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!”