Former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, in a recent interview, said his first connection with the late Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) leader, Temitope Joshua, was in detention.
Fani-Kayode said the televangelist who passed away on Saturday, put a call across to him while he was being detained in Kuje Prison in 2016.
“It was in 2016. I was in detention. In an underground cell and all alone. I had been detained for the second time and it was quite an ordeal. I had been in for 3 months and was later transferred to a facility in Kuje prison where they keep only Boko Haram terrorists. It is like Guantanamo Bay and I was there with only Boko Haram suspects and convicts.”
“The place was built by the British Government and it is almost like a secret facility away from the main prison. It was terrifying and a clear attempt to intimidate me and endanger my life. I was sure that they would either maim or kill me in that place because the people there were all Boko Haram except one Okah who was also accused of terrorism.”
“I prayed to God to give me strength and courage because I would rather die than bow or break before my enemies. I also asked Him to watch over my family in case anything happened to me. The following day one of the wardens came and told me someone wanted to talk to me on the phone. He gave me his cell phone. I asked who it was and he said Prophet T.B. Joshua,” he said.
He continued: ” I said but I have never met him and I don’t know him. I thought it was another set up or that the man was lying. He said that it was really him and that even though we had never met he insisted on speaking to me. I took the call and we spoke. He encouraged me and assured me that all would be well. That I would come out soon and even stronger. That even though we had never met he had been following my ordeal in the hands of the Government and that he was inspired by my defiance and courage. He said he knew that I was innocent of what I had been accused of and that it was nothing but persecution because of my strong stance against the tyranny of the government. He said that he wanted me to know that he was praying for me and that he loved me with the love of God.”
The former minister, who was astounded by TB Joshua’s call, said he made sure he spoke to him virtually every day and visited him on a monthly basis until the death of the prophet. Speaking on pastors who hated the televangelist’s style, Fani-Kayode said they are entitled to their opinions, adding that the late prophet was humility personified.
He however promised to stand by the family at this period of mourning. Although the cause of his death remains unknown, POLITICS NIGERIA learnt he died on his way to the hospital.
Prominent figures across the continent and beyond have commiserated the death of the preacher and philanthropist.
