Speed’s African Tour to Nigeria: The North Deserved A Stop.

Here I write why I think Speed’s African tour to Nigeria, should have gone North.

There is a danger in telling only one story of a place. Lagos, loud and luminous, has become the single story of Nigeria for many outsiders, the city of Afrobeats, neon nights, and relentless ambition. It is not untrue. But it is incomplete.

Speed’s African tour to Nigeria unfolded in January, a season when the continent is gentler, clearer, and at its most visually generous. Harmattan skies soften the heat, roads are calmer, and landscapes glow in muted golds. January is, in many ways, the most forgiving month to explore Northern Nigeria.

If I were part of Speed’s team, I would have proposed moving beyond predictable routes to include Northern Nigeria, beginning with Kano.

In East Africa, Speed’s streams resonated not just because of location, but because of immersion. In Tanzania and Kenya, he didn’t merely observe culture; he participated in it. He danced with locals, ate street food, visited markets, rode through rural towns, and allowed everyday life to shape the narrative. The audience responded to intimacy, not spectacle. That same depth exists, just as vividly, in Northern Nigeria.

Northern Nigeria offers the texture and authenticity that defined the East African leg of the tour. Kano would be the natural anchor. One of West Africa’s oldest cities, it is a living archive. Kurmi Market alone provides endless organic content; spices, leatherworks, textiles, metal crafts, voices layered over centuries. The ancient city walls, Gidan Makama Museum, and Kofar Mata dye pits offer historical depth and striking visuals. Add a guided Durbar-style horse procession, traditional wrestling, Hausa music sessions, and street food tastings of suya, masa, and fura da nono, and you have a day of livestream content that is grounded and globally magnetic.

From there, Yola (Adamawa State) offers a softer, reflective contrast. Visits to the Lamido’s Palace, Fulani pastoral communities, and sunset rides along the Benue River would mirror the rural intimacy Speed found compelling in East Africa. The hospitality here is instinctive, not staged, and the expansive, golden landscapes are ideal for immersive storytelling.

Then there is Borno, particularly Maiduguri and surrounding communities too often reduced to headlines. Guided visits to historic sites like Rabeh’s Fort and the Shehu of Borno’s Palace, conversations with youth entrepreneurs, Kanuri music sessions, and market tours could reframe global perceptions. This isn’t about ignoring past conflict; it is about documenting resilience, renewal, and everyday life.

Strategically, a Northern Nigeria itinerary would have been a first-mover advantage. Lagos tells the familiar story of African modernity; the North tells a rarer story of continuity, of traditions still practiced not merely remembered. In January, with calm roads, cooler air, and golden light, Northern Nigeria would have offered visual and emotional richness unmatched elsewhere on the itinerary.

However, honesty is crucial. The North is presently not a place for spontaneous road trips or casual movement between towns. Any itinerary would require flights between cities, pre-vetted cultural sites, limited public announcements, and security-led routing. This is structured, controlled, and deliberate, not reckless.

Perhaps in a different political moment, before the years of Buhari and now Tinubu, such an immersive Northern tour would have been more seamless. Not now. Yet, even within these constraints, a carefully planned Northern chapter could carry meaning.

Northern Nigeria would deepen the narrative of Speed’s African tour. January is the perfect season. Kano, Yola, and parts of Borno offer visual poetry, cultural depth, and rare authenticity. But timing, politics, and security matter. The North asks not for romance, but for realism.

When you really think about it, Speed is just a young man who likes to have fun. With real humans not the influencer culture attention seeking hungry type of humans.