It Takes One Second to Die: The Story of my Bike Accident

By: Deji Yesufu

It has been my desire to take Christian missions a notch higher in Ibadan, and transportation is obviously a vital aspect of this pursuit. So, after making enquiries on the type of bike to buy, I got myself a Honda CBR – 250CC. I was told it is a good beginner’s bike: it will serve the purpose of covering long distances, lower fuel consumption, and riding at a faster rate. The challenge, however, is that I have never ridden a motorbike before and thus must learn the art. My instructor ensured I got all my riding gears – helmet, boots, and body armour. Saturday, 13th April, was to be my first day riding a motorbike. That day, I covered paddling the bike: balancing it under my weight without power. Then I rode the bike around on gear one – concluding the day with balancing myself on the bike, after powering the machine and gaining some speed.

The following day, a Sunday, the assignment was to build on my previous day speed, still riding on gear one but working on making turns with the bike, both to the left and to the right. I had driven an hour into the day when the accident happened. Before the accident, my younger brother, who had introduced me to power bikes, had told me that I needed to have all my gears on. It was a bit cumbersome transporting all the gears from one end of Ibadan where I lived to the Challenge area where the training was to hold. To solve this problem, my instructor told me to come with only my gloves and helmet. I brought along a boot, too.

After an hour of riding, my instructor told me that bikes become increasingly stable as they gain speed. My assignment now was to build up some speed but still operate at gear one. Prior to telling me this, I noticed I had challenges making turns – particularly to my left. I sort to solve these problems of speed and left turning in another round of riding. Off I went. I rode for a little while and then gained some speed. Then, I tried to make the left turn on that speed level. Unfortunately for me, I was nearing an obstacle that I became fixated at avoiding. These two conflicting thoughts were on my mind when, while turning to the left, I pulled the front brake to the full. The next moment, I saw myself screeching to the floor. The first thing that hit the ground was my head – but thankfully, since I wore helmet, all I heard was the sound of the impact to the concrete floor. Then I think the bike fell on my left leg. As I struggled to lie flat, awaiting my instructor’s rescue, I discovered a terrible pain shooting out from my lower left leg.

My instructor and two other gentlemen picked me up, but I couldn’t walk. The pain in my leg was fantastic. I requested to sit down while they sorted out first aid on my leg – pulling it but only making the pain worse. Eventually, I found a Bolt cab that took me to UCH’s accident and emergency.

At UCH

At UCH and with the help of a colleague, I was placed on a stretcher and taken for X-rays. As many of the doctors had guessed, I had a fracture. My fibula bone in my left leg was fractured and slightly displaced. I would eventually get a cast on the leg and was discharged from the hospital Tuesday afternoon. But that is not all my experience at UCH.

About the time I came into the emergency department of the hospital, a boy was rolled in. He could not have been more than 22 years old. He was unconscious. The answers I could glean from the discussions the family was having with the doctors was that the boy was riding okada and had an accident in front of IITA. He had no helmet on. As they rolled him into an inner room for more intensive care, I saw blood streaming from his head down. About the same point, I had hit my own head on the ground. The doctors were telling the family that he would be fine, except that it would require a great deal of money to care for him.

As I thought on this young man’s plight, I could not help but think that if I had no helmet on, that first impact my head had to the ground could have been my end. It takes only a second for a man to die. My instructor said that our heads are like water melons. Riding a bike without a helmet on is high risk for sure.

What Will Happen to My Quest to Ride a Bike?

My instructor told me that bike riding is extremely risk free, if you follow the guidelines. As a first-time rider, the possibility of falling is 100%. It means that I should have followed my brother’s instruction to be fully geared up. The twist to my leg, which resulted in fracture, was because I was wearing oversized boots. A more fitted boot would have prevented the turning of the leg and subsequent fracture. Thankfully, I had my helmet on. If not, I would have been sending this article to you from the land of the dead.

My quest to ride a bike remains. As soon as I get better, I return to my lessons. Except that this time, I would have my gears all on, and I would get better fitted shoes. Every endeavour in life comes with risks and setbacks, and only quitters lose the fight. Riding a lower powered bike on the streets of Ibadan will solve for me the challenges of cost of fuel, ease of accessing rural communities, and promptness. It will be “gospel on okada”, a reality show I am already thinking of in the same guise with Itchy Boots, except that I will not be traveling from Holland to Nigeria; but taking the good-news to inner communities of our society. My accident is a small setback at achieving this great ideal. Join me in thanking God for a great deliverance while praying God’s mercies on my trips as I seek to reach the nations on two wheels.

