Entrepreneur Kunle Adeyanju is somebody who leads by instance. Using via 42 cities in 13 international locations, he has campaigned to stamp out polio and on the similar time, see Africa for himself. What he discovered runs counter to prevailing narratives.
By Gabriella Opara, fowl story company
It’s 6 am, the solar is rising and Kunle Adeyanju is preparing for a giant day’s travelling on his bike, Eagle – after simply 4 hours of sleep. At present’s journey is totally different, although. It’s the celebratory leg of an epic 13-country tour and he’s heading to Kwara from Lagos, escorted by a gaggle of fellow bikers, to be celebrated in his hometown for his profitable journey.
It’s barely two weeks since he arrived in Lagos, the ultimate vacation spot of an epic #LondontoLagos journey, and whereas Adeyanju could have reached his marketed vacation spot, he’s persevering with on one other journey – elevating funds to make sure a polio-free Africa. At present’s experience “house” is a part of that effort – a campaign that’s each essential for the nation and intensely private.
“My greatest pal Sanjo acquired polio when he was a baby. It was a traumatic expertise. Though he died not too long ago, a few years after contracting the virus, Sanjo’s well being was by no means the identical and I didn’t need another person going via the identical factor as he did,” Adeyanju explains.
In 2021, this entrepreneur and father of two determined to journey throughout Africa on a bike to lift funds in his private battle in opposition to polio and commenced charting routes and plans, studying up on the journey conditions within the 13 African international locations he supposed to go to.
He ready by studying broadly, together with referencing on-line assets just like the CIA World Factbook, which has data and newest statistics on international locations world wide. He made numerous “knowledgeable selections” like to not go to Burkina Faso, primarily based on the knowledge he got here throughout – selections that might make him query the prevailing “narrative on Africa” in a while.
The journey began on April 19, 2022.
A self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie, Adeyanju has visited over 75 international locations and plans to journey to extra. But, he mentioned, this expertise was much better than jetting into abroad locations.
“This experience has been essentially the most thrilling journey of my life as a result of I found humanity. I found a a lot richer story than posing with concrete or sitting in a high-speed practice,” he defined.
Every nation, he mentioned, was distinctive in its challenges and its delights. The locations he loved visiting essentially the most had been Senegal, Mali, and Ghana due to the reception he acquired. He had the hardest experiences crossing the Sahara and in Mauritania.
“The Sahara is a really harmful place to be. It’s hostile to life. I used to be in a sandstorm that lasted for 1 hour, 40 minutes. The gale power of the wind lifted me off the bottom. To outlive, I laid my bike on its facet and burrowed myself in opposition to it in order that my physique weight (95 kilos) and that of my bike (190 kilos) grew to become one. It was scorching, I acquired accidents from the place the sand hit in opposition to my uncovered pores and skin like needles.”
What stored him alive, he mentioned, was his survival intuition – and his youngsters’s instruction to: “Go on the journey however come again house it doesn’t matter what.”
Mauritania, he mentioned, provided totally different challenges.
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“I wasn’t combating the weather. Transactions as a foreigner within the nation had been dismal. Their foreign money (the ouguiya) was 1 ouguiya to 400 euros till not too long ago. Now, it’s 1 ouguiya to 40 euros. However I used to be unaware of the change and the locals guarantee foreigners keep uninformed. Issues had been very costly and past that, I used to be maltreated,” Adeyanju mentioned of the expertise.
Collaborating with the Rotary Membership Ikoyi Metro, the place he’s presently president-elect, Adeyanju is crowdfunding to maintain the eradication of polio, and for the renovation of a major health-care centre in Ikereku, a village in Oyo state.
Initially hoping to lift 20 million naira (round 48,200 US {dollars}), in Could he elevated his goal to 100 million naira (round 241,000 US {dollars}). He made the announcement on social media, urging individuals to donate through a financial institution switch to the Rotary Membership Ikoyi Metro or on GoFundMe. Adeyanju has promised to personally add ten % of all donations, to the funding drive.
