00:00I am really shocked by the way some unpatriotic Nigerians have gone on social media,
00:05misrepresenting IshoSpeed's visit to Nigeria and using it to project a negative image of their very own country,
00:11while attempting to spoil what was a good narrative of a very successful visit.
00:16First of all, IshoSpeed never said or implied that Nigeria is smelly.
00:22The young man perhaps achieved his most successful stream during his African tour in Nigeria,
00:28reaching a milestone of 50 million YouTube subscribers whilst in our dearly beloved country.
00:34He is the first black streamer to achieve that milestone,
00:37and it occurred in Nigeria, boosted by Nigerian subscribers appreciative of his visit.
00:43What these few unpatriotic Nigerians, who have a grudge against their own country,
00:48fed by a separatist agenda, have done is take a screenshot of a particular stream
00:53where Mr. Darren Jason Watkins Jr. made the face for a few seconds,
00:58which he often does all over the world, upon citing something interesting and peculiar.
01:04Using that snapshot, they painted a false narrative claiming that Lagos is smelly
01:08and that Darren Jason Watkins Jr., aka IshoSpeed, did not enjoy his time there
01:14and found nothing interesting or cultural to do.
01:17Sadly, their claims have gone wildly viral.
01:21In fact, as evidenced by his streams and media coverage,
01:25IshoSpeed had perhaps the most eventful moments of his Speed Does Africa tour in Nigeria,
01:30which is why he chose to spend his 21st birthday in our country.
01:35He drew his biggest crowds here and was so impressed by that that he testified about it.
01:40He had gastronomical and cultural experiences, including visiting Freedom Park
01:45and eating the world-famous Nigerian jollof rice, which he raved about.
01:51Thereafter, he had a belated Detti December moment by interacting with street dances
01:56in a carnival-like manner, and had intermittent encounters and conversations with street performers,
02:01including a man whose physical strength he celebrated after attempting and failing
02:05to match his iron-bending skills.
02:08IshoSpeed also enjoyed Nigerian couture when he got to wear the special Nigerian hat,
02:14known as a feeler, made in Nigeria from entirely from made-in-Nigeria fabric.
02:19Something that I have been promoting worldwide,
02:23his decision to blend in culturally with Nigerians through fashion made him so excited
02:27that he asked street vendors and onlookers whether he, looked Nigerian.
02:32And on his 21st birthday, IshoSpeed was surrounded by schoolchildren in their school uniforms,
02:39singing the famous happy birthday song to him, almost bringing him to tears.
02:44At Freedom Park, IshoSpeed interacted with various Lagos street performers,
02:49who taught the quick learner several dance steps particularly suited to the Nigerian music
02:53genre of Afrobeats that has taken the world by storm.
02:57IshoSpeed then visited the Nike Art Gallery in Leki, where the management feted him and gifted him
03:03a traditional Lukumi Yoruba outfit, which left him in awe.
03:07Mr. Watkins next met Afrobeats singer Zalata Nibile, who surprised him with a birthday cake,
03:14prompting IshoSpeed to shockingly reveal that that was the first birthday cake he had ever received.
03:19Hard to believe, his time in Nigeria has become one of the most discussed pop culture moments
03:25of the year so far, and he was so pleased with Nigeria that one of the first things he did
03:30when he visited neighboring Benin Republic was to seek out Nigerians there to continue
03:35catching the fun that mesmerized him in Nigeria.
03:38Finally, it is not true that the streamer left Nigeria in a hurry after spending only a day in
03:44our beautiful country. The truth is that he has only 28 days to visit 20 African countries,
03:51and, other than South Africa, where he spent three days, he spent approximately 24 hours in each country.
03:59At the beginning of the tour, when he had more time, he spent more days in countries,
04:04but as the tour wore on and he observed the logistical challenges of visiting the proposed 20 nations,
04:09pragmatism forced him to allocate his time more prudently. In no other country did Mr. Watkins
04:16enjoy such an action-packed 24 hours, which is why he claimed he was a Nigerian, even saying he was
04:22likely Igbo, and named himself a Mecca. From the above, it is clear that the narrative crafted by
04:28some unpatriotic Nigerians and blown out of proportion by fellow Africans who do not understand
04:34pan-Africanism is nothing but a pathetic lie told by people who have already failed in their
04:39unfortunate attempts at setting the United States against Nigeria and are desperate to reignite
04:45their negative agenda for Nigeria after seeing the Trump administration cooperating with our
04:50great country instead of invading it.
04:52For this episode, we are in 1912, bringing you the news in a more digital world.
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