I've posted this story years back but feel like refreshing it 20 years after
Date was December 10th 2005
I booked a Sosoliso flight from Abuja heading back to Lagos
Few days earlier , I used the same flight from Lagos to Abuja and it was so smooth
I left my hotel room at Wuse 2 to the airport, with so much excitement
My excitement was cut short on arrival at the check in point at Nnamdi Azikiwe Intl Airport Abuja
I was told by one of the attendants that my ticket has been cancelled, I asked why bit she didn't give me any reasonable explanation
She only asked me to come back Next day ( That was all )
I felt like crying, I didn't have the cash to book a new flight ( the days of cash transfer was not in vogue )
It was later I realized that the flight has been overbooked and diverted to Port Harcourt enroute Lagos
The airline suddenly had an upsurge in requests for passengers from students of Loyola Jesuit , a high networth ivy school in Abuja , because of that the airline had to dump commoners like us
I pleaded with the staff to just get me a seat , all fail in deaf ears
As this was going, I saw people mingling around a lady bound for the same flight , she must be a VIP .When I stretched my neck , it was Pastor Bimbo Odukoya . On sighting me , she shouted , Chris where are you heading to , I said Lagos and she wished me safe flight , warning that I must see her in Lagos because according to her , I have been dodging her ,I was the AGM Marketing & Public Relations Manager of CTL , the first and most popular Internet Service Provider using MMDS technology in the whole of Africa then ( Supernet300)
I promised to see her soon
After all attempts to secure my seat on Sosoliso failed
I picked a cab back to Abuja , paid for another hotel waiting to depart
Few hours later , I saw a breaking news on AIT ( scrolling ) ..SOSOLISO FLIGHT HAS CRASHED AT PORT HARCOURT AIRPORT
It happened that the same flight I missed, heading to Lagos via Port Harcourt has crashed
All passengers except two survived
Pastor Bimbo and all the kids from that school lost their lives in that unfortunate incident
A particular family lost 3 of their children
That was how God gave me a second chance to live
Quite unfortunate
We'll not die before our time in Jesus mighty name
Pictures Below
1. My flight ticket.I still kept it as a remembrance of God's grace in my life
2. One of the two survivors of the crash
3. Sosoliso Plane
Ckn is a journalist , UK Certified Chartered Arbitrator, and Law Graduate