Nigeria's influential pastor TB Joshua, who has died aged 57, was considered a pariah among the country's mega-televangelists and struggled until his death to be accepted within their circles, despite amassing millions of followers across Africa.

Ostracised by both the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) he was described as an "impostor" who belonged to a group of "occults" that had infiltrated Christianity.

But Mr Joshua was no different from the other televangelists who have held many Nigerians in their grip with their "prosperity messages" since the early 1990s.

Most of them are more dramatic and perform the same "miracles", but Mr Joshua - who headed the Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) - was not part of their clique.

"He was rough. He was crude. His methods were unorthodox," says Abimbola Adelakun, assistant professor in the African Studies Department at the University of Texas.

'They thought he was fake'

Mr Joshua came from a poor background and was brought up by his Muslim uncle following the death of his Christian father.

He mostly wore a jalabia - a loose-fitting garment worn by Muslims, and kept a moustache that gave him an intense look.

When Mr Joshua started his ministry on television in the mid-90s, his hair did not glisten, his shoes were not shiny and he did not have an American twang - he spoke with a Yoruba accent, and a mixture of English and Pidgin.

His followers found him charismatic and down-to-earth, and his message spread around the world.

Mr Joshua refined himself as he became wealthy, adding a fleet of cars and a private jet to look the part, but he remained an outsider.

Most Nigerian pastors are products of a mentorship scheme where senior pastors are referred to as "daddy/mummy in the Lord".

"They don't believe you can stand on your own without having anyone to defer to," says Gbenga Osinaike, publisher of Nigeria's leading Pentecostal publication.

"The extreme charismatic movements feel you need a mentor - Paul, father of Timothy, Elijah, father of Elisha, and all that. They thought he was fake and the relationship was frosty."

Born on 12 June 1963, Mr Joshua also did not help himself with outlandish claims - one of them being that he was in his mother's womb for 15 months.

To witness his prayer sessions in the early days of his televised ministry was to be treated to exorcism that many felt bordered on the occult.

Some of it felt like a hypnotic session, others like that of a magician at work.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57388592

Me i like the man...he portrayed all what Christ has taught us. Just one church in lagos. The whites are far more skeptical when it comes to miracles. You just have to convince them beyond doubts before they would follow you. Chinese are even worse off. For all these people to be following him after receiving healings and nearly-impossible solutions to their health and spiritual problems, then he must be real. His philanthropic gesture towards both Christians and Muslims is second to none. When all these churches are busy building universities which the members can't afford, TBJ was busy using the money to better the lots of people. This is amazing!

May una allow this man to rest na

On all accounts, respect the dead.

Nigeria's influential pastor TB Joshua, who has died aged 57, was considered a pariah among the country's mega-televangelists and struggled until his death to be accepted within their circles, despite amassing millions of followers across Africa.

I don't follow the man's ministry though, but the bolded above is gibberish and blind reportage... That he didn't seem like others doesn't mean he struggled to be ACCEPTED by them. Brother prolly didn't even give a rat's ass bout what others said.. He would have long conformed to their ways