Encomium
Hot on the heels of his nomination as the Yoruba Man of The Decade, Nigerian prophet, Temitope Balogun Joshua has received a global acknowledgment by The Society For The Recognition Of Famous People.
The website www.thefamouspeople.com which archives the lives of highly influential people in various spheres of life, the majority of whom are posthumously honoured, added Joshua’s biography to their list of world-renowned individuals.
The write-up declares Joshua as one of the most influential personalities in Africa, chronicling his journey from a poverty-stricken background to the head of an internationally acclaimed Christian ministry in the heart of Lagos, Nigeria.
Almost 6,000 famous individuals have so far been documented by the website, pooled from an impressive array of business people, scientists, writers, musicians, sports persons, painters, physicians, singers, dancers, film and theatre personalities, activists, intellectuals, academics, fashion icons, media personalities, leaders, lawyers, engineers and inventors.
Only four other Nigerians have so far been noted by the society, these being Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka and President Goodluck Jonathan.
Joshua was included in the category of spiritual and religious leaders with the likes of the Dalai Lama, Pope Francis, Martin Luther King Jr and Mother Teresa.
This recognition comes on the heels of another honour done TB Joshua where he was named the Yoruba Man of the Decade for his contributions to humanity.
The first pan-Yoruba news medium, Irohin Odua, made the announcement via the Nigerian Tribune.
It also announced Nigerian Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka was named Yoruba Man of the Year and Nigerian statesman Chief Obafemi Awolowo of blessed memory was awarded Yoruba Man of the Century.
According to the statement, the three personalities were selected after a careful consideration of the role each had played in the annals of modern Yoruba history.
The Yoruba people are one of the three prominent ethnic groups in Nigeria, constituting over 35 million people, of which 400,000 are said to be residing in Ghana.
Eulogizing TB Joshua’s contribution to tourism in Nigeria, the Editorial Board Chairman of Irohin Odua, Prince Adeleke, said: “The ancestral origin of The Synagogue has transformed from a dingy wasteland into a local Disneyland drawing, in one year, millions of visitors to Nigeria from Africa, Europe, the Middle East and America.”
He continued, “We see in his handiwork, a quiet revolution to transform the world in ways unimaginable. Since we blew the whistle for nomination, we have received innumerable, baffling testimonials from royals and ordinary street folks, leading us to a hidden light in a dark, malicious world where the poor remains the dreg and the butt of repression, neglect and perpetual want.”
-TADE ASIFAT
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