Worried that he didn’t understand the continent of his heritage, Femi Elufowoju Jr challenged himself to visit all 54 of its nations. His trip took him from bustling Ghana to the tranquility of Tanzania – and sparked the idea for a play
A
t 53, I made myself a promise. Having built a reputation as the go-to authority on African culture in UK theatre, I realised with uncomfortable clarity that my knowledge barely scratched the surface of the continent’s vast complexity. What followed was an extraordinary seven-year quest to visit all 54 African nations before my 60th birthday – a journey that would ultimately transform into my ambitious new theatrical project, 54.60 Africa.
The catalyst came during a 2015 world tour with theatre company Complicité that took me to Cape Town. Standing in the shadow of Table Mountain, I confronted a paradox that had long troubled me: despite my Nigerian ancestry and theatrical expertise, my understanding of Africa remained frustratingly limited. Cape Town offered me an opportunity to begin addressing that knowledge gap, and one I was determined to seize.
The journey that followed defied every preconception I held. In a hotel lodge in Mbabane in what was then Swaziland, a receptionist’s eyes widened with incredulity at my arrival – a reaction that spoke volumes about the rarity of Black guests. Yet it was the gardener the next morning who provided the trip’s emotional core, abandoning his work to sit beside me, explaining how long it had been since he’d conversed with another “brother” on the premises beyond his own visiting family.
