Feyi Agagu attended International School
(University of Ibadan, UI); then proceeded to
study Mechanical Engineering at UI but didn’t
finish there before he went abroad to do
Computer Science at Tuskegee University where
he graduated with a first-class degree in
Computer Science. He proceeded to the
University of California where he had a
distinction in Master’s degree in Software
Engineering.
HOW IT HAPPENED :
We were all awake. I don’t think anybody was
asleep after we boarded the flight. The first
person to board was Mr. Okusanya, the MIC
boss, followed by Deji Falae, Ondo State
commissioner and then me. Of course, Falae
and I were talking as we walked in. Mr.
Okusanya sat in row 2 or 3, Deji sat in 4 and I
sat in 5. I think the next person was Deji
Falae’s Special Adviser, he sat behind me. Femi,
my brother-in-law, walked in after me before
Falae’s SA but he went to the back and
everybody was trooping into the plane. Just
before we took off, I realised I was on the wings
of the plane and I don’t like sitting there. I just
got up and went to the back. I wouldn’t know
why. Nobody called me to go to the back. When
I got to the back, I saw my brother-in-law and
there was a seat beside him and I took it and
realised that we could strategise more on the
burial ceremony during the flight. We attempted
to taxi and we stopped just as we got on the
runway. The person sitting right to my left,
apparently the flight engineer, went to the
cockpit. That must have been the point when
the pilot and the co pilot were arguing whether
to fly or not. I can only assume he went to
convince them that the flight was okay, he
never came back to sit beside me. He took the
first row because Mr. Okusanya was in row 2.
Then we took off and shortly after, in five or
seven seconds, we crashed. Everybody was
awake. I remember up to the point of the crash,
I was still lucid then. Then I passed out. My
brother-in-law said he tried to wake me up
because he said he saw me move after the
crash but he couldn’t wake me. Three of us
were at the back – me, my brother-in-law and
the air hostess who was the only one behind
us. They tried to wake me up on time before the
plane exploded and I didn’t know how long I
passed out until I found myself in the hospital.
SOME PEOPLE DIED FOR YOU :
It is the people who reduce the work of God to
superstition that I feel sorry for. I just explained
the position we took in the plane which could
have been a factor; it is not just luck but grace.
In our society, there is almost no success
factor that people don’t tie superstition to.
When my father became governor of Ondo
State, superstition was tied to it. When he built
bridges, they said he wanted to bury people
there. Anybody that reduces the power of God
to superstition has a problem. For me, I know
who to give thanks to.Death does not have to
come from a plane crash; it could be through
something else.
The lady that was in the hospital with me for
the same injury, had been coming to take
morphine shots for 13 years. That was what I
took for just three weeks and I was okay. So, I
can only give thanks.
I didn’t sustain any major injury. I am here with
you hale and hearty. I used to play tennis, I
came back and I still play tennis. I still play
soccer which I used to do before the crash. Of
course, I didn’t walk out of the plane but I don’t
think I look like someone who just got out of a
car crash, let alone a plane crash.
HOW IS FLYING NOW :
Of course, it is still very difficult. My first local
trip was about a month ago when I made a trip
to Abuja and it was tough. Any sound or
sudden motion could be upsetting. It is going to
be something that is going to remain with me
for the rest of my life. In fact, if I could walk
from here to London or Abuja, I would take that
option but there is no other way to get there.
