Joseph Dosu, the former goalkeeper for the Nigerian Super Eagles, narrowly escaped a fatal accident in the Ojodu Berger area of Lagos. The incident occurred on Friday, October 4, 2024, when a truck loaded with iron collided with Dosu’s car while he was waiting to refuel at a filling station.
In a heartfelt post on Facebook, Dosu expressed gratitude for his survival, stating, “To God be the glory, another death escape by grace and mercy of God. I and my friend SM were at Enyo filling station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel when this Mack truck with registration number LND 470 XX left the road and crushed my car.”
The accident marks another chapter in Dosu’s tumultuous journey, which has been marred by previous life-threatening events. After achieving fame as Nigeria’s top-choice goalie during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Dosu’s career was tragically cut short in 1997 due to a serious accident on Ikorodu Road, which left him with a spinal cord injury.
Reflecting on that earlier incident, Dosu recounted, “My career was short-lived because of the accident. It happened after we beat Guinea 3-0 to qualify for the 1998 World Cup in France. After the game, I was preparing to visit my wife and children when I was involved in an accident with a friend, a policeman, named Saturday.
He vividly described the crash, recalling, “Suddenly, everywhere went blank; all I could see were cows everywhere. As I tried to control the car, I veered off the road. I asked Saturday if he was okay, and he responded affirmatively, but I knew I wasn’t.”
Help arrived when former teammate Taribo West’s car happened to pass by, leading to their rescue and transport to Eko Hospital. Dosu shared his frustration with the medical staff’s initial concerns, saying, ’“The matron smelled my mouth to check for alcohol, and I told her, ‘I don’t drink or smoke. It’s just an accident that can happen to anybody. Before I knew it, I passed out, and when I woke up, I found myself in Plaster of Paris.”
Dosu’s recent brush with death has reignited discussions about road safety in Lagos, a city often plagued by traffic accidents. As he continues to recover from this latest incident, the former athlete remains a testament to resilience and survival in the face of adversity.
