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THAT REJECTION IS THE LORD’S DOING...
 The founder and head of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Prophet Temitope Joshua haswitnessed remarkable changes in the last coupleof years. His long robes and full beard have beenreplaced by designer shirts, suits and a welltrimmed beard. But more importantly, he is nolonger the clergy that journalists get for a chatanytime they desire. It took VINCENT AKANMODEand ADEOLA BALOGUN four days before hereluctantly granted an interview on such issues ashis non-admission into the Pentecostal Fellowshipof Nigeria, his childhood and his relationship withthe presidents of some African countries.
What are the fond memories you have of your childhood days in Arigidi Akoko?
My days have been wonderful. You know that inspiritual time with the Lord, there are good andbad times. Each day serves a purpose, both mygood days and my hard days. The hard daysmight have come as a way of preserving me; itmay be to prepare me for the challenges ahead orto take me to a new level in life. It may be to strengthen my desire, and God can useanything to do that. It could be persecution, it could be rejection. Remember the bookof Mark says the stone the builder rejected has become the chief corner stone. It isthe Lord’s doing, it is marvellous in our eyes. That rejection is the Lord’s doing. TheLord allows my rejection to enable Him to take all glory and honour. He allows thepersecution that comes our way to bring the best out of us.
I read it somewhere that you attended about three or four schools in a year.Why did that happen?
It’s part of what I was saying. God was using that to prepare me for the challenges. If God wants you to know or achieve many things, He can take you to a hundred placesor make you experience a series of trials before you achieve that. You know in thecollege of God, however brilliant you are, you are not going to be given doublepromotion. You will have to take all the courses in order to excel because each coursehas a purpose. You know God has his own university too, just like He has his ownprimary school. 
According to a documentary devoted to your growth from childhood toadulthood, you were known as Balogun Francis when you were in primaryschool. How did that change to Temitope Joshua which everybody calls younow?
No, when I was in school, people called me Francis, Harry and other aliases, togetherwith Ope, Temitope and many other names.
So, it was not as if your parents named you Francis?
No, my parents did not name me Francis. In those days, the name Francis would betoo far from their memory (laughs). The foreign names they knew would probably becommon names in the Bible, but not Francis.
 
In the documentary, I noticed that when you were about 17 years, you werewearing glasses. What happened to them?
Ha, you seem to know so much about me (laughs). When I was in the primary school,even after primary school, I believed in working very hard. I would work 24 hoursbecause whatever I wanted to do, I wanted to do my best. I believed that what wasworth doing at all was worth doing well. You can see me now, I have been workinghere since yesterday and you would see me putting on something that would allowme to move freely while I do what I have to do. I cannot put on a tie now because thework I do is so much. What we are doing here is not ceremony; it is work. I attend tothousands of people. So, when I was in school, I used to work very hard and I used totake food that would allow me to do the job. Like today now, all I have taken sincemorning is tea, because if I had taken any heavy food, by now I would be feelingsleepy. I try to regulate my system in order to be able to do my job, and it shows in mystature. So, in the school, I would read every time - morning, afternoon and night. Infact, my best time to read then was in the night when everyone had gone to sleep,because I was always having many challenges. Then anywhere I was, if I came secondand someone else came first, I would feel challenged. I would not envy him but Iwould ask myself why I could not also come first. Because of the way I took myreading, I ate so much of gari. In fact, I was taking gari 24 hours. I would soak it inwater and leave it to swell up. Later, I realised that my sight was becoming impairedbecause of the effect of gari. Initially, I used to sit at the back. But when I could nolonger see the board very well, I had to move forward before I could read what waswritten on the board very well. Sometimes in order to fight sleep, I would take Nescafebecause of the pressure to work hard, and it paid off. In my school days, if I didn’tcome first, I would come second. Then, it was only one guy that was beating me. If Icame first, he would come second, and when he came first, I came second. He was anIndian; they called him Harry de Shamah, a son of a lecturer at the University of Ife.And anytime he beat me, it would be a headache for me and I would not be able torest. I knew that with little sleep, the guy would come first. I always found myself being challenged in all I did.
