Gospel singer and broadcaster Yinka Ayefele has shared old videos from December 12, 1997, the date of the car accident that left him reliant on a wheelchair.
In posts on his Instagram page on Friday, he included footage from the crash and a recent clip showing one of his triplets asking why he could not walk.
He wrote in one caption: “I CAN NEVER FORGET THAT DAY, IT WAS ON DECEMBER 12TH 1997. MY TURNING POINT.” In another he said: “MY TRIPLET KEPT ASKING ME THIS SAME QUESTION UP TILL THIS MORNING. ..THEY CAME TO MY ROOM VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING AND STARTED PRAYING THAT THEY WANT THEIR DADDY TO STAND UP AND WALK…I WAS SO EMOTIONAL AND I STARTED…..😭😭😭 BUT AM STILL TRUSTING GOD ON HIS PROMISES. JUST KEEP ON THANKING GOD WITH ME.”
Ayefele was involved in a road accident on his way to Abeokuta in Ogun State in 1997. The crash damaged his spinal cord and left him unable to walk. He spent many months in hospital recovering and has used a wheelchair since.
The accident came at a time when Ayefele was working as a broadcaster and jingle producer at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria in Ibadan. After the crash, he turned to music and released his first album, ‘Bitter Experience’, in 1998. The album and his later work helped establish him as a leading gospel artist in Nigeria.
Ayefele later expanded into media, founding Fresh FM, a network of radio stations. The first station in Ibadan received its broadcasting licence in 2015 after years of regulatory review.
He is married to Temitope Ayefele and they have three children, including triplets. Despite the challenges from his injuries, Ayefele remains active in music and broadcasting.
