Former presidential aide and journalist, Babafemi Ojudu, has recounted how he and President Bola Tinubu narrowly escaped death in a car accident on the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos, shortly before Tinubu became governor of the state.
Ojudu made the revelation in an open letter to the President to mark Nigeria’s Independence Anniversary. In the same letter, he urged Tinubu to review policies he said have made life harder for millions of Nigerians.
According to him, the accident happened at about 1:30 a.m. while they were returning from the Ikoyi residence of a senior security official, Ibrahim Solomon. Tinubu’s late driver, identified as Mustapha, reportedly fell asleep at the wheel.
“On our way back, at about 1.30 a.m., your driver, the late Mustapha, fell asleep at the wheel on the Third Mainland Bridge. The car struck the railing. We were fortunate to escape with our lives,” Ojudu wrote.
He added that Tinubu afterwards asked him to drive them to Alausa, even though he had never driven an automatic car. “Somehow, I got us there,” he said.
Ojudu explained that he recalled the incident to show the length and nature of their relationship, which dates back to the struggle against military rule and Tinubu’s governorship campaign in Lagos.
He said he took Tinubu to Solomon’s residence because he feared the election could be rigged against him. Solomon, he said, assured them that the security apparatus would ensure a fair process, and later kept his word.
After Tinubu’s victory, Ojudu said he helped manage the transition committees and the inauguration programme, but turned down an offer to join the new administration. He said he went back to journalism because Tinubu needed at least one person outside government who could speak honestly to him without seeking personal gain.
“During your eight years as governor, that was the role I tried to play. I did not come to you seeking an appointment or a favour for myself,” he said.
Ojudu recalled that Tinubu’s then Chief of Staff, Lai Mohammed, would sometimes see him at the governor’s office and joke, “Our opposition has come. What have we done wrong again?”
He said he wrote the letter in that same spirit, despite the strained relationship between them and his decision not to back Tinubu’s 2023 presidential campaign.
Ojudu said the two men have not met since 2022, adding that he has openly stated that he neither worked for Tinubu’s election nor voted for him in 2023.
He said two recent sermons on hunger and poverty eventually moved him to speak publicly to the President about his concerns.
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