London to Lagos bike trip: You made Nigeria proud, Osinbajo tells Kunle Adeyanju

Kunle Adeyanju, the biker who rode from London to Lagos to create awareness on polio, on Thursday, visited Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

Speaking during the visit, Osinbajo praised Adeyanju’s efforts, adding that he has made the country proud.

“We must tell and retell. They are stories of our successes and we must continue to tell those stories and telling it in the light that will shame those who continue to tell stories that Africa is all about people who are killing each other and all that,” Osinbajo said, according to a statement by Laolu Akande, his spokesman.

“Where do you not have acts of terrorism these days? But the truth of the matter is that vast majority of our people are good people, generous people, hospitable people, as you found.

“Your achievements have made us all proud. We are all standing much taller on account of what you have done. And I know that this is just the beginning of the many more ways by which you will promote Nigeria and Africa.

“There is a lot in our country that we must be extremely proud of. We must tell our own story just as Kunle has said. Our story is worth hearing and we must tell our story first to ourselves because we need to get our self-esteem back as a people.

“We must tell our stories to ourselves and we must understand who we are and what our strengths are. We are resilient, strong, innovative, and creative. In this country, just in about 5 to 6 years, 7 tech companies have become Unicorns (i.e. companies worth over a billion dollars), in this same country and all started by young Nigerians.”

The vice-president also commended the community of bikers in the country, adding that their efforts on promoting unity is commendable.

“Go to the markets, go anywhere, you find that Nigerians relate to each other as Nigerians. I have been all over this country, those who promote ethnicity, promote religious superiority are people who want to advance their personal interests,” he said.

“I think that those of you who have a message of unity to preach must continue to do so. This country is strong and this country is the way it is only because of the very many parts that we are, we are 200 million strong from everywhere. And all of us have capacity and all of us have everything that it takes to excel.”

In his remarks, Adeyanju highlighted his experience during the ride, adding that Nigeria needs to do more on telling its own story.

Also present during the visit were Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM); Goddy Nnadi, district governor of the Rotary Club District 9125, among others.

See photos of the visit below.