ONE YEAR AFTER… Journalist relives miraculous survival of fatal accident

November 10, 2013 is one date that would always be fresh in the mind of Akintun­ji Akinleye, because it was a day that God demonstrated His faithfulness towards him, and miraculously delivered him from a fatal accident that claimed the lives of eight people, including that of his sister.

The terrible accident happened barely 45 minutes to their destina­tion, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. Akinleye, a senior reporter with Paramount FM, Abeokuta, one of the radio stations owned by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nige­ria (FRCN) was travelling with his wife, his sister and the other pas­sengers on a commercial bus, when three of the tyres burst, one after the other, resulting in the driver losing control. The vehicle somersault­ed and several of the passengers were flung out. His sister and seven other people died on the spot. His wife sustained multiple-bone frac­ture while himself went into coma for five days and was bed-ridden for five months. By divine inter­vention, Akinleye miraculously he pulled through and lived to tell the testimony one year after the har­rowing incident.
His words: “It was barely two minutes after the rear tyre burst that two of the front tyres also burst. Everything happened in quick suc­cession. The vehicle somersaulted several times and passengers were thrown out through the windows and the open sliding door which also detached as the vehicle somer­saulted. It is by God’s grace that I am alive today because for weeks, some people, including my wife told me that I was in coma with doctors and nurses battling to save my life. It was a taste of death so to say.”
The experience, Akinleye said, made him to know that a thin line exits between life and death: “I knew when the accident occurred. Passengers were shouting the name of Jesus, but I did not know what happened until weeks later as I be­came unconscious thereafter. I was unconscious until I was transferred to my company’s hospital in Ibadan where I went through rigorous medical check-ups leading to my hospitalization for three weeks. It was a terrible experience. I would never wish my enemy go through it.”
He disclosed that he was return­ing from a social trip to Akure, the Ondo State capital, few kilometres to Ife, about 40 minutes to Ibadan when the fatal auto crash happened. The driver of the commercial bus, whom he described as elderly did not drive recklessly before the ac­cident.
“As a Christian, let me be sin­cere with you that the driver of the bus was not driving recklessly before the accident. In fact, the last discussion I had with my wife was about the gentle way he was driving which made me conclude that we would get to Ibadan within the next 45 minutes.”
Continuing the tale, he said: “Af­ter the accident, we were first taken to the Obafemi Awolowo Univer­sity Teaching Hospital, (OAUTH), Ile Ife, by the officials of the Feder­al Road Safety Corps, who rescued us.”
The accident victims were reject­ed by the health officials due to the national industrial strike embarked upon by health workers in the coun­try.
“According to my wife, who nar­rated the development to me since I had passed out, we were later taken to the Seventh Day Adventist Hos­pital which also rejected us based on the same reason by the OAUTH officials.”
Akinleye explained that it was at a private hospital in the town (Ile Ife), that he was given first-aid treatment after which he was transferred to the FRCN hospital in Ibadan.
Asked to adduce reasons for the accident aside from the burst tyre Akinleye said: “What happened could be spiritual or as a result of the reliance on sub-standard tyres, called “tokunbo” in local parlance by commercial drivers in the country. I said it could be spiritual, because when you count the number of accidents that occur between Ile-Ife and Ilesha, you would be left with no option than to link them to spiritual reasons. Nigerians have lost many dear ones on that road.”
He recalled that before the acci­dent, he lost a dear one, Oluwanike, a professional colleague who he said they both got their letters of appointment on the same day.
While explaining why he did not travel with his own car or that of his wife, Akinleye said: “As I told you, we lost a dear friend through an accident on the same road and I thought that it would be better for us to travel in a commer­cial bus.”
Another reason he gave was that most Nigerian commercial drivers were fond of using “tokunbo” tyres, thereby jeopardizing their lives as well as those of their passengers.
Just before leaving Akure for the ceremony, Akinleye had prompted the driver to gauge the pressure of the tyres of the vehicle, but forgot the do the same thing on the return journey with the bus, which was different vehicle. “I am alive to­day by the grace of God who I will continue to serve till the end of my life,” Akinleye says, his gratitude to God for the miraculous deliverance was very evident.