Popular Nigerian prophet, TB Joshua, has
donated N6 million ($30,000) to over a hundred Nigerian deportees who
arrived from Libya on the evening of Thursday, June 16, 2016.
According to media reports, 162
Nigerians were deported from the North African nation with the aid of
the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with
the Swiss government and the Nigerian Embassy in Libya.
However, rather than return home, 107
decided to ‘seek refuge’ at The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations
(SCOAN), the popular Lagos-based church of TB Joshua.
According to a post on official Facebook Page of Prophet TB Joshua,
after feeding the dishevelled and frail-looking Nigerians who arrived at
the church late in the night, the sum of N50,000 was given to each of
them alongside a bag of rice.
“Let me be honest with you, if not for
this gift from TB Joshua, I had the plan of joining the militants in the
Niger Delta,” admitted Friday, a returnee from Delta State, who fell to
his knees in gratitude after receiving the gift.
The deportees explained to this reporter
that most of them had been surviving by doing menial jobs in the
war-torn nation before being arrested and imprisoned.
“We came back with nothing but the
clothes on our backs which were given to us by United Nations
officials,” said Michael, an Edo State indigene who had been in Libya
for nearly ten months, washing cars for a living while nursing the hope
of reaching Europe one day.
Arrested in February for staying
illegally, Michael endured several months in a Libyan prison before the
insufferable conditions of the prisoners attracted the attention of
United Nations officials who procured their eventual release.
“I was thinking of how I was going to
start my life again,” he admitted. “Many of us would have ended up in
crime if not for this gift.”
Upon arrival, the National Emergency
Management Agency (NEMA) provided transportation vehicles for the
returnees to their respective states along with a gesture of N10,000 by
the Swiss government.
However, the majority chose to seek help from Joshua, who is famed for his extensive humanitarian gestures.
“We decided to come to The SCOAN because
we know how Prophet TB Joshua has been helping people around the
world,” Michael explained, referring to multiple other occasions where
Joshua has rendered assistance to Nigerian deportees.
“I can only thank the man of God. Which
other Nigerian could have done this for us at such a time in this
country?” he tearfully pondered, decrying the muted response from the
Nigerian government to their plight.
According to Collins, the young Nigerian
had no intention to traverse Libya. Wild promises from a ‘friend’ of a
glamorous life in Europe lured him away from a stable job in Abuja, not
knowing that the European dream would lead him to a Libyan dungeon.
The fantasy turned to a nightmare as
Libyan police broke into the commune where he was residing with dozens
of other Nigerians en-route to a ‘better life’ abroad that never
materialised.
“We are not here to blame or accuse the
Libyan government,” he stated, recounting the inhumane conditions he
endured in prison in which several of his colleagues died.
One of the deportees hobbled to the
church on crutches. “I had a serious motor accident shortly after
arriving to join my wife in Libya,” he narrated. “I have been in pain
ever since but I thank God for using Prophet TB Joshua to wipe our tears
away today.”
Joshua, who recently celebrated his 53rd
birthday on June 12th 2016, also assisted Nigerian deportees who
returned from Libya earlier this year, as well as aiding Nigerians
returned from South Africa last month.
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