The only reason why the tragedy at the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Lagos is not getting commensurate attention is simply because this is Nigeria.
In any other country where a five-storey building collapsed like a pack of cards killing over 80 people, including 67 South Africans as claimed by Jacob Zuma, South African President, and possibly other foreign nationals, it will be a national tragedy.
But we have seen too many tragedies in this country in recent years that one more is not enough to evoke strong sentiment. In Nigeria, human deaths have been reduced to mere statistics.
But the tragedy in the church founded by Temitope Balogun Joshua (popularly known as T.B. Joshua) should be a cause for concern because, unless the church produces any evidence that will prove otherwise, the disaster was avoidable. It was man-made, and T.B. Joshua should be held liable for it.
When the building – which was used as a guest house on the church premises – collapsed, it was a five-storey edifice. But it was originally a two-storey structure, which collapsed as three additional floors were being added to it.
Seven days after the disaster, it is still unclear whether the church secured regulatory approval before it increased the floors. If the church has any proof, it has refused to make it public, not even to the Lagos State government that has requested it.
Olutoyin Ayinde, the state Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, told journalists at the scene of the tragedy last Sunday that though investigation was on-going, there was no proof that the church obtained a permit to add structures to existing ones.
“We have no proof that there is a permit,” he stated. “We have asked the engineering team to meet us and for about two hours now, no member of the engineering team has come because we also have questions to ask.”
On Friday, September 19, the church was yet to provide the document because if it had, Ayinde, who was at pains to stress why the state government won’t confiscate the site, would have said so. But he didn’t.
Instead, he assured the very powerful and influential T.B. Joshua that, “The government does not arbitrarily take over properties when investigation is still on-going. The state government is conducting a preliminary investigation into the cause(s) of the collapse and would leave no stone unturned. If there is any violation of relevant planning law, residents are assured that the government would take appropriate action.”
For the sake of emphasis, he reiterated that “there are no plans to take over the collapsed structure site until a thorough and detailed investigation as to the cause(s) of the collapse has been concluded.
“A team of engineers from the ministry and other government agencies are taking samples from the foundation and materials from the wreckage of the building for detailed analysis and testing to ascertain the structural integrity of the building.”
But Lagos State has before now been firm on the issue of collapsed buildings. To stem the tide, which is mostly caused by structural defect and use of sub-standard materials in construction, it is now a law in the state that any building that collapses during or after construction will be seized by the government.
So, why has the government suddenly developed cold feet?
Talk of sacred cows! I was wondering what the Lagos State government would have done if Joshua and his very powerful church were not involved. Hasn’t a prima facie case been established if it is true that three more floors were added to a two-storey building without authorisation?
And to prove that religious institutions and their owners are above Nigerian laws, emergency rescue officials who arrived soon after the building collapsed penultimate Friday were attacked by church members who denied them access.
Journalists were not spared the ordeal as their mobile phones and cameras were smashed by the church members, whose loyalty no doubt was to the pastor, their god, rather than the state. We are yet to hear of any arrests by the police.
And why won’t Joshua be a sacred cow? The high and mighty in the society go to him for “healing and power.” So, he is well connected in power circles like the other powerful pastors with mega churches.
Joshua is reputed to be the third-richest pastor in Nigeria, and 10th in the world, with an estimated net worth of between $10 million and $15 million.
His church accommodates almost 15,000 worshippers every Sunday. In a pseudo-religious country like ours, that is enough protection.
But it is immoral for Joshua to assault our sensibilities with his cock-and-bull stories. First, he linked the collapse to a suspicious aircraft that flew above the building three times. Later he said the tragedy was the handiwork of Boko Haram. How? He had no answer. Was the building bombed? If yes, what is the evidence?
Four days after, he described the tragedy as a hard time that cannot destroy him.
“It is through hard times that you gain the necessary experience and maturity to handle whatever responsibility given you,” he wrote on the church’s official facebook page.
“We are most likely to go astray from God and forget him when things are easy with us in the world because we often become proud and stupid with wealth and pleasure.
“God visits His people with hard times that they may learn His ways. His ways, though hard to ungodly men, are desirable and profitable because they lead us to safety unto eternal life,” he concluded.
Of course, it is about him, not the casualties. Over 80 people have been sent to their early graves because God wanted to test Joshua’s faith and sanctify him for heaven. Nobody should blame him.
Rather, our hypocritical society that has elevated fellow humans not only above the law but to the status of God should be blamed. The only reason why Lagos State is playing safe is because Joshua is a powerful “man of God.”
In a country where religion, to borrow Karl Marx’s characterisation, is the real “opium of the masses,” any attempt to let the law run its course may be politically suicidal, particularly as 2015 beckons. It is even more so when the Governor, Babatunde Fashola, is a Moslem.
But regardless of what the man-god, TB Joshua, claims, and until otherwise proved, any rational mind can only come to one conclusion. This tragedy was neither caused by God, the devil, Boko Haram nor any Unidentified Flying Object (UFO).
Allowing people to live and use a building that was still under construction is a recipe for disaster.
And as it has been observed elsewhere, if one building at the Synagogue Church of All Nations was built without approval, it is likely there may be others.
Before we are entertained to another video show, the government must do, as a matter of urgency, due diligence on the remaining buildings.
• This article was first published on September 21, 2014.
