It was Christmas again twenty six years ago and my mum taught of the fact she hasn’t left Kaduna for over two years. She had been nurturing her daughter. A blessing from the Lord as everyone said. I look just like her apart from my nose. With the nose you’ll know I’m a true child of the Idujes. My parents had waited three years to have me. I was a pride they would groom till their old age. Other children came through though but as the first child all I needed was made available. The first two years from pictures were years I enjoyed the reigns of childhood till she embarked on the trip with me.
Schools had closed for the holidays thus she had the time to go visit my grandfather. Kogi state is like four hours from Kaduna state and with clear but narrow roads one has to be very careful. My dad wasn’t going to travel with us; this means we would be using public transport. It took a short while for the station wagon Peugeot to get filled and off we went. The drive was smooth with little potholes causing distraction and incidences of slowing down. The sanity of drivers at that time was something to applaud; like local gin and Indian hemp had not been discovered. We had left the Abuja axis heading for Abaji when we had to make the first swerve, but with the expertise of the Yoruba driver we were safe.
It was a slow scene as the adults that survived narrated later but for me, I was innocent of the whole incident. An incident that changed my life for both the good and bad. In all sanity as being explained; the driver made a mistake and the report on the newspaper the next day reads: "Three people were killed and four were injured when a car hit a stationary truck on the popular river Niger Bridge at the outskirts of Lokoja on on Friday morning,"police said.
The dead included two women. The injured were taken to Federal Hospital Lokoja and their condition is stated to be critical. A woman and her child were said to be involved in the accident.
The accident took place at Gegu Beku when the car collided with a truck which lost control as a result of a busted tire. According to the police, the victims were from Kaduna. The bodies have not yet been identified. I was in this accident and by all indications it was God that saved my life else I would be dead.
My name is Melinda and this is my story. It’s a combination of pains and gains. It’s a call for thanksgiving and appreciation. It’s a divine exposure to providence for His love and care on all humans. I wouldn’t expect myself to be alive today. I’ve been hurt by the disability the accident caused me but the circumstance that appeared afterwards show there is nothing to complain about. All I need is to thank God. For all my friends who had stayed with me all through my last twenty Six years I appreciate you. And my family members I celebrate you. To my mum you’ve been a wonder. And to the public this is my story.
I was hospitalized for two months after the accident and it was later discovered the driver fell asleep behind the wheel based on overdose of alcohol. A careless act by one man has caused lots of pains in different families. And these pains we have to live with.
Compiled by Wolfax Diaries.
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