Moshood Adisa Olabisi Ajala, also known as “Ajala the traveller” in Nigeria and around the world, was the man who traveled the world on a motor scooter, or Vespa, and the United States of America on a bicycle.
Ajala rose from the ordinary son of a traditionalist to global fame, and his name became a common chant. Young and old alike admired and admired Ajala for his bravery, perseverance, and success in his prime.
Even in 1972, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, a Nigerian music genius, immortalized Ajala and his exploits in a song from his album “Board Members.” As he sang, “Obey” Ajala travel around the world twice, Ajala travel around the world twice, Ajala travel around the world.” A comprehensive account of Ajala the traveler’s life, work, and passing is provided below.
Moshood Adisa Olabisi Ajala was born into a Nigerian family of thirty polygamists in Ghana. He was one of the 25 children that his father and his four wives had. Ajala’s family moved to Nigeria shortly after his birth, where he attended Baptist Academy, Lagos, and Ibadan Boys’ High School.
Ajala went to America to continue his education when he was 18 years old; he was conceded into the College of Chicago where he concentrated as a pre-clinical understudy. Ajala’s initial aspiration was to become a doctor and return to Nigeria to denigrate the practice of voodoo and the people’s belief in superstitions; however, over the course of his life, his lifetime aspiration changed; He discovered something that was more interesting to him than using a stethoscope and putting on a lab coat.
Ajala came into the spotlight in 1952 when he went on a talk visit across the US of America on a bike covering a sum of 2,280 miles.
Ajala wore Nigerian traditional clothing on the lecture tour, one of which was described as “elaborately flowered robes with a felt-like head-dresses to match.” He did this in a bid to improve the reason for his talk visit which was to teach Americans about the advancement of his nation, Nigeria, and Africa as a rule, and to edify them that in spite of the prevalent view held in America, Africans don’t stroll about exposed or canvassed in leaves and midsection garments.
The news of Ajala’s bicycle tour quickly made its way into newspapers and televisions across the United States of America.
In Global Television Formats, Ajala was described as follows: Understanding International Television: The participation of Nigerian contestant Olabisi Ajala, a sophisticated world traveler and secretary to his country’s prime minister, was perhaps even more significant for our discussion of the show’s global and local dynamics. Olabisi is a black man who is attractive and has charisma. He graduated from Columbia University with a degree in psychology and was an expert in ethnology, which is the subject he chose for Lascia o Raddoppia? Olabisi managed to transform every night on the show into a celebration of his ethnic and cultural heritage, appearing on television in traditional Nigerian attire on a regular basis. However, on the final night, Olabisi entered the television studio in an impeccable tuxedo, while Mike wore the traditional Nigerian costume. This demonstrated Olabisi’s capacity to interact with the most authentic aspects of each contestant’s identity, whether it be regional, Italian, foreign, or Other.
Ajala’s fame also led to big roles in movies. He got his first role, which cost $300 per week, in the popular 20th Century Fox motion picture White Witch Doctor following his bicycle tour of the United States. He played the supporting role of Ola, a friend of Robert Mitchum’s famous African hunter Loni. He also signed a movie contract with Hollywood’s Eagle Lion Studios in August 1955, which required him to make films with European and African influences.
The already-famous Ajala the traveler didn’t just stop in the United States; in six years, he rode his scooter to 87 different countries.
He traveled to Israel, India, Australia, Iran, Russia, Ghana, Cyprus, Egypt, and other nations, where he met some of the world’s greatest leaders, including: Egypt’s Gamal Abdul Nasser, India’s Jawarhalar Nehru, the Soviet Union’s Niki Khrushchev, Iran’s Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the United States’ Ronald Reagan, Nigeria’s Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, and a lot more
The traveler Ajala was regarded as a man of many women. His conjugal life included various ladies from various areas of the planet. Myrtle Basset, a Chicago nurse, filed a paternity suit against Ajala in 1953 for denying that he was the father of “their son,” which she claimed Ajala himself named Oladipupo and signed. Basset claimed that Ajala also signed his birth certificate.
Ajala stood firm and denied being the boy’s father in spite of the lawsuit. The nurse initially resisted Ajala’s request for a DNA test, but when she eventually agreed to give the baby up for the test, Ajala vanished into thin air, and the court ruled against him. A domestic court ordered Ajala to pay Oladipupo, also known as André, $10 per week in March 1953 for his care.
Ajala’s situation that year was not ideal. The Beverly Hills, California, police arrested him in March 1953 on charges of forgery, grand theft, and writing a worthless check. Ajala claimed that he was duped by an ex-bank accountant named Arnold Weiner when he pleaded not guilty to the charges. Arnold Weiner, on the other hand, defended himself, claiming he did not deceive Ajala despite admitting to showing him how to write checks.
However, Ajala received a one-year prison sentence and was later expelled from the United States. He was deported not only because he was accused of forgery, but also because he didn’t keep up with his studies at Santa Monica Junior College, which made his visa invalid. According to American authorities, Ajala resisted deportation and protested because he feared tribal execution. Ajala’s protest was prompted by the authorities’ assertion that he was afraid of being killed by his father if he was deported back to Nigeria.
Ajala had screamed from the top of an 80-foot radio tower that he would rather jump to his death than be deported. For about 24 hours, Ajala protested on the tower, but the immigration authorities ignored her pleas. He in the end hopped down from a level of 15 feet however was fortunate to have supported a hyper-extended back as it were. In addition, the authorities claimed that Ajala went on a hunger strike following the tower protest, which Ajala refuted. He claimed that he was only following the 30-day fast of Ramadan. Ajala, on the other hand, was flown to London rather than Nigeria. He had previously made a request to be flown to Canada, but Canada declined to approve his application.
Ajala and his wife, Hermine Aileen, returned to the United States in December 1954. In August 1955, she filed for divorce on the grounds that he had been having an affair. Ajala wed 19-year-old white London radio and television actress Joan Simmons in December of that same year.
The traveler Ajala remained a global celebrity for a while, but he soon faded away, despite the fact that his name continued to be heard by many. He resigned to Nigeria where he resided with a portion of his youngsters.
Ajala and his son, Oladipupo(Andre)
In his later years, the Ajala’s situation deteriorated, changing from a famous and wealthy world traveler to a common man struggling to make ends meet somewhere in Lagos, specifically in a rented apartment in a two-story building on Adeniran Street, Bariga.
Due to a lack of funds, Ajala was unable to receive adequate medical care when he became ill. Additionally, none of his numerous children were there for him; only two of them lived with him: Olaolu Ajala, a 20-year-old understudy of Baptist Foundation, Lagos and Bolanle Ajala, his 17-year-old girl.
It is heartbreaking to learn that the once-world-famous traveler Ajala died in poverty on February 2, 1999, from stroke-induced paralysis at the General Hospital in Ikeja. However, he has established his place in Nigerian and global history.
