Lifestyle
Olabisi Ajala and Jawaharlal Nehru: A Meeting of Wanderlust and World Leadership (PHOTOS)
This photograph—widely circulated in Nigerian popular memory—captures an encounter between Moshood Olabisi “Ajala the Traveller” and Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister. Nigerian accounts recall that during Ajala’s visit to India in the late 1950s, Nehru even posed with (and is sometimes said to have briefly sat upon) Ajala’s famous Vespa scooter. While a handful of press photographs exist of the two men together, the detail of Nehru actually riding the scooter remains an anecdote repeated in Nigerian sources rather than a claim confirmed by Indian or British archives.
Ajala the Traveller: Nigeria’s Global Adventurer
Born in Lagos in 1934, Ajala left a brief medical career in the United States for an audacious life of world travel. Between the late 1950s and early 1960s he toured 87 countries across five continents on his Vespa, financing his journeys with freelance journalism and public lectures. His daring spirit turned him into a folk hero back home and a symbol of post-colonial Africa’s confidence on the global stage.
Nehru and the Non-Aligned Moment
When Ajala reached India, Nehru was at the height of his influence as a founding voice of the Non-Aligned Movement, which sought an independent path for newly decolonized nations during the Cold War. Ajala’s fearless, people-to-people diplomacy resonated with Nehru’s vision of cross-cultural understanding and solidarity among emerging nations. The meeting, whether or not Nehru truly rode the scooter, embodied the spirit of informal cultural exchange that the movement celebrated.
More Than a Personal Quest
Ajala’s exploits were a form of unofficial cultural diplomacy. In an era when Africa was often misrepresented abroad, he projected an image of sophistication, adventure, and intellectual curiosity. His 1963 memoir, An African Abroad, offers first-hand reflections on his encounters with global leaders—from Golda Meir and Nikita Khrushchev to Gamal Abdel Nasser—and on the shared humanity he discovered across cultures.
Lasting Legacy
Today, the phrase “Ajala the Traveller” endures in Nigerian popular culture to describe anyone with an unquenchable thirst for exploration. Whether or not Nehru truly took the Vespa for a spin, the story symbolizes the meeting of youthful audacity and statesmanlike vision in a rapidly changing world.
Sources
Ajala, Moshood Olabisi. An African Abroad. London: Jarrolds, 1963.
Ogunlesi, Tolu. “Olabisi Ajala: Nigeria’s Original Globetrotter.” The Guardian (Nigeria), 12 Aug. 2012.
FOLLOW US ON:
