When the first light of dawn glimmered over Lagos on that humid June morning, Omotoke Fatoki tightened the straps on her lone rucksack, breathed in the city’s cacophony, and stepped into legend.
Known online as the Alárìnká of Africa, she carried no luxury endorsements—only a backpack, unwavering determination, and a belief that an African woman from humble beginnings could claim every road on her continent.
Over the next six months, Fatoki travelled by public transport across nine countries: Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and finally Namibia. Each leg of her journey was a lesson in resourcefulness, involving cramped overnight buses, motorbike taxis on dusty backroads, and shared cars packed with families. Every ticket was purchased from her savings, along with support from her Alarinka and SARA by WEMA communities, as well as the kindness of strangers.
Yet this was more than an odyssey of self‐discovery. In remote Dar es Salaam, she recorded market‐vendor songs for her Impact Adventurers platform. She livestreamed border‐crossing chats, budgeting hacks on ₦2,000 per day, and candid reflections on African hospitality. Her journey became a two‐way exchange: she collected stories, and in return, left behind hope.
“I want Africans to see our continent as their playground, classroom and home,” she says from Windhoek, where modern roads and efficient systems stand as proof that Africa’s promise is real. Travel need not be exclusive. You start with what you have.” Her feat builds on the 2020s milestone when she backpacked all 36 Nigerian states—a venture that sparked a grassroots movement for accessible travel.
Today, she packages every insight into her new e‐guide, Nigeria to Namibia by Road. It offers:
-Exact itineraries (bus station names, departure times)
-Visa‐application tips (navigating Cameroon’s queues, Zambia’s on‐arrival rules)
-Transport hacks (fare ranges in CFA, shillings, kwacha)
-Budget worksheets (plan on under ₦2,500 per day)
-Safety and cultural pointers for solo women travellers
Fatoki’s vision extends beyond personal achievement into continental policy. As an advocate for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), she witnessed how visa delays and inconsistent customs checks created more friction than flying to Europe. “If AfCFTA is to succeed, intra‐African travel must be easier, cheaper and fairer,” she argues.
Her four concrete policies ask:
1. Single African Visa to replace multiple national permits
2. Standardised digital customs procedures to curb corruption
3. Tourism diplomacy positioning Nigeria as a youth‐travel hub
4. Investment in transnational highways and bus corridors
For Nigeria—Africa’s most populous nation—Omotoke’s road pilgrimage is soft power in action. It reframes Nigeria as a gateway to a Borderless Africa, tapping into cultural diplomacy and intra‐continental commerce. Her final words beneath Namibia’s desert sky echo as both challenge and inspiration: “We don’t have to wait for European visas. Our beautiful continent lies before us—let’s walk it.”
Omotoke Motunrayo Fatoki (the Alárìnká of Africa) is a Nigerian overland adventurer, storyteller and founder of Alárìnká Travel and Impact Adventurers. She was the first woman to backpack all 36 Nigerian states, completed a 70-day trek across West Africa, and has now traversed 23 African countries by road. On a mission to visit all 54 nations overland, she uses travel as a tool for impact, unity and connection.
Follow her journey on Instagram and Twitter [@Omotokefatoki], and explore her e-guide at Alarinka.com.