I Thank God - Bawumia

The Vice presidential candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2012 general elections, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has given a vivid account of what he saw in the dreadful accident that nearly claimed his life and that of three others last week.

Dr Bawumia thanked his Maker, the Good Lord, for yet another opportunity to live.


“At this stage, I just want to thank God that I’m alive; that is all I’m interested in. I just want to keep thanking God Almighty for saving my life, for saving the lives of my colleagues in the car and I think that is the most important for me,” he noted.


This was during an interview with DAILY GUIDE at his private residence in Accra on Monday.


Below is a transcript of what transpired:


DG: Good afternoon doc


Bawumia: Good afternoon my brother


DG: How are you feeling; you look quite okay


Bawumia: Yes, I can only thank God

DG: Thank God


DG: Doc, can you tell me what you saw on that day?


Bawumia: We left Bole, heading towards Accra and I think what I recall is hearing a tyre burst somewhere along the Bole-Bamboi stretch. At the time, the car veered off the road and somersaulted. It was later, I realized that actually two tyres burst and that’s why the driver couldn’t control the car.


So with two tyres on one side bursting, the car veered to the left side and I saw the driver trying to regain control but it was virtually impossible so we just resigned ourselves to the fate of a crash and just prayed to God in whatever way we could. As we were heading towards that fate, we ended up in a terrible crash with the car somersaulting about three times.


DG: How did you feel instantaneously when you were involved in the accident?


Bawumia: Well, I was frightened; I was scared because, one, as you head towards an accident and you see it coming at you, you don’t know how it’s going to end and then at the end of it when the crash was over, they came and opened the doors for me and my colleagues and got us out of the car. At that time there was a lot of pain.


DG: How many were you in the car?


Bawumia: We were four in the car; myself, my driver, bodyguard and my press assistant. So myself, Kwabena Boadu, Tanko and Emmanuel.

DG: How did you get out of the car?


Bawumia: I was taken out of the car by security personnel who were behind me and therefore saw everything. I think at the time when we crashed they thought we had died because from what they saw they honestly did not believe that anybody would survive. So I could hear them crying and wailing outside.


DG: People were actually wailing outside!


Bawumia: Yeah, they thought we had died and I was trying to signal them that we were still alive. Anyway they eventually came to open the doors and then got us out. By the Grace of God, we were all alive. I had severe pain; my back and neck especially and we were rushed into another car and taken away for medical attention.


DG: Did you get the chance to look at the vehicle immediately you came out of it?


Bawumia: No, not at all. I didn’t actually see the vehicle because at the time that was not an immediate concern. I didn’t see it until I was shown pictures of the vehicle in Accra. But I was in a state of shock when I saw it.


DG: What occurred to you when you saw the pictures?


Bawumia: I just thanked God. I thanked God because it’s not the sort of accident that many people survive. But there were four of us and we all by the grace of God survived the accident. So that is all that I keep saying; this is a miracle and I am thankful.

DG: So from there you were flown to Accra.


Bawumia: Yes, I was driven to Kumasi to catch a flight; put on the plane and brought to Accra where I received medical attention.


DG: But do you recall who took you from the airport to the place where you sought medical attention and what’s the fuss about an ambulance that took you?


Bawumia: Oh yeah. When we arrived, there was an ambulance waiting; my assumption was that it was an ambulance that our people had arranged for. I think when I got into the ambulance the driver said he had been asked to take me to 37 (referring to the Military Hospital).


DG: But did he tell you who had actually asked him to take you there?


Bawumia: No, we were going to Lister I think. My bodyguard was also in the car and someone else I think and they were like, ‘we’ve made arrangements at Lister’ so the driver should go to Lister. So the driver mentioned to somebody else on telephone or radio that we had asked to be taken to Lister instead of 37. At that time, I didn’t know who had arranged the ambulance and actually till date I’m not still quite sure who arranged the ambulance for us.


DG: How were you received at the hospital?


Bawumia: Very well, I think, the doctors, the nurses and the staff received me very well and I went through the necessary tests, including an MRI, CT scan, x-ray and all of that.

DG: What do you make of all the theories that have been read into your accident?


Bawumia: Well when accidents like this happen, a lot of theories can be brought up by people to explain what happened but at this stage, I just want to thank God that I’m alive. That is all I’m interested in for now. I am sure the appropriate agencies would properly investigate the cause in due course.


DG: What will you tell your well-wishers and supporters?


Bawumia: I want to thank everybody for their prayers and thank everybody for their support. I want to say to everybody who travels in a car to remember that a seat-belt is very very important. I believe it was important in saving our lives. We all were belted-in and so people should remember that seat-belts are very important. I think without us having our seat-belts on, it would have been a different story.


DG: We thank God for your life and you, for the opportunity


Bawumia: Thank you very much for your prayers.