•Late Prophet TB Joshua
Four years after the demise of the founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), the late Prophet T.B. Joshua, Ondo Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, has said the state government was ready to partner with SCOAN to build a befitting monument in memory of the late pastor.
Aiyedatiwa said this when members of the Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) paid him a thank-you-visit after the association’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Akure and familiarisation tour of key tourist sites in the state, reports The Nation.
Answering question on the efforts to develop man-made tourist attractions like monuments in honour of notable figures from the state to attract tourists, the governor replied that though Ondo State was greatly endowed with a lot of tourist attractions, it was ready to partner with investors to develop the state, and to build such monuments in places like Arigidi-Akoko, the hometown of the late prophet to attract religious tourists.
His words: “Talking about religious tourism to be added to all these natural wonders that nature has given to us, you mentioned Prophet T.B. Joshua in Arigidi Akoko, he is not the only one. We also have the man who started the Cherubim and Seraphim Church. We have another one in my own local government that started the Zion Church.
“Yes, it is something that can be looked at really, but it has to be in collaboration with the institutions they established, like their own church. Maybe by the time the commissioner for culture and tourism comes on board by next week, it is part of the assignment that I will give to him or her.
“Thank you for bringing that up. I know that Prophet T.B. Joshua travelled far and wide across the world and it is a name that is known across the world when it comes to religion. I was there during his burial. I represented the state governor at that time. I know also, going through his profile and sojourn on earth before his demise, that he visited a lot of countries.
“The church is in the best situation to facilitate that, but we can push them. All the members he has, the countries he visited and touched, they can begin to come and see, apart from going to Synagogue at Ikotun, they can also come to Arigidi-Akoko. I think it is something we can look at.”