One of your teachers said you started showing the signs of a preacher at anearly age. She even said you disarmed a mad man. Did you realise that youwanted to be a preacher very early in life?
 Yeah, when the madman came and both the teachers and the pupils didn’t know whatto do, I rose to the occasion by talking to him to leave, and he did. What came out of their mouth was ‘Small Pastor,’ because I had a very small stature. They probablythought that it was only a pastor that could do that; that it was beyond humancomprehension. And two, I used to have a small fellowship in our school, and I wasvery good in Bible Knowledge. I used to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. There was a time I was in Ansar Ud Deen School in Ikare. Then I was leading theScriptural Union and after school hours, I would organise a fellowship. At times, theschool authorities would say no. So becoming a pastor had always been my desirebefore it was confirmed by God.
Were you born into a Christian family?
 Yes. My father was the secretary of the Anglican church in Arigidi.
But we have heard it said that your father was a herbalist, that you derivedcertain powers from him.
No, there was nothing like that. My father was not a herbalist. You can go to my townand find out, they will tell you. My father used to be the secretary to the church.
Is he still alive?
 
No, he is no more alive.
Why did you want to become a soldier?
 You read that somewhere too?
 Yes.
Well, just to be a soldier of the Lord. You know, man proposes, God disposes. As aman, you would want to be this, you would want to be that, but God has his own plansfor you.
People say you are more popular and more accepted by foreigners than yourfellow Nigerians. Why is it so?
Well, I don’t see that as anything strange. Whatever you put on as a person, howmany of them were made in Nigeria, including your spectacles? If you remove allthese things you are wearing now, you will be naked. Are you then not happy thatforeigners accept you because you are using everything that they make? There isnothing you put on that is wholly Nigerian. Is that not what everybody is praying for?Have you not heard that a prophet is not honoured in his home? It is written and youcannot rewrite the Bible. Not only prophets, whatever you are doing, you will be moreappreciated outside than your country. We have many geniuses today in Nigeria, wasit Nigeria that discovered them? See many lawyers, Nobel laureates, doctors, evenarmy generals - where were they trained? Was it in Nigeria? It is a normal thing to beappreciated and accepted outside your country. When what you are doing is notgenuine, your people will accept you while those outside the country will not touchyou. See this publication,
(he tenders an edition of Time magazine where his photograph was put on the cover and he was described as a faith healer)
. Time is theleading newsmagazine all over the world, and here is my picture as a man who healswith faith. If a magazine of this calibre can go all out looking for me, why should Ibother myself so much about not being more accepted at home?
Are you not bothered that you have not been admitted into the PentecostalFellowship of Nigeria. Pastor Adeboye was quoted as saying that you haveto explain certain things before you could be accepted?
I can only be bothered when I am not a man of God. I am a child of God, okay? Youmean I should be bothered that my own biological father rejected me or God rejectedme? So what are you saying? I still see no reason why you are bringing up thesequestions after all what you have seen in Time magazine about me. I want to saysomething here, for me, I am very busy here. I don’t even have time for the localmedia, that is why I didn’t want to attend to you people, because there are somecertain things I don’t want to hear. Who is supposed to judge whether one is a man of God or not?
The first time we came, we saw you carrying sand with a pan on your headalongside other members of the church at one of your construction sites.Why did you have to do that?
It is because I am being led by the Holy Spirit. You people expected me to be doingwhat others are doing, that is why you are saying somebody rejected me? When youare being led by the Holy Spirit, you will do something different. It is not necessarilyimportant I build my church the way others built their own. I should do it the way Godwants me to do it. I don’t necessarily have to belong to an association; you shouldbelong to the association God wants you to belong to. That I carry cement on my headand worked with my members is no big deal. It is a rare privilege to work with them.
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