Deji Yesufu is the Pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan, situated at the University of Ibadan. He is also the author of HUMANITY.

Source: https://textandpublishing.com/it-takes-one-second-to-die-the-story-of-my-bike-accident/

Sell this off and buy a scooter bike. Power bikes are risky.

LilMissFavvy:
Sell this off and buy a scooter bike. Power bikes are risky.

It is an option

I pray for your quick recovery in Jesus name

Steep:
I pray for your quick recovery in Jesus name

Author expresses gratitude

Nawa o

I try as much as possible to avoid anything Okada...

My eyez don see shege before on a number of occasions..

Na God helep me.... I for don kpeme

I had to caution the adrenaline drive and need for speed.

I cannot come and go and die

You want to learn bike riding and you didn't start with the regular commercial bikes...

Issokay.

I also want to start riding a power bike.

Wonder if we have tutors in Lagos

Be careful

Op, riding a bike especially a SuperBike isn’t something you learn by the roadside like you do with a car. It takes proper training and practice before you hit the road. You also should follow the AGATT rule. All Gears (kits) All The Time. You should always dress up for the crash and not for the party. Some of us have been riding for over 20 years and have never gotten an accident as we’re always cautious. Riding is like playing chess. You have to anticipate 5 moves ahead and ride accordingly. That being said, Biking is a fun way to relieve stress and meet great people in the Biking family. We also have Biker Evangelists under the umbrella of COLMAN (Chariots Of Light Motorcycle Association of Nigeria). Perhaps, you can reach out to them and maybe find your niche there. There are also Biker associations there in Ibadan (and some of them can use a preaching or 2. Lol). Stay safe and rubber side down, always.

unmask:
I also want to start riding a power bike.

Wonder if we have tutors in Lagos

Yeah. There’s a training school in the stadium in surulere

If you love your life and your kids. Don't ride or buy powerbike, most especially in Nigeria. I have lost alot of friends to this evil machine.

It's one of the option(s) in 100 ways to die.

I'm so sorry for your plight.

I do agree; the first few months are the most dangerous for anyone riding a motorcycle.

Thankfully you were wearing gear and you'll be back to riding soon.

If this offers any inspiration. I just finished an interstate ride from Lagos to Ekiti and back last week. On a 200cc motorcycle.

Keep learning and the skills will come.

Rubber side down!

Sorry @ op

Riding a bike is as simple as ABC for people like us who learnt to ride bike at the age of 10-14 years, (mostly ladies bike). It will take you few hours to learn to handle a bigger bike if you learnt to ride at a younger age.

B

I think you can start with Bajaj First.

As the Instructor said, Most will have a little form of Accident when learning, The question is to what extent.

My Exhaust Burn just healed up.

Power Bike as a First timer can be way more risky.

I do Farm work and haven't regreted getting Bajaj. A new one.

It's karma ... We all have 3 live running simultaneously

The public
The private
The secret

Nuf sed

Dash me the bike, quick recovery pls

I've never been a proponent for motorbikes in this clime.
As quick, time saving and enjoyable as the ride may be, for me, the cons still far outweigh the pros.
With the road rage and lawlessness that goes on daily on our roads, even adorning the full gear offers very little protection for the lives of the riders.

riding on gear 1

LilMissFavvy:
Sell this off and buy a scooter bike. Power bikes are risky.

by the way, are scooters allowed on major roads in lag and abuja?

That's how a kid rammed my behind ie SUV and went airborne across the road...
Bleeding like a pig....
I let him go since he already got his reward.

You should have started with a bicycle. There's a reason the whites built all this.

Riding a bike is among the 1000 ways to die. The struggle is not easy and to be a man no be a day job. God please protect all the men hustling to cater for themselves and their families.

I pray you have your full recovery

it is very difficult to start learning how to ride with this particular kind of bike, you could try with more lighter bike, and another thing you need road sense, but road sense comes with frequent use of road