Opinion / Religion
Yoruba groups rejoice with T.B. Joshua over award
22 Feb 2015 at 12:35hrs | Views
The Alliance of Pan-Yoruba Groups (APAYO) have lauded the recent announcement declaring Pastor T.B. Joshua as the 'Yoruba Man Of The Year'.
In a statement titled 'The Goldfish Has No Hiding Place' published in Nigeria's Punch newspaper, the coalition of several Yoruba groups commended the positive impact Joshua's ministry has had on Nigeria.
"Many across the land... have waited to see how they can applaud you for the lives you have changed, the glory you have brought and the pains you have lifted off the shoulders of millions of our people, all in a quiet and selfless manner, these past years," the statement read.
The group added that Joshua's philanthropic activities were a sign of how religion should act to impact society positively. "The drug addicts are rehabilitated, prostitutes are reformed and robbers are made to turn a new life. You give scholarships to millions of people, build schools, build hospitals, train people on non-violence, Christians and Muslims inclusive, and daily, you respond to the anguish, the cries and hues of the multitude. This is what religion is all about."
According to APAYO, Joshua has "lifted up the image of Yoruba people and Nigeria, with positive and reverberating echoes of fondness and glory." The group also noted the boost in tourism Joshua's church has brought to Nigerian soil despite the generally negative connotations attached to Africa's most populous nation.
"It is no surprise that no single institution receive as many foreign visitors to Nigeria as the sanctuary that you have built," the statement read. "The visitors dare the narrative images of poverty, dirty and horrendous violence to visit Nigeria even against the advisory of their missions, thanks to the way you have turned a wasteland into a land of honour, at a hitherto unknown Ikotun-Egbe in Lagos."
The group concluded by advising Joshua to not relent in his humanitarian resolve. "We are proud of you, this great Yoruba son from a little and poor community of Akokoland in Ondo State. As the Yoruba man of the decade, not in politics, nor science, nor in art but simply in the sculpture of humanity, in the talent of love and care for the essential needs of people."
T.B. Joshua was named the 'Yoruba man of the decade' by Irohin Odua, the first pan-Yoruba news outlet. Additionally, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka was named 'Yoruba man of the year' and Chief Obafemi Awolowo was posthumously celebrated as the 'Yoruba man of the century'.
In a statement titled 'The Goldfish Has No Hiding Place' published in Nigeria's Punch newspaper, the coalition of several Yoruba groups commended the positive impact Joshua's ministry has had on Nigeria.
"Many across the land... have waited to see how they can applaud you for the lives you have changed, the glory you have brought and the pains you have lifted off the shoulders of millions of our people, all in a quiet and selfless manner, these past years," the statement read.
The group added that Joshua's philanthropic activities were a sign of how religion should act to impact society positively. "The drug addicts are rehabilitated, prostitutes are reformed and robbers are made to turn a new life. You give scholarships to millions of people, build schools, build hospitals, train people on non-violence, Christians and Muslims inclusive, and daily, you respond to the anguish, the cries and hues of the multitude. This is what religion is all about."
"It is no surprise that no single institution receive as many foreign visitors to Nigeria as the sanctuary that you have built," the statement read. "The visitors dare the narrative images of poverty, dirty and horrendous violence to visit Nigeria even against the advisory of their missions, thanks to the way you have turned a wasteland into a land of honour, at a hitherto unknown Ikotun-Egbe in Lagos."
The group concluded by advising Joshua to not relent in his humanitarian resolve. "We are proud of you, this great Yoruba son from a little and poor community of Akokoland in Ondo State. As the Yoruba man of the decade, not in politics, nor science, nor in art but simply in the sculpture of humanity, in the talent of love and care for the essential needs of people."
T.B. Joshua was named the 'Yoruba man of the decade' by Irohin Odua, the first pan-Yoruba news outlet. Additionally, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka was named 'Yoruba man of the year' and Chief Obafemi Awolowo was posthumously celebrated as the 'Yoruba man of the century'.
Source - Ihechukwu Njoku
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