Tomilola Adejumo

Watching Speed stream across Africa was actually enjoyable. It was adventurous. It was interesting. People were curious but respectful. There was structure. There was sense. It made Africa look like a place with educated people who know how to host and move correctly. Then IShowSpeed entered Nigeria and everything went left immediately. The very first thing that happened was begging. Grown men surrounding him saying “show us love.” Everyone knows what that means. Give us money. No greeting. No welcome.

Tomilola Adejumo Background In the 19th century, during the Owu Wars, the Ẹgba people sought refuge in Olumo Rock in Abeokuta to escape Dahomey raids. Jan 19, 2026 The night we fled into Olumo, my mother’s hand gripped my wrist until my pulse throbbed against her fingers. Our village burned behind us. Huts collapsed into ash. Screams tore through the air. My father’s last act was to press his kòso bead into my palm, its smooth wood warm from his hand.

I don’t want to be cliché and say that I started writing because I wanted to be the next chimamanda or that when I was 5, I had an epiphany of some sort. I started writing to keep secrets. Yes. I started with a diary in junior secondary school where I’d complain during my serious “nobody gets me” phase. I wrote about how my classmates used to act to me and how I felt when my sisters annoyed me. There was usually a line saying, “I hate {redacted} so much.” This sentence appeared frequently.