The Hero of Iwo: How Tanker Driver Alagbe Hezekiah Risked Everything to Save a Community
Courage doesn’t always wear a cape. Sometimes, it wears the grease-stained clothes of a long-haul truck driver.
On Thursday, September 17, 2026, a potential national tragedy was unfolding at Feesu Junction along the Iwo-Ibadan Expressway in Osun State. What should have been a routine fuel delivery at Lado Filling Station turned into a nightmare when a diesel-laden tanker suddenly burst into flames.
With the hose connected and the fire spreading rapidly toward fuel pumps, densely packed shops, and nearby homes, panic set in. The fire extinguisher was useless against the mounting inferno. The motor boy ran for his life. Most people would have done the same.
Alagbe Hezekiah did not run.
A Split-Second Choice Between Life and Death
Hezekiah, a 38-year-old Ogbomoso indigene with over 22 years of driving experience behind him, looked at the growing flames and made a decision that defied self-preservation.
“I took the bold step with the conviction that I may survive or be consumed,” Hezekiah recalled. “However, sacrificing my life to save properties and other people’s lives would be better than risking others.”
Instead of fleeing, Hezekiah climbed straight into the cab of the burning truck.
With flames roaring behind him, he drove the mobile bomb out of the station and onto the road. He scanned the area for a place clear of human life, steering the flaming vehicle toward a nearby riverbank. Once there, he managed to detach the head of the truck from the burning tank, isolating the fire and cutting off a total explosion.
A Disaster Averted
Eyewitnesses at the nearby Odo-Ori Market were stunned. Had Hezekiah not acted, the entire Feesu Junction—an area packed with businesses, residences, and other filling stations—could have been completely leveled.
Instead, thanks to his split-second decision-making and veteran skill, not a single life was lost.
In the aftermath, Hezekiah hasn’t asked for personal glory. Instead, he has used the attention to urge the Osun and Oyo State governments to repair deplorable road networks and to remind his fellow drivers that human life must always come before cargo.
In a world quick to point fingers and look for dynamic political or spiritual angles whenever crisis strikes, Hezekiah’s actions offered a straightforward, undeniable truth: sheer human courage still exists, and it saves lives.
Ogbomoso produced a hero, Osun witnessed a savior, and Nigeria saw the very best of humanity in action.
