This British-Nigerian influencer undertook the 10,000-kilometer journey alone by car.
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00:00A young woman, all alone in a small car from London to Lagos, British-Nigerian content
00:06creator Pulumi Nubi is braving the road.
00:10Oh my God, this is happening!
00:14Undeterred by the naysayers, Pulumi embarked on her adventure from Europe to West Africa,
00:19a journey fraught with dangers, setbacks and disasters.
00:24Like a serious car accident.
00:26More on that later.
00:27But what were her motivations?
00:30I've just loved exploring, immersing myself in culture and documenting it so that other
00:34people can be inspired as well.
00:37And you know, over the years I've racked up the countries, we're at 80 plus countries
00:41right now, and I wanted to connect these two places I consider home, London and Lagos.
00:48Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Pulumi was 10 when she moved with her family to London, England,
00:54where she has lived ever since.
00:56On January 24th, 2024, Pulumi set off from London for her biggest trip yet.
01:03First it's off to Dover and onto the ferry.
01:05I can't help but just tear up because it's just like, wow, I'm actually doing it.
01:13She continues through France and Spain to Gibraltar, to catch the next ferry to the
01:18African continent, landing in Morocco.
01:21Now I'm on the continent, Lagos.
01:24I'm coming for you, come on.
01:28From Morocco through the Atlas Mountains to the Western Sahara, a three-day crossing.
01:34Things were moving quickly, but then it got more difficult.
01:37One of the biggest challenges.
01:38But once I could start getting to West Africa and the rest, I was like, oh damn, this is
01:42hard.
01:43Like, you know, from the road to just fatigue because I've just been on the road for too
01:46long and then the borders issue and then the cars, it was like back to back.
01:50But yeah, it's priceless now, I won't put a price on it.
01:54It's just so much incredible memories.
01:57Pulumi was on the road for 75 days, taking her time to get to know the countries and
02:02their people.
02:03Since she set off from London to Lagos, she covered more than 10,000 kilometers and passed
02:08through a total of 17 countries.
02:11But she's not completely alone.
02:12Her Instagram followers keep her company.
02:14She started with 12,000 and ended up with around 300,000.
02:19I was genuinely just doing this as another road trip, another grand adventure, you know.
02:25It was just meant to be a thing that, you know, I love to do.
02:27I want to showcase Africa.
02:28I want to create some content as a content creator.
02:31But I quickly discovered that, no, this is no normal thing.
02:34The people that bind to your story, bind, connecting with you on a very deeper level.
02:39Her success on Instagram can be attributed to her authentic, honest personality.
02:44Luxury living?
02:45No thanks.
02:47Yay!
02:48This road, you see, Africa Passage.
02:51I'm hungry, I need a shower, I'm tired, and everything in between.
02:57Most of the time, she slept in her 12-year-old Peugeot, bathed at rest stops, eating in small
03:02cafes or while driving.
03:04No make-up reality in comfortable clothes.
03:07That was very important to her.
03:09I wanted to feel like a traveler going from one place to the next, and what is their lived
03:14reality.
03:15I wanted to see the border situation like any normal traveler, not a VIP that already
03:19had pre-check or whatever.
03:22And it was tough.
03:23Facing her fears, overcoming misogyny, handling corruption and bureaucracy at the borders.
03:29Bad roads, roaming problems, and no internet were also part of her day-to-day.
03:35It's a lot of ups and downs, but there are always good moments.
03:41She experienced her worst moment on the Ivory Coast.
03:44Pulumi crashed into a truck that didn't have warning lights on in the middle of the pitch-black
03:48road.
03:49One minute I was driving, the next minute I wasn't.
03:53You know, the airbag was up in my face, I was like, what just happened?
03:58Miraculously, Pulumi was unharmed.
04:00Giving up was out of the question.
04:02After ten days at the mechanic, Lumi, as the car had been christened, was back on the road
04:06and driving through Ghana, Togo and Benin towards its final destination, Lagos.
04:13We're at the border, guys!
04:14I'm going to scream, I'm going to scream!
04:18On April 7th, 2024, Pulumi reached the border of Nigeria and became the first woman of colour
04:24to drive from London to Nigeria alone.
04:28Seeing that love just being poured to someone else, like strangers, it was incredible, like
04:33everybody knew something was happening, like the community really came out.
04:37As a nation, there was a celebration, which is just, yeah.
04:41The very next day, Pulumi and her parents were welcomed as guests by the governor of
04:46Lagos state and were not only reimbursed for all their travel expenses, but also received
04:51a new car, an apartment and were appointed tourism ambassadors for Lagos.
04:59My message is for young people, and women especially, to go after the things that they
05:04truly want to do.
05:05I hope they see my journey and they are just inspired to go after everything, because I've
05:09realised on the other side of fear, on the other side of going after everything that
05:13you want, is truly where the magic is.
05:16We can't wait to see how Pulumi's journey continues.
05:19Lumi, the car that so bravely persevered until the very end, is in well-deserved retirement
05:25on display at a cultural centre in Lagos.
05:28And Pulumi already has her eyes peeled for new adventures.