Former senator Babafemi Ojudu has recalled how he and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu narrowly escaped death in a car crash on Lagos’ Third Mainland Bridge years ago.
Ojudu made the revelation in an open letter to Tinubu marking Nigeria’s Independence Anniversary. He said the incident happened shortly before Tinubu became governor of Lagos State.
According to him, he had accompanied Tinubu to the residence of a senior security official in Ikoyi because they were concerned that the governorship election could be rigged against Tinubu.
Ojudu said they were returning from the meeting at about 1:30am when Tinubu’s driver, the late Mustapha, reportedly fell asleep while driving.
The vehicle subsequently crashed into the railing on the Third Mainland Bridge.
He said both men were fortunate to survive the accident.
Ojudu added that Tinubu then asked him to drive them to Alausa, despite the fact that he had never driven an automatic car before.
“Somehow, I got us there,” Ojudu recalled.
He said the incident reflected the long relationship between him and Tinubu, which began during their struggle against military rule and continued through Tinubu’s political career.
Ojudu said he later helped manage Tinubu’s transition committees and inauguration programme after his election as governor but declined an appointment, choosing instead to remain in journalism.
He said he wanted to be someone outside government who could speak honestly to Tinubu without seeking personal favours.
Ojudu used the memory of the accident to make a broader appeal to Tinubu, urging him to listen to Nigerians and take urgent steps to ease the hardship and insecurity facing the country.
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