Adjusting herself gently on the tiny hospital bed as visitors after visitors trooped in to offer their heart-felt condolences at the female ward of the Babcock University Teaching Hospital, Ilishan, Ogun State, on Thursday afternoon, 17-year-old Ibukun Akinbo, knew she could have been in a worse place lifeless at the morgue or six feet below the ground. But by sheer luck and divine providence, she had survived a fatal accident last week Friday albeit with injuries and scars that would be a constant reminder of that close shave and miraculous escape.
Leaving Ago-Iwoye, a sleepy community in Ogun State hosting the famous Olabisi Onabanjo University, that morning together with her cousin, Yetunde Aribilola – a 100-level student of Bio-Chemistry at the institution enroute Lagos where their families lived, Akinbo, who is studying Chemical Science at the same school, was looking forward to being welcomed later that day by her mother, Titilayo, and 14-year-old sibling-David. The bus they boarded throttled calmly until they got to Ilisan Junction along the Sagamu-Benin Expressway where things suddenly went awry.
Leaving Ago-Iwoye, a sleepy community in Ogun State hosting the famous Olabisi Onabanjo University, that morning together with her cousin, Yetunde Aribilola – a 100-level student of Bio-Chemistry at the institution enroute Lagos where their families lived, Akinbo, who is studying Chemical Science at the same school, was looking forward to being welcomed later that day by her mother, Titilayo, and 14-year-old sibling-David. The bus they boarded throttled calmly until they got to Ilisan Junction along the Sagamu-Benin Expressway where things suddenly went awry.
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A truck carrying a 40ft container that was driving against traffic lost control and rammed into their bus, emptying its heavy baggage on them. It was a few seconds of chaos and wild screaming– one that has left deep scars in many families and the Ogun university community. Yetunde, seven other students of the institution together with four other passengers lost their lives in the tragedy. Akinbo’s survival defies every explanation especially having occupied the front seat of the vehicle.
“We boarded the bus at the Chips motor park in Ago Iwoye. The bus was filled and I sat in front together with my cousin, Yetunde. The journey was smooth till we got to Ilisan Junction. It was while the bus was descending the slope that the truck carrying a container and driving against traffic faced us.
“When our driver saw the truck, he tried to manoeuvre out of danger but the truck kept turning towards us. We were all screaming until everything went blank. I was flung out of the bus into the bush and became unconscious.
“I don’t know how I got into the bush because given the position I saw the bus when I regained consciousness, I was not supposed to be there. In fact, surviving the crash was a miracle. I believe God spared my life for a purpose. It was my cousin’s name that I was calling that attracted a passerby who heard my faint voice and located me in the bush. I could have been bitten by a dangerous snake, because I was already weak,” Akinbo recalled emotionally. She was rushed to a private hospital in one of the sympathisers’ vehicles, accompanied by a female police officer. Ibukun suffered injuries to her head, left arm and leg.
Fighting back tears as she recounted the deadly experience, the 17-year-old gave a chilling insight into events leading to the fatal accident.
Ibukun believes Yetunde had a premonition of the tragedy. Her behaviour, she said, was a bit strange that morning.
“That morning, I was the one who woke her up from bed, but strangely, she was reluctant to get up. But after some time, she stood up from the bed and went to take her bath after which we set out for the motor park.
“Yetunde liked sitting by the door in the front seat. We both sat in the front seat but then she allowed me sit by the door instead without protesting. Everything seemed as if she knew her time had come. It is unfortunate we lost her and other students of our institution,” she said.
Titilayo, mother of the lone survivor, told us that her daughter’s escape remains a miracle. The single mother, who received a call informing her of the tragedy at about 12:30pm on the fateful day, said the news changed everything around her.
“The male voice said my daughter was involved in a fatal accident along Sagamu-Benin Expressway. I threw off the phone on hearing this and hit myself on the ground. It was my colleague that picked the phone and related the rest of the story to me. Immediately I told her uncle what happened, we headed for Sagamu. First, we went to Fakoya Hospital where I saw Yetunde’s picture. She was my aunt’s daughter. They took the pictures of all those who died and displayed them. She suffered a big gash on her head and a cut in one of the hands. Ibukun’s survival was a miracle because both of them sat in the front seat. She could have been gone by now,” she said.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that Akinbo would be breaking loose from the claws of death. As an infant still in the womb, her journey to earth could have ended in tragedy if not for God’s mercies. Her mother endured a prolonged labour period after something went wrong on the day she was to give birth to her. She remains a living testimony of God’s matchless grace.
A truck carrying a 40ft container that was driving against traffic lost control and rammed into their bus, emptying its heavy baggage on them. It was a few seconds of chaos and wild screaming– one that has left deep scars in many families and the Ogun university community. Yetunde, seven other students of the institution together with four other passengers lost their lives in the tragedy. Akinbo’s survival defies every explanation especially having occupied the front seat of the vehicle.
“We boarded the bus at the Chips motor park in Ago Iwoye. The bus was filled and I sat in front together with my cousin, Yetunde. The journey was smooth till we got to Ilisan Junction. It was while the bus was descending the slope that the truck carrying a container and driving against traffic faced us.
“When our driver saw the truck, he tried to manoeuvre out of danger but the truck kept turning towards us. We were all screaming until everything went blank. I was flung out of the bus into the bush and became unconscious.
“I don’t know how I got into the bush because given the position I saw the bus when I regained consciousness, I was not supposed to be there. In fact, surviving the crash was a miracle. I believe God spared my life for a purpose. It was my cousin’s name that I was calling that attracted a passerby who heard my faint voice and located me in the bush. I could have been bitten by a dangerous snake, because I was already weak,” Akinbo recalled emotionally. She was rushed to a private hospital in one of the sympathisers’ vehicles, accompanied by a female police officer. Ibukun suffered injuries to her head, left arm and leg.
Fighting back tears as she recounted the deadly experience, the 17-year-old gave a chilling insight into events leading to the fatal accident.
Ibukun believes Yetunde had a premonition of the tragedy. Her behaviour, she said, was a bit strange that morning.
“That morning, I was the one who woke her up from bed, but strangely, she was reluctant to get up. But after some time, she stood up from the bed and went to take her bath after which we set out for the motor park.
“Yetunde liked sitting by the door in the front seat. We both sat in the front seat but then she allowed me sit by the door instead without protesting. Everything seemed as if she knew her time had come. It is unfortunate we lost her and other students of our institution,” she said.
Titilayo, mother of the lone survivor, told us that her daughter’s escape remains a miracle. The single mother, who received a call informing her of the tragedy at about 12:30pm on the fateful day, said the news changed everything around her.
“The male voice said my daughter was involved in a fatal accident along Sagamu-Benin Expressway. I threw off the phone on hearing this and hit myself on the ground. It was my colleague that picked the phone and related the rest of the story to me. Immediately I told her uncle what happened, we headed for Sagamu. First, we went to Fakoya Hospital where I saw Yetunde’s picture. She was my aunt’s daughter. They took the pictures of all those who died and displayed them. She suffered a big gash on her head and a cut in one of the hands. Ibukun’s survival was a miracle because both of them sat in the front seat. She could have been gone by now,” she said.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that Akinbo would be breaking loose from the claws of death. As an infant still in the womb, her journey to earth could have ended in tragedy if not for God’s mercies. Her mother endured a prolonged labour period after something went wrong on the day she was to give birth to her. She remains a living testimony of God’s matchless grace.
A strong woman.God b with her
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