By Evelyn Usman and Esther Onyegbula

Struggling with difficulty not to betray his emotion as he sat among family members at a congregation organised in his honour by the Motailatu Church Cherubim and Seraphim Worldwide International headquarters, last Thursday, in Ajah area of Lagos, Tunde Olaniyan, batted his eyelids intermittently, to avoid the tears trickling down his cheeks.

Tunde Olaniyan (middle) flanked by Professor Joseph Otubu and Baba Aladura Israel Akinadewo and his parents

But as he stood up and walked down the isle, at the mention of his name, a gush of tears flowed down his cheeks,with thunderous applause from the congregation.

Never in his wildest imagination had the 21- year-old Ordinary National Diploma Accounting student of the Lagos State Polytechnic, thought that fate would smile on him this way.

But for providence, the undergraduate would have been six feet below, with thought of him apparently deleted from the memories of his friends , following his conclusion to end it all by committing suicide.

Infact, May 25, 2016 will forever remain indelible in the minds of the Olaniyans, as their only son and last child drank a poisonous substance, with a suicide note notifying them of his action.

This was because his school fees, N45,000 which his parents struggled to gather was stolen by suspected pick pockets inside a commercial bus while on his way to school penultimate Tuesday, an act he concluded dashed his hope of furthering his education.

The undergraduate who had in an exclusive interview with Crime Guard , (June 2,2016) lamented how life had been unfair to him,traced the genesis of his woe to the verbal dismissal of his father from the Nigeria Police immediately he was born.

In spite of the harsh living condition, he managed to pull through until he gained admission into LASPOTEC.

He had lamented that “ Things have not been easy for my family. I grew up with the hope  of going to  higher institution and thereafter work     with the certificate, instead of taking to  dubious ways of making it.  So, my admission letter into LASPOTECH to study accountancy came as an answered prayer to my dream. But fate has been so unkind to me, as each time I bore the hardship, I faced more challenges.

“My parents managed to give me between N800 and N1000 from Iyana- Ipaja to Isolo as pocket  money  for one week. Out of it is my transport fare and feeding money .
T

o complement what they gave me, I resorted to work as a bus conductor.   We plied Iyana-Ipaja to Yaba . I woke up as early as 5am , worked until 10am and thereafter go to school. I was earning N700 and N1000 daily, depending   on the number of turns we run .

“But I was forced to stop in my OND 1 second semester, when it started having a negative effect on my academic performance, as I sometimes missed classes and didn’t   have much time to read.  I had no choice than to depend on my parents who are barely struggling to survive. My mother is a petty trader while my father is a driver.

“They struggled to raise N45,000 for my OND 2 school fees in January. I   left home that fateful day with the hope of paying the money into the bank when I   got to school. But to my dismay, I discovered that my bag was torn by the side and the money had disappeared”.

Suicide according to him was the only option , as the amount took his parents three months to gather. That he did by purchasing GO 90, an insecticide which he took in a gulp and waited for death to take him.

But the arrival of his elder sister who met him writing in pains , saved the day as he was rushed to Omoju hospital in Baruwa area of Ipaja where doctors battled for several hours to revive him.

Motailatu to the rescue
As you read this piece, the much sought after help by the undergraduate has come, as he was given a scholarship to study to any limit of educational qualification he desires, by the Motailatu Church Cherubim & Seraphim Worldwide International Headquarters (Sanctuary Chapel)

The decision according to the General Evangelist of the church and Vice President elect of the Christian Association of Nigeria ,CAN Professor Joseph Otubu, was reached after Saturday Vanguard’s publication.

Speaking during the the occasion, Otubu said “The special interest of this church is education. As we speak, we have over 21 students under our scholarship scheme.

For us, education is crucial in this time and age. When Baba Aladura Israel Akinadewo, read the story, he was touched and decided to assist him with this scholarship.

As a church, all that we have is provided by God and we believe in touching lives of people. We will centrally concentrate on Tunde’s education but also assist the Olaniyan’s family in whatever way we can .

In his remarks, Baba Aladura Israel Akinadewo admonished the undergraduate in particular and youths in general not to allow the challenges of life to frustrate them to “ the extent of wanting to take your life. There is no situation in life that should warrant taking your life.”

Aside the scholarship, the church also paid N15,000 into the undergraduate’s account, to help him conclude his project which he left undone, owing to lack of funds.

Four other good spirited Nigerians who read the publication in Saturday Vanguard also assisted him with cash between N5000 and N10000 for his project work .

They include one Mr John who resides in Lekki, Mrs Fagbemi, Mrs Okuaye and Mrs Udie.

When approached, Olaniyan was at his wits end . He simply stated “ I was surprised when I received a message that I have been awarded a scholarship by the church. They have proved to me that after the darkest night comes dawn. Indeed there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am grateful to the church for being instrumental to the realisation of my dreams.

“I thank God for sending helpers my way , especially Motailatu Church Cherubim & Seraphim Worldwide International Headquarters that has granted me scholarship to study to any level. My special thanks goes to Vanguard Newspapers for publishing my story, even though I never anticipated anything good would come out of that publication. I pray that God will not forsake Vanguard in its time of need as well”.

His mother took over from him, wondering if what was happening was real or she was in a dream.

Pinching herself to ensure she was not in a dream, she showered praises on the church for coming to her family’s rescue.

On his part, the bread winner, Mr Amos Olaniyan, said in tears “ these are tears of joy. I am shedding tears because I only attended standard 6 before joining the Nigeria Police Force in 1981. Through the grace of God, I wrote GCE and JAMB and got admission to study at the University of Calabar but had to defer the admission because of financial constrain. Till date I still have the intention to further my education . That is why I am struggling to ensure that my children do not stop where I stopped educationally. Now that God has used this church to reach out to my son, I am the happiest man on earth.

“The church’s intervention in my son’s life is the work of God because there were many churches in Nigeria who read the story but this particular one chose to show us kindness .

“My advice to my son is to study hard and make the church of God and the nation proud.  I am not retired, I was verbally suspended from the Nigerian Police Force since 1994 while serving in Ogun state Police command. I was given orderly room trial alongside other policemen on highway patrol , on the suspicion of receiving money from someone along Lagos-Ibadan express way. One of us was cleared of all charges, discharged and acquitted after investigation.

“I took the matter before the current senate last year. After investigating the case, they invited the former Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase but he sent the Police provost to represent him at the meeting. They asked them to re-instate and promote me with my mates, and pay me all my entitlements as well as issue me an apology letter. But I am yet to get that”, he said.