When I told my friends and family that Senegal would be my tenth country, they kept asking the same question: Why Senegal? Why not some other continent? Why not make your tenth country special?
And as a Nigerian, I understand the question.
There is a sense of pride that people have when they can finally say, “I have been to Europe or America or Asia.” Just some other continent. These places are often presented as the ultimate travel destinations, the places to aspire to, the places that somehow make your travel history more impressive.
But for me, choosing Senegal was never about finding the most impressive destination to mark my tenth country. It was about choosing a country that resonated with me.
I am a Pan-Africanist, and I believe there is so much of Africa left for me to explore. I have always been drawn to Africa: its history, its people, its cultures, its fabrics, its food, its music, and the many ways of life that exist across the continent.
But if I’m being completely honest, my love for Africa goes beyond my interest in its culture and history. There is something more personal about it, something I have spent a long time trying to understand.
‘I Have Always Felt Like the Odd One Out’
Growing up, I often felt like the odd one out in my own family. When we visited my uncles and aunties, they would recognise my older siblings and my younger siblings, but somehow, I was the one they struggled to remember.
Imagine going somewhere with your siblings and watching people recognise everyone else but you. Imagine having to introduce yourself to people who are supposed to know you. Imagine being in a room full of people you are related to and still feeling like a stranger.
It might not seem like much to someone else, but when something like this happens repeatedly while you’re growing up, it lingers..
For many reasons, this happened at different stages of my life, positively and negatively. I always stand out: by my looks, fashion, voice, the way I speak, and my accent.
And perhaps, without even realising it, it has influenced the way I see the world, the places I want to visit, and even the places I can imagine calling home.
I have thought about relocating to other countries at different points in my life. I have imagined what it would be like to live somewhere else, build a life somewhere new, and experience a different way of living.
But whenever I think about relocating, I find myself thinking about Africa.
When I visited Rwanda, I remember thinking that I could live there. There was something about the place that made the idea of relocating feel possible.
I have had similar thoughts about Kenya. These experiences have made me realise something: although I am open to exploring the world, I have never felt the same desire to relocate to a continent outside Africa.
And I have often wondered why.
I think a large part of it comes down to how I feel when I am in these places.
When I travel within Africa, there is a certain ease that I experience. I can move around, observe people, experience the culture, and feel like I am part of the environment around me. I know that Africa is not one homogeneous place. Every country has its own cultures, languages, customs, and ways of life. I am not suggesting that travelling to an African country automatically means I will fit in everywhere I go.
But there is a familiarity that I find comforting.
There is something about being surrounded by people who look like me, about seeing myself reflected in the people around me, that makes it easier to imagine building a life there.
I don’t have to think so much about being different.
I don’t have to wonder whether I will be the person everyone notices when I walk into a room.
I can simply exist.
And perhaps that is something I have been looking for all my life: a place where I can exist without constantly feeling different. ‘I Don’t Want to Stand Out. I Want to Blend In’
This is something I say quite often, even when we are talking about something as seemingly unrelated as fashion.
I don’t want to stand out.
I don’t want to be the person everyone turns to look at when I enter a room. I don’t want to be the person who is immediately singled out from a crowd, whether the attention is positive or negative.
I just want to blend in.
For many people, being different is a source of pride. They want to be noticed. They want to make a statement. They want to be the most interesting person in the room.
And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
But for me, I think there is something deeply comforting about the idea of being able to exist in a crowd without feeling like I am separate from everyone else.
Whatever the reason, I have come to understand that blending in is important to me.
I experienced a little of that discomfort when I visited Doha, Qatar. It was my first trip outside Africa, and I remember going to the mall and feeling as though everybody was looking at me.
Were they looking at me? I don’t know.
Perhaps I was simply more conscious of myself because I was in an unfamiliar environment. Perhaps the feeling was coming from within me rather than from anything the people around me were doing.
But I remember how uncomfortable I felt.
And I realised that, for me, that is not the life I want. ‘Everything I Need Is in Africa’
I believe that everything we need is in Africa.
I know that statement might sound idealistic, especially when we consider the challenges many African countries face. I am not blind to the problems that exist across the continent, and I am not suggesting that Africa is perfect or that living here is without its difficulties.
But I believe that Africa has so much to offer that we have barely begun to appreciate.
There are landscapes I have not seen, histories I have not learnt, cultures I have not experienced, fabrics I have not worn, foods I have not tasted, and people whose stories I have not heard.
Why would I be in such a hurry to look elsewhere when there is still so much to discover at home?
Sometimes, I think about how much of the world we are taught to admire from a distance. We grow up seeing certain countries presented as the standard, as the places where life is supposedly better, more beautiful, or more desirable.
And because of that, it can sometimes feel as though travelling to those places is a bigger achievement than exploring our own continent.
But I want to experience Africa for myself.
I want to see its diversity. I want to understand its differences. I want to appreciate what makes each country unique, from its history and architecture to its music, food, textiles, and everyday life.
I want to visit places that challenge what I think I know about Africa.
I want to learn more about where we come from, how we have evolved, and what connects us despite our differences.
And I want to do this not because I think I have to prove anything to anyone, but because I genuinely want to.
For me, travelling through Africa is not a consolation prize for not travelling elsewhere. It is not what I am doing until I can afford Europe or America.
Africa is not my alternative. Africa is a destination in its own right.
And I want my travels to reflect that.
Choosing Senegal was also a way of celebrating a milestone on my own terms.
My tenth country did not have to be a European capital or a destination that would impress people when I announced it.
It only had to be somewhere I genuinely wanted to go.
And Senegal was that place.
I wanted to celebrate the fact that I had visited ten countries, but I also wanted to celebrate the continent that had given me so many of my most meaningful travel experiences.
I want to be clear about something: I am not saying I will never visit another continent. I have visited Qatar, and I want to explore the world.
I want to see places I have only read about. I want to experience different cultures, visit museums, see incredible architecture, taste unfamiliar food, and learn how people live in different parts of the world.
I am curious about the world, and I don’t want my love for Africa to limit that curiosity.
But when I think about where I belong, my mind keeps returning to Africa.
And perhaps that is what this is about.
When people ask me why I chose Senegal for my tenth country, I could give them a simple answer.
I chose Senegal because I wanted to.
Congratulations to me!
