if he could not point to a benefactor to be accepted into mainstream pentecostal circuit. What a pity.

For the sake of clarity and also my sanity, I for one, did not come to terms of TB’s style of bringing about his miracles of deliverance and healing. In plain language some of it looked were weird. The slanting mimicking…the slapping of foreheads, kicking in the air etc. For a regular minister, it looked outrageous. However also put it to mind, that our Lord and Master Jesus Christ did perform some miracles outlandishly like turning water in wine, spitting on mud to cure blindness, cursing the barren fig tree et al. Mind me I am not comparing TB to JC!

I hate unnecessary comparisons. I also hate exaggerations. Thus comparing the church hierarchy in Nigeria to the Sicilian Mafia may look like I am exaggerating. I am not! I am writing from personal experience. The title of the write up is a book by Gavin Maxwell about the Island of Sicily- the birthplace of the Mafia. Maxwell wanted to write a book about Giuliano (a world famous Sicilian bandit). He had to travel to Sicily which is the largest island on the Mediterranean Sea. What he discovered about Sicily shocked the hell out of him. He couldn’t come to terms how a very deeply religious society could be extremely notorious for crime! Sicily’s Roman Catholic norms and standards were completely opposite to its notoriety. Mr. Maxwell decided to dig deep to find out the psychology of the mafia. He decided to interview Sicilian everyday folks. He interviewed a priest, a nun, a prostitute, a school teacher, a shepherd, a returned emigrant, a policeman etc. Maxwell found out they all had their individual interests and pains. He interviewed ten folks in all and realized they all has ten different very painful experiences. Hence the ten pains of death. The mafia he understood was relevant because everyone wanted to maintain the hierarchy of their trade. Even the nun and the priest.

Like TB Joshua’s well known mantra- let love lead. Some ministers still poised in celebratory mood. Popping holy communion wine and bread for the fall of their enemy. What did Christ say about our conduct to our enemies? Did he dine with tax collectors? Would the presence of some of these gospel bigwigs not endear them to his adherents, possibly giving room for them to be pulled back it they were lost? Hate I know could be very blinding. I have walked that apian way before in my life. It is destructive. Like political parties, umbrella faith organizations should be open to all believers. The onus is on the organization to lay down their operating principles, ethics, standards and normative pertains and not admission on overlords let’s we creat extremely powerful mafia organizations that Christ our redeemer did not intend.

God save the Church in Nigeria.

Lots of love.

I AM
Dr. Obuba Ndukwe II
Saviour’s House, Owerri
10072021AD