In August 2020, Nigeria was declared polio-free by the World Well being Group (WHO), making it the final African nation to be freed from the virus. However, based on Adeyanju, the one method to utterly eradicate the virus and stop its re-emergence is thru continuous consciousness and vaccination in opposition to the illness.
His reception all through the journey was encouraging. He was hosted by ambassadors, Rotary Golf equipment and people in a number of international locations he visited. Extra donations had been made by bikers and people in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, Lagos, and Lome, a few of whom challenged Adeyanju to have interaction in numerous actions.
Adeyanju hopes to complete a travelogue about his journey – one that may set the report straight relating to travelling in Africa.
“My guide is 50% achieved, and can most definitely be printed two months from now. It particulars all of the experiences of this journey. After it’s printed, we’ll make a movie as effectively.”
Though this journey takes him a step nearer to attaining every thing on his bucket checklist, he plans to do extra.
“A yr from now, I’ll journey from Lagos to Israel. Then from Israel, I’ll journey to Tibet as a result of I need to experience on the Tibetan plateau. After that, I’ll experience to Everest basecamp to climb the mountain,” Adeyanju mentioned.
Years in the past, after effectively over a decade working for worldwide companies, Adeyanju give up his job to give attention to his philanthropic pursuits and adventures. With a TEDx discuss and two books behind him, his present work advising companies permits him the flexibleness
he wants.
“I can’t do that if I’m tied right down to an organization, which is why I grew to become an entrepreneur in 2018. Now, I’m in a position to modify my schedules for adventures like this, working round it if I’ve to,” Adeyanju mentioned.
He by no means misses an opportunity to maintain everybody up to date on his YouTube channel and Twitter web page. Sharing his experiences on his weblog, he mentioned, was therapeutic, notably in the course of the tough occasions.
“I learn in regards to the #LondontoLagos journey on Twitter, and I used to be captivated that there’s a route from London to Lagos by bike. I used to be additionally intrigued that Kunle Adeyanju was doing it for humanitarian causes. I wished to know extra about it, so I adopted him on Twitter. His updates have been very enlightening,” mentioned Adetutu Ajiduah, a luxurious gross sales professional.
Similar to Olabisi Ajala, a Nigerian globetrotter in style within the Fifties, Kunle Adeyanju regards himself as an adventurer.
“My grandma nicknamed me Lionheart after I was ten. And I nicknamed my bike Eagle after I acquired it. As a result of, when an eagle meets a storm, it faces it, head-on, hovering greater. A lionheart can solely experience on an eagle.”
With philanthropist Invoice Gates and Twitter CEO Parag Aragwal congratulating him for his efforts, the world is taking discover of Adeyanju’s initiative.
Advertising is a key element of the Adeyanju’s technique. Upon his arrival in Lagos, Adeyanju collaborated with Radisson Resort and The Palms Mall to have a “meet and greet”. Tunde Muyibi, Advertising Supervisor for The Palms Mall, shared his pleasure about Adeyanju’s journey.
“A number of us don’t know our continent in addition to we should always. However, via his journey, we may study extra. Kunle Adeyanju is our fashionable Ajala the Traveler,” he mentioned.
The large take-away from his journey, nonetheless, is how mistaken the narrative on Africa, really was. The fact on the bottom, was very, very totally different, he discovered, as he made his approach from nation to nation.
“One factor I discovered on my journey is that there’s a want to inform the true African story. We’re a various and pleasant individuals. The unfavourable narrative peddled about us world wide is unfaithful,” Adeyanju says.
Ultimately, he ventured into Burkina Faso whereas ready for an entry visa to journey via Côte d’Ivoire.
In response to him, Burkina Faso, a spot described as “harmful and unfriendly” by the CIA World Factbook, turned out to be very welcoming and protected. He was glad he had launched into this journey to study and expertise variety and the true spirit of African hospitality.
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