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Nigerian adventurer and Rotarian Olatunji Emmanuel Okedeyi has described language barriers across West Africa as one of the toughest challenges of his ongoing expedition from the United Kingdom to Nigeria to promote polio eradication awareness.
Speaking in an interview with News Central TV after entering West Africa, Okedeyi said navigating several French-speaking countries has tested his ability to communicate and find his way during the journey.
“My dad usually also drive out with the ambulance and they go to local villages to go and campaign about Polio…”@EmmaRidesPolio says his #EmmaRidesForZeroPolio campaign was inspired by seeing children lose arms or legs to polio while he was growing up, and by the impact… pic.twitter.com/TTCGixVwfF
— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) June 24, 2026
“Most of the African countries that I came through speak French, and unfortunately, I can’t speak French,” he said, noting that the challenge has been particularly evident in countries such as Morocco, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau.
Despite the communication difficulties, he said he has managed by relying on hand gestures and occasional assistance from people who understand some English.
“I’ve been able to use my hand gesture on one or two occasions. I’ve seen somebody who also speaks a little bit of English, and then we managed to get what I needed to get as well,” he explained.
Okedeyi added that the language barrier recently caused a major setback during the trip.
“Language has been one of the biggest challenges,” he said, recalling how he arrived at his hotel at about 12:30 a.m. after struggling to understand directions.
According to him, people tried to explain routes, “but I didn’t get the direction.”
He added that managing different currencies across multiple countries also required careful planning.
“Usually when I get to a border, there is always somebody who wants to exchange money,” he said. “I use my phone to look at what the exchange rate is saying… and I use that as my negotiation tool.”
While reflecting on the purpose behind the expedition, Okedeyi said the campaign was inspired by childhood experiences that exposed him to the devastating impact of polio.
“In terms of the inspiration, I grew up in the hospital quarters because my father, of blessed memory, was an ambulance driver under Oyo State,” he said.
According to him, living within a hospital environment allowed him to witness firsthand the suffering of children affected by preventable diseases.
“That gave me the opportunity to see some of the people who come into the hospital for treatment, being able to see children that have got polio, children that their limbs were removed, they lost their arm or leg, or some of the children died because they did not take vaccination at the time.” he said
He also recalled his father going on awareness campaigns in rural communities.
“My dad usually drove out with the ambulance and they would go to local villages to campaign about polio. So that stuck with me,” he said.
Okedeyi noted that his involvement with Rotary International further strengthened his commitment to the global fight against the disease.
“And I learned from Rotary as well. It’s (polio eradication) has been at the forefront of Rotary International and this has been going on for many years as well with the United Nation” he said.
He described the journey as the fulfilment of a long-held ambition to contribute to efforts to protect children from the disease.
“It’s been part of me and it stayed with me,” he said. “And I was looking forward for one day when I’ll be able to raise the campaign and also to raise some money to support children for the vaccination as well. And that’s what has brought about this campaign.”
The motorcycle expedition is focused on raising awareness about polio eradication and supporting initiatives to ensure more children have access to life-saving vaccines.
