From childhood hunger and survival on leftovers to engineering success, and from a life of drinking and womanising to a steady walk with Christ, Engr. Akintunde Oviebo’s story is a remarkable testimony of grace.

For Engr. Akintunde Oviebo, turning 70 is not merely a celebration of age; it is a testimony of survival, redemption, restoration and the unfailing faithfulness of God.

His life story is one of remarkable contrasts. From childhood poverty and hunger in Ebute Meta, Lagos, to becoming a Mechanical Engineer and building a successful career in the oil industry; from a life characterised by drinking and womanising to becoming a committed Christian and servant of God; and from seasons when he did not know where his next meal would come from to a life he describes as one of abundance, Oviebo’s journey is a compelling testimony of grace.

But his story cannot be completely told without the voice of the woman who has walked beside him for 28 years—his wife, who witnessed both the man he was and the man he became.

In an interview with Christian Benefits, she spoke warmly about her husband and the remarkable transformation she has witnessed in his life.

Despite the 15-year age difference between them, she described Oviebo as an honest man and a sincere lover who, even at 70, has retained qualities she deeply appreciates.

Her testimony about him goes beyond being that of a wife describing her husband. It is the testimony of a woman who saw him at a difficult point in his life and became instrumental in his journey back to God.

Born in Benin to an Edo father and a Yoruba mother, Oviebo’s early years were marked by hardship. His mother eventually moved to Lagos, and he grew up around Ebute Meta, where most of the houses were wooden structures.

His childhood memories remain vivid. He attended St. Paul’s Catholic Primary School on Apapa Road and often trekked to school around Oyingbo. He and several others shared a wooden room with his maternal grandmother.

But perhaps the most painful memory of his childhood was hunger.

“We survived on leftovers from the garbage bins of Italian expatriates,” he recalled, offering a sobering glimpse into the circumstances from which he emerged.

His difficult beginnings, however, did not destroy his ambition. Rather, they strengthened his determination to escape poverty through education. After his primary education, he moved to Osogbo, where he took on different menial jobs after a person who had promised to sponsor his education died.

He worked at a car wash, served as a conductor and worked in a bakery while pursuing his education. He also attended technical school in the evenings. His dream was clear: he wanted to become an engineer.

That dream eventually became reality when he gained admission to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Lagos. After graduation, he secured employment with National Oil and eventually built a career that took him to Lagos and Kano.

His first salary was, in his own words, almost unbelievable.

“I saw my first salary as too huge for me alone. I remember that I even left some of the money on the table because I could not believe I had earned that much,” he recalled.

Professional success, however, came with its own dangers.

Oviebo openly admits that he was then living a reckless life characterised by drinking, womanising and other excesses. He enjoyed the comfort and privileges that came with his career, but spiritually, he was far from God.

It was during this period that he met the woman who would eventually become his wife.

According to Oviebo, they met in Kano when he was financially buoyant and, by his own admission, a womaniser. A friend who knew his lifestyle introduced him to the lady who would eventually become his wife.

She, however, would later become much more than his partner in marriage. She became one of the instruments God used to redirect his life.

Then came the turning point.

When National Oil underwent restructuring, Oviebo eventually lost his job and returned to Lagos around 1999. His wife had just completed her Master’s degree in Fisheries and was pregnant. Neither of them had employment.

The family entered a prolonged period of severe financial hardship. Oviebo attempted to establish a sachet-water business, but it failed to provide the breakthrough he desperately needed. At his lowest point, despair became so overwhelming that he contemplated running away and even taking his own life.

Yet, it was in that valley that grace began to speak.

His wife encouraged him and eventually led him towards Christ.

Her role in his transformation remains one of the significant aspects of their shared story. She did not merely watch from the sidelines as her husband battled his struggles; she encouraged him to seek God at a time when disappointment and frustration could easily have consumed him.

His encounter with the Full Gospel Christian Men Fellowship became a defining moment in his spiritual journey. Although he had initially become disillusioned with churches because of an earlier experience with a white-garment church, he eventually found a fellowship that helped him establish a serious and enduring walk with God.

His wife’s influence was particularly significant in helping him make the transition from merely knowing about God to deliberately walking with Him.

The transformation was not merely spiritual in theory; it became evident in his everyday life.

Oviebo recalls one particular moment when he prayed while building his house and told God that he wanted to stop drinking. Later, when he attempted to drink a stout, he said it tasted like poison.

He stopped drinking—a decision that has remained with him for about two decades.

That transformation is also part of what his wife celebrates about him.

The man she married had known a lifestyle of drinking and womanising, but the man she has now spent nearly three decades with is one she describes in terms of honesty, sincerity and love.

For her, the difference is not simply that her husband stopped drinking. It is that his values, priorities and outlook on life were transformed.

Today, Oviebo describes his Christian journey with gratitude. He attributes his stability to taking the Word of God seriously and deliberately building his life around Scripture.

His faith was also tested during another difficult period when he and his wife explored fish farming. Drawing from his wife’s background in Fisheries, they decided to try their hands at it.

With very limited resources, they bought about 50 fingerlings for ₦200.

“We didn’t have money to buy their food, so we gave them whatever we had,” he recalled. “I had a very strong faith that God was going to take care of us, so we gave them whatever we ate, and they grew on it.”

For Oviebo, the experience became another lesson in trusting God when circumstances appear impossible.

It also illustrates the partnership that has characterised his marriage. Their relationship has not been built solely around the better seasons of life. They have walked together through professional success, unemployment, financial hardship, business attempts, childbearing, faith and restoration.

That is why, when asked to describe their 28-year marriage, Oviebo’s answer was simple:

“It’s been wondrous.”

His wife’s reflections add another dimension to that description. Her testimony suggests that what has sustained the marriage is not the absence of challenges but the presence of commitment, honesty, love and a shared journey through life’s seasons.

At 70, Oviebo looks back at his life not as a catalogue of achievements but as evidence of God’s mercy.

His greatest testimony, he says, is that God never abandoned him. He has experienced poverty, professional success, failure, disappointment and restoration, yet through every season, God remained faithful.

His wife’s story reinforces that testimony. She saw the man who once lived recklessly, stood with him through unemployment and hardship, encouraged him towards Christ, and has continued to share his journey for nearly three decades.

Their story therefore becomes more than the testimony of one man. It is also a testimony of marriage, companionship and the redemptive power of faith.

From a boy who once searched garbage bins for food to an engineer who built a career in the oil industry; from a reckless young man to a committed follower of Christ; and from despair to renewed purpose, Engr. Akintunde Oviebo’s story is ultimately the story of grace.

At 70, the engineer is not simply celebrating how far he has travelled. He is celebrating the God who brought him through every season.

His journey is a reminder that a difficult beginning does not have to determine the end of a life.

The boy who once wondered where his next meal would come from eventually became an engineer.

The man who once surrendered himself to drinking and womanising eventually surrendered his life to Christ.

The husband whose marriage has passed through seasons of difficulty now celebrates 28 years of companionship with the woman who became an important instrument in his spiritual transformation.

And the man who once contemplated giving up now looks back with gratitude.

His testimony can therefore be summed up in one powerful expression:

God turned his story from crumbs to abundance.