FUTA Auto Crash: 11 survivors recuperating in Ondo Hospital

• Parents Opt For Quiet Burial For Deceased Students.

Eleven out of the 15 students, who were involved in the ghastly automobile crash that claimed the lives of four other students of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), are now responding to treatment in an Ondo State hospital.

The incident, which occurred on Saturday, May 21, involved a Toyota Hiace bus driven by a student, with three FUTA undergraduates, a PGD student and a student from the University of Benin, on their way back, after attending a Christian fellowship programme in Ibadan.

The Students Union Government (SUG) President of FUTA, Olusegun Oladele, declared a three-day mourning period. The ambience pervading the campus is that of immeasurable sorrow and pain, as the deceased are mourned by their colleagues. This is the second of its kind on the campus in four years.

According to witnesses, the crash occurred at Ibule/Igbara-Oke Junction in Ifedore LGA, when the bus tried to maneuver around a motorcycle rider, who suddenly bumped into the expressway, causing the bus to somersault several times.

The deceased include Abolarinwa Emmanuel Olaniyi, a 500 level student of Electrical Electronics Engineering; Oke Oluwatosin, a 300 level Electrical Electronics Engineering student; Olaleye Israel Olumide, a 500 level Management Technology Science and Owanuga Olufunke, a 500 level Microbiology student.

On Tuesday, the last day of the official mourning, the university community held a candlelight procession, as they marched from FUTA South Gate to Ilesha Road Junction, where one of the students, Falade Emmanuel sang a dirge in memory of the late Abolarinwa.

“The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places; how are the mighty fallen! Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

“You were, indeed, quiet and reserved. Of course, that meant you were almost unnoticed, but the rousing applause you got on Tuesday, when you defended your 2G reports alongside your group members showed your inestimable value in our sight. Alas! We never knew we were ‘sending you forth’,” he sang.

Recounting his experiences with Abolarinwa during the Foundation for Students Mission to promote the Christian faith, Falade said, “I’m comforted by the fact that you passed on with others Saturday morning, while on your way to fulfil the Kingdom’s mandate. But I’m saddened that this came almost four years after a great storm like this hit FUTA Christian community and also few weeks to you becoming a Bachelor Of Engineering in Electrical And Electronics Engineering.”

The Vice President (National Affairs), NANS, Ayenuro Timileyin, in a statement to The Guardian said, “we received the news with great shock; it was indeed a tragic one. My heart goes out to the families, friends and the entire management of FUTA. It is my prayer that God should give them the fortitude to bear the loss.”

Ayenuro, who is also a student of the institution, urged the management to monitor how individuals, corporate bodies, especially the various religious groups drive themselves on long journeys.

Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of the institution, Mr. Adegbenro Adebanjo, confirmed to The Guardian that the unfortunate accident occurred, while the students were on their way back from a religious programme. Said he: “We know and we have ascertained. All the parents have been here and they have claimed the corpses. The focus is on ensuring that the wounded get quick recovery. Nobody is happy about the sad incident. Imagine the unquantifiable loss to the families, the institution and the nation at large. Those wounded are responding to treatment.”

The parents, according to the PRO, “just want to go and bury their dead and mourn their losses without unnecessary publicity. They made passionate appeal to the university that they want to minimise their losses, and we respect their decision, which is why we have kept quiet,” he explained.