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Pelumi Nubi gives reasons why she embarked on road trip from London to Lagos
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
A 28-year-old travel content creator, Pelumi Nubi, who embarked on a solo road trip from London to Lagos in a Peugeot 107 has revealed that she commenced the journey to open up West Africa to other parts of the world.
Nubi, who argued that there was not enough representation of Nigerians in terms of land travel from the United Kingdom, said young women have now been inspired to undertake impossible challenges.
Speaking to Vanguard in Lagos, she expressed happiness about the size of fanfare that greeted her arrival.
Her words: “I feel elated and feel amazing. I knew I would have a homecoming, but I didn’t envision that it would be this size. The journey was up and down, but to see the warm welcome from so many people has been incredible.
“was trying to connect the two places I consider home. I was born in Lagos and I grew up in London, so I wanted to connect both places. Usually, I would fly in, but most times, I wanted to see what West Africa is like and this was an opportunity to do so. In terms of over land travel, there was not enough representation.
“There were not enough people that looked like me. This would inspire the next generation of young women that they can do daring things, they can step out of their comfort zone and change the narrative of the African continent out there. This journey is opening up the world to other people to visit the continent.
“It was challenging. Having to do it all by myself was challenging. However, the cheering from my online family which grew from 10,000 to more than 200,000 motivated me. I am so grateful to everyone and I do not take it all for granted.”
On his part, Nubi’s father, Professor Nubi Gbenga, said: “We are grateful to God because nobody deserves it other than Him. Whatever has happened is God’s blessings. It is not that we deserve it. Many times, we were scared.
“For me, I was scared everyday, particularly when she was sleeping, because she was sleeping on the roadside in this tiny car (Peugeot 107). In the desert, she slept by the roadside, and woke up in the morning in a forest. When she moved to another town, we would start praying again. For us, it’s been two months of sleepless nights.”
After 68 days of driving, Pelumi Nubi completed a solo road trip from London to Lagos.
Nubi was received at the Nigeria-Benin Republic border on behalf of Lagos state government by Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka and the Special Adviser, Tourism, Arts and Culture, Idris Aregbe.
During her solo road trip, Pelumi Nubi faced a daunting challenge in March when she survived a crash. Video footage showed severe damage to her vehicle’s front and a shattered windshield.
Nubi started from England, crossed into France, Spain and headed to Morocco then through the West Sahara Desert, Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Ghana, Togo, Benin finally reaching Lagos.
Gboyega Akosile, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to Lagos Governor on Sunday, tweeted: “Lagos State Government gives a hero’s welcome to @peluminubi_, a Nigeria-British citizen who who did a solo drive from London to Lagos.
“Pelumi was received at the Nigeria-Benin Republic border on behalf of Lagos State Government by the Hon Commissioner of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka and the Special Adviser, Tourism, Arts and Culture @IdrisConnecting.”
Welcome home!”
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Just in: Ooni Ex- Queen Naomi, Oriyomi Hamzat, others to spend Christmas in prison
A Chief Magistrate Court in Iyaganku, Ibadan, has ordered the remand of three people in connection with last week’s tragic stampede at Bashorun Islamic High School.
The individuals include Mr. Abdullahi Fasasi, the school’s principal; Alhaji Oriyomi Hamzat, the proprietor of Agidigbo FM and Naomi Silekunola, the estranged wife of Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ile Ife.
Presided over by Chief Magistrate Olabisi Ogunkanmi, the court’s ruling came on Tuesday, following their arraignment by the Oyo State Police Command.
The proceedings took place under heightened security, with a crowd of family members and interested parties gathered outside the courtroom.
The defendants face four counts of charges related to the incident, as outlined by the police prosecutor, who cited a violation of Section 324 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 38, Vol. II, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.
After hearing the charges, Chief Magistrate Ogunkanmi ordered that the trio be held at Agodi Correctional Center while awaiting further guidance from the state prosecutor.
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Mozambique Top Court Confirms Ruling Party Disputed Win
Fears are high that more violence could break out in the nation after the opposition threatened to call an uprising following the decision.
Mozambique’s highest court confirmed Monday the ruling party’s victory in a disputed October vote after allegations of rigging triggered weeks of deadly street clashes.
Fears are high that more violence could break out in the southern African nation after the opposition threatened to call an uprising following the decision.
The Constitutional Court said the ruling Frelimo party presidential candidate Daniel Chapo secured 65 percent of the vote, revising down provisional results from the electoral commission which said he got nearly 71 percent.
Chapo’s main challenger, exiled opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, received an upward revision to 24.2 percent of the vote.
The final results extend Frelimo’s half-century grip on power, lining up Chapo to take over from President Filipe Nyusi whose second term ends on January 15.
Mondlane has said that the election was rigged in favour of Frelimo and that a separate count shows he won enough votes to take office, which he intends to do.
Several international observer missions have also said there were irregularities.
Some had thought the opposition’s challenge of the results was “a bluff,(that) we’re joking,” he told supporters on social media on Saturday. “So they will also be surprised on January 15 when they see Venancio Mondlane take office in Maputo.”
Mondlane has been in self-imposed exile since the assassination of his lawyer on October 19, a killing he blames on security forces, and it was unclear if he intended to return.
“Difficult days will come,” said the 50-year-old, who appeals to disenchanted younger voters in a country of 33 million people marked by poverty despite its abundant resources.
“The Constitutional Council’s ruling will lead Mozambique either to peace or chaos,” Mondlane said in an online address, promising a “new popular uprising at a level never seen before.”
– Country on edge –
The southern African country has been rocked by unrest since the election commission said that the October 9 vote was won by Chapo.
No fewer than 130 people have been killed in two months of violence, most of them opposition demonstrators shot by security forces, according to local NGOs.
Cities, mines, borders and ports have been affected by protest action and operations at the main border with South Africa halted, causing its neighbour major losses in exports.
Tension was already mounting in the capital Maputo ahead of the court decision with many businesses shut.
The main roads into the city centre were barricaded by police and access to the presidential palace and Constitutional Council office shut, AFP journalists saw.
The US government on Thursday raised its warning level against travel to Mozambique ahead of the Constitutional Council announcement.
Pope Francis called Sunday for dialogue and goodwill to “prevail over mistrust and discord” in Mozambique.
President Nyusi and Mondlane had talked, both men confirmed last week, without announcing any outcome.
In an address to the nation on Friday, Nyusi said he hoped that once the final results were proclaimed, all sides “will open their hearts to a constructive and inclusive dialogue.”
– ‘Maputo under siege’ –
The protests have been the “most dangerous” ever seen in Mozambique, said analyst Borges Nhamirre, continuing despite deaths and arrests, and intensifying with police stations and Frelimo offices torched.
“Protests have already been called for Monday. The main cities, including Maputo, will be under siege because of the fear of protests,” he said.
“I’m convinced that if Monday the Constitutional Council declares the election as free and fair, which I am 100 percent convinced it will, then the blood is going to flow,” Maputo-based political and security risk analyst Johann Smith told AFP.
“The whole game changes on Monday,” said Smith. “It will be a lot more intense and bloody.”
Mondlane had awakened resentment against Frelimo, he said, similar to discontent that this year led to the party that governed Botswana since independence being voted out and threatening to do the same in Namibia.
“It’s almost like the Southern African Spring,” Smith said, in a reference to the Arab anti-government protests in North Africa in the early 2010s.
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Tinubu Bombs Obasa Over Controversial Lagos Council Law
The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, has reportedly slammed the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, over the contentious 2024 Lagos State Local Council Administration Law sent to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for assent.
Visibly upset, President Tinubu questioned Obasa’s qualifications to draft laws that could destabilize the political harmony in Lagos State.
He repeatedly scolded the Speaker for his perceived individualistic approach to state matters and his confrontational stance toward the state executive, the party, and its elders.
A stunned Obasa was reportedly left speechless as Tinubu lambasted him for his alleged political misconduct and defiance toward the party, its leaders, and the governor. The President emphasized that matters concerning local government laws were beyond Obasa and the House of Assembly at this stage. Tinubu directed the Speaker to align with Governor Sanwo-Olu’s directives, particularly regarding the screening, approval, and confirmation of board members for the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC).
Obasa was further instructed to comply with other instructions that would be communicated to him in the future.
The incident comes after Obasa, during the Lagos State 2025 budget presentation, boasted that no serving or former Lagos State governor was better qualified than him to oversee the state, which boasts the fourth-largest economy in Africa. His assertion, seen as a direct indictment of President Tinubu, who governed Lagos from 1999 to 2007, also highlighted his ambition to run for Lagos State Governor in 2027.
The controversial 2024 Local Government Administration Law has been widely criticized as a tool for Obasa to install his loyalists as administrative secretaries in the 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs). This move is viewed as part of his 2027 gubernatorial agenda, branded as the “Muda Eko, Obasa Lagos 2027 Agenda” under The Mudashiru Movement (TMM). The proposal has reportedly caused divisions within the APC in Lagos State.
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