high profile reputation obtained through being a notable newspaper columnist, political influence and power during a brief tenure as Presidential Special Assistant, social security and career success attained through becoming a Captain of Industry. None of these brought genuine fulfillment to Pat, and peace was indeed as elusive as laughter in a chilly morgue.

Born in 1956 into a disciplined Catholic background, he had given little thought to a close personal walk with God. Rather, life started out as an open sesame of adolescent delinquency, transforming later into a near pathological quest for success through unrelieved hard work. Within a few months of his return to Nigeria from Bloomington , United States where he did graduate work, Pat got enlisted by the former Vice-President, Alex Ekwueme to provide consultancy on some public policy papers. Soon after, he was appointed Special Assistant by former President, Shehu Shagari - a position he lost following the military coup of December 1983, which terminated the Second Republic .

In 1986, he joined Volkswagen of Nigeria PLC (VWON) as the Corporate Affairs helmsman, rising to become the reputed organization's Deputy Managing Director in 1991. In the thick of the personal accomplishment however, Pat laced a personal relationship with Jesus, such as would give true meaning to his successes. he also soon discovered that he treaded a path, which only led him to the brink of premature death. But God, mercifully intervened...

Previously, the trauma of his father's sudden death drove him in 1980 to make a cove1?ant with God, namely: that if God grants him the strength and intellectual composure to speedily push through the multiple academic programmes he had enrolled for at the Indiana University, he would commit the remainder of his life to serving Him.

Pat testifies that God honoured that covenant, but he (Pat) reneged on his own part. He indeed forget all about the covenant in the bustle and tumble of daily living - until a ghastly auto accident en route Asaba on July 12, 1991 rudely stopped life dead in its tracks. At that point, the memory of his unfulfilled covenant obligation revived, and with it a resolved to submit to the sovereign will of God ­the one who rescued him from the brink...

"Life at crucial moments has turned out to be a fleeting shadow of miserable vanity. When the dizzying momentum of the mortal rat race rudely stills, cutting you short in your tracks, wisdom dictates that you submit to the sovereign will of God. In that auto wreckage in which my driver instantly died on July 12, 1991, I mumbled half consciously: "It's a shame...I did not keep my part of the covenant..." sensing that it could be my last chance for a redress, I prayed: "Forgive me, God."

I also said a prayer of total surrender to God's will. Soon after, a curious peace flooded my mind and my numbed body, and with it came a strange surge of strength through one of my arms. Where, a few moments earlier, I was wholly numb and incapable of moving a hair, one hand now suddenly came alive. I reached out and pulled the seat belt free, struggled out of the bucket seat of the caravan carat in which we were traveling, and crawled out of the wreckage. By then people had begun to gather, with all sorts of emergency activity starting up. I heard frantic calls for me to lie down and lay still.

"Life at crucial moments has turned out to be a fleeting shadow of miserable vanity. When the dizzying momentum of the mortal rat race rudely stills, cutting you short in your tracks, wisdom dictates that you submit to the sovereign will of God. In that auto wreckage in which my driver instantly died on July 12, 1991, I mumbled half consciously:

Then a Peugeot 504 pulled up, and sympathizers put me in the car, which drove the 20 miles or so to Asaba from the scene of the accident. All that while, I drifted into and out of shock. Reports later said the Good Samaritan was on his way to Uyo, but opted to get me first to Asaba General Hospital before proceeding on his journey.

I have not been able to establish contact with him to this day; but I believe he was an angel of God...it would really be worth it meeting this gentleman. At the hospital there was no doctor, no facility, in short, nothing at all.

But then, word had gone out to people who knew me and, before long, the Asaba General Hospital was flooded by callers among whom quite remarkably, were two nurses who had come for a funeral I was traveling to Asaba for. These nurses had with them some intravenous fluid, so they put me in another car and took me to Onitsha ; but right there in the car, they administered infusion.

"When they got me to Toronto Hospital , Onitsha , an Indian doctor said they would sedate me and let me rest till morning. But and acquaintance of mine, a pediatrician who had hurried down on hearing of the accident, took one look at me and said I was hemorrhaging internally. He first proposed that I be taken to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital .

But he reconsidered that Benin might be too far and urged that they look for a surgeon anywhere in Onitsha who would operate me that night. As there was no ambulance, I was rushed to Charles Boromiro Hospital in a bunker, with my legs dangling out of the door.

Thankfully, the chief surgeon, Eddy Aghasimelo who normally would have traveled to the village for the weekend, happened to be around. I later learnt that when wheeled into the theatre for surgery, the medical officer who was preparing for the operation called to the surgeon and said; "Chief, I think there is no more need to bother. We lost this one."

At that point. I learnt my breathing and pulse had stopped. But the surgeon said to fulfill all righteousness and do all that is to be done, try pumping. So they applied pressure and, thank God! my heart resounded. He didn't finish with me yet!

Having lost so much blood internally, they had to cut me open to scoop out nearly five pints of blood from my abdomen - more in my abdomen than in the rest of my body. Then they promptly arrange crude auto transfusion whereby, they were scooping blood from my abdomen, filtering it and putting it right back into my body. The doctors and others donated their own blood and put everything in. Some ten hours later, I was revived and felt somewhat better.

"I was subsequently flown to Germany for further medical care, but my healing appeared to have been miraculously accomplished at home. For instance, before I was flown out something memorable happened. A member of the FGBMFI, Richard Gbogboade, came to my bedside and prayed. Tim Obiaga who also came to see me, met him and joined in the prayer.

As they prayed, the backside of my bed fell off and, more by reflex, I got up - the first time my body moved since I was operated upon. Gbogboade gave me a bible, which I took along to Germany and read diligently, and from which I gained a better understanding of the Scripture. It was at this point in life I developed a personal relationship with the one who saved me; a relationship that has been my strength, and continues to grow daily.

"After I returned from Germany I became quite active, at the instance of Pastor (then Engineer) Shyngle Wigwe (former Director­ General of the Nigerian Television Authority) in the Ikoyi chapter of the FGBMFI.

It was at the first meeting of the fellowship I attended that I received the Holy Spirit baptism. I eventually became the Chapter Secretary, and when the Atlantic chapter was birthed in October 1993, I became the founding President. I have an attitude of Christian worship that is not strong on denomination. I remain a Catholic, but attend several churches and non-denominational fellowships.

There is for instance, a non-denominational fellowship at St Saviours to which my American diplomat friends invited me now and again, and Full Gospel. I also go to Mass every morning (6:30a.m) in Falomo, but my Parish is at St. Anthony's, Gbaja in Surulere. I believe that God is a Spirit, who can be worshipped in spirit and in truth, even in the Catholic Church.

"God has truly been good and faithful. And I can, like Joshua, boldly say: "Choose you this day that ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

That was why I was so thrilled at the Full Gospel world convention in Boston , United States , where two Catholic priests featured among the people who ministered. Really, I do not see why Catholics cannot be active in seeking opportunities to build their faith. I think denominatiC"1 should be de-emphasized in the Christian experience.

"My family life improved tremendously with the Christian experience. Ifeoma, my wife, met the Lord at the Ikoyi IBMFI chapter where I was already active by the time she returned from Europe .

She often joked that the general trend is for wives to get the Christian experience first and then

spend a lot of time praying their husbands in, but that in our case it was reversed. I have come to appreciate that the worthiest of my time is that which i spend with her and our three children: Isioma, Patrick and Nony in praise and worship.

"Part of my effort to honour the covenant I made with God in 1980 is the widowhood support Centre that we founded to cater for the widows. Under the scheme for which we enlisted the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) and People's Bank of Nigeria (PBN), widows who are trainable are trained in artisan skills with which we secure employment for them with some friendly organizations. Those we can train are organized into functional cooperatives.

"God has truly been good and faithful. And I can, like Joshua, boldly say: "Choose you this day that ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Pat Utomi was formerly the Deputy Managing Director of Volkswagen Nig PLC. He is the Chairman of Platinum Bank (now Bank PHB), and also a chairman of Business Day and Director of Lagos Business School.