Pelu Awofeso

Pelu Awofeso is a Nigerian journalist, travel and culture writer, based in Lagos, Nigeria. He is a winner of the CNN/Multichoice African Journalists Awards in the Tourism Category. He is often described as "Nigerian foremost travel writer."[1] He is also a published author.

Pelu Awofeso
NationalityNigerian
Occupation(s)Journalist, travel-writer, tour guide
Known forTour guiding, travel writing
AwardsCNN/Multichoice African Journalists Award

Career

Awofeso claims to have become interested in travelling after a first encounter with the city of Jos in Plateau State of Nigeria in 1998.[2] The encounter, which involved being awed by the beauty of the city as well as coming across "writing from the past by the British" who documented their travels during the times they lived in Nigeria as colonialists, inspired him to take up travel as a hobby.

Isaw images from 1930s, 1940s, 1950s; they were so strong I felt like I was seeing that time. After they left I don't think many people were doing that any more. Those encounters seeded me to want to follow in their footsteps, to travel extensively in Nigeria and document what I’ve seen. It made me develop more interest in Jos and also in travelling, to also write about this beautiful place people have written about 50 years ago. I wanted to write something that could actually benefit society. And I had to think about writing about Nigeria in such a way that people appreciate the country. Not just the foreign audience, but also Nigerians.[3]

As of 2017, he has visited over 32 states out of Nigeria's 36[4] and written about a number of them. His work has been compared to Looking for Transwonderland by Noo-Saro-Wiwa.[5]


In 2010, while he worked for 234Next, Awofeso won the CNN/MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year Award in the Tourism Category.[6][7]

Books and publishing

Awofeso is the publisher of an online travel magazine called Waka About.[8] He is also the editor of Route 234, a book of travel stories described as "a collection of stories from Nigerian journalists detailing personal experiences while on journeys outside Nigeria"[9] What it represents, "overall, is an intervention in a space where much more effort of this nature is needed."[10]

In 2010, he published Tour of Duty, a book "which documents ten months travelling the width and breadth of Nigeria, and tells the stories of people and places he encounters on the way, from the sand sellers of Yenagoa to hunters in Osogbo."[11]


Other activities

Awofeso, in 2014, also founded a group called "Beach Samaritans" who walk around beaches in Lagos for the purpose of cleaning them of debris and unwanted trash.[12]

References
  1. "Pelu Awofeso: Nigeria's foremost travel writer | MyWeku Tastes". MyWeku Tastes. 10 April 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  2. "Q&A: Travel writer, journalist and publisher Pelu Awofeso". 15 July 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  3. "Q&A: Travel writer, journalist and publisher Pelu Awofeso". 15 July 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  4. "Northern Nigeria Is Vastly Beautiful – Pelu Awofeso". Concise News. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  5. Jones, Rebecca (2014). "'Nigeria is my Playground': Pẹlu Awofẹsọ's Nigerian travel writing". African Research and Documentation. 125: 65–85. doi:10.1017/S0305862X00020665. ISSN 0305-862X. S2CID 157770690.
  6. "BREAKING: CNN/Multichoice Africa Journalist Award Winners: Pelu Awofeso, 234Next, Emmanuel Maya, The Sun Newspapers, others". CPAfrica. 30 May 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  7. "CNN.com – CNN African Journalist of the Year Competition". CNN. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  8. "WORLD TOURISM DAY: Travel writer picks Jos as Nigeria's hottest tourist destination despite violence, By Omena Abenabe – Premium Times Nigeria". Premium Times Nigeria. 29 September 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  9. Awofeso, Pelu (2 June 2016). "Route 234, an Ebook by Pelu Awofeso". Smashwords. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  10. "Travel as Life: A Review of Route 234". ktravula – a travelogue!. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  11. "Q&A: Travel writer, journalist and publisher Pelu Awofeso". 15 July 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  12. "Meet Pelu Awofeso and His Beach Samaritans". CPAfrica. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